Higgins Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – the next couple of weeks at Higgins Beach are looking pretty grim. We’ve got a long stretch of tiny, weak, and messy surf ahead, and honestly, there’s nothing that’s going to get you scrambling for your board. The good news is, this kind of flat spell is pretty normal for the area, so we’re not talking about anything unusual here. The water is sitting at 64°F which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least a paddle won’t be a shock to the system.

We kick off on Friday, September 4th with the best of a very ordinary bunch. Friday morning, the wind is glassy out of the NE at 3 mph, and we’ve got a tiny 3 ft swell from the ESE with a weak 7-second period. The combined energy is a measly 70, so there’s hardly any push. It’s surfable, but only just. You’ll be on a longboard, fighting for scraps. Friday afternoon stays small and clean but the wind shifts to a cross-off, still nothing to write home about.

After that, it’s a wasteland. From Saturday, September 5th all the way through to Wednesday, September 9th, the swell drops even further, barely hitting 2 ft and mostly under 2 ft. The wind is all over the place – cross-off, onshore, cross-on – but the real problem is the lack of any proper swell. The scores are all zeros, and the wave comment says "poor surf conditions" each time. This is a dead zone.

Then, on Thursday, September 10th, we get a bit of a pulse. The morning shows a 4 ft SSE swell, but it’s short-period at 7 seconds and the combined energy hits 186. That’s a moderate push, but the wind is a strong 19 mph cross-off from the W. It’s clean, but with that much wind, it’s going to be blown out and likely a choppy mess. The afternoon sees the wind swing offshore from the NW at 16 mph, but the swell drops to 3 ft. It’s not a stand-out, just a tease.

The rest of the forecast is a continued story of tiny waves and poor conditions. We see a few days with a little bit of 3 ft to 3 ft windswell, but the periods are short (4-6 seconds) and the wind is onshore or cross-shore, making it ugly. By the time we get to Friday, September 18th, there’s a 0.7 ft swell with a long 12-second period, but the combined energy is only 18 and the wind is onshore. That’s a total non-starter.

So, here’s the long and short of it: The best you’ll get is a tiny, clean knee-high wave on Friday morning, September 4th, if you’re desperate. For the rest of the 16 days, it’s a flat, blown-out, or tiny mess. Leave your boards in the garage, go for a run, and wait for the next proper swell. This one is a write-off.

Rusty.

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