Surf Forecasts:
Holden Beach surf forecast from 5 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 9 Sep, 8AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 7s period, ESE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 8 Sep, 11AM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 8s period, E swell with 253 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 9 Sep, 8AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 7s period with ESE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Holden Beach this week:
The surf forecast for Holden Beach over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Sep 09) at 8AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 7s period. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Holden Beach in the next 16 days are 1.5m 8s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Sep 08) at 11AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.2m 6s period and expected on Monday (Sep 07) at 8AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8AM (Wed 9th Sep) | 3ft (0.9m) 7s |
| Best Surf | 8AM (Wed 9th Sep) | 3ft (0.9m) 7s |
| Most Powerful | 11AM (Tue 8th Sep) | 5ft (1.5m) 8s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Holden Beach over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let me level with you straight up: this outlook for Holden Beach is pretty grim. I’ve scanned the whole 16-day window, and honestly, I’m struggling to find a single session that’s worth hauling the boards out for. The whole period is a write-off for any decent surf.
We’re starting with a blank run. From now through to the end of the forecast, there’s just nothing doing. The first couple of days, September 4th and 5th, are a complete washout with tiny, weak swell and poor onshore winds. Even the water temperature is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year at 84°F.
The only hint of something bigger comes around Monday and Tuesday, September 7th and 8th. We’ll see a bump in easterly swell, hitting about 5 ft on Monday morning and up to 5 ft on Tuesday morning. The combined energy climbs into the moderate range (149 on Monday, 254 on Tuesday), but it’s a short period, choppy easterly windswell, and the wind, while cross-off, is howling at 19 mph. It’s going to be a clean, blown-out mess. That Tuesday morning session is the only one that even got a 1 out of 10, and it’s described as marginal due to tide. It’s not a beginner wave at 5 ft, but it’s messy and not for the faint of heart either.
After that, it’s back to tiny, gutless surf for the rest of the two weeks. There’s a few occasions with glassy conditions, like the morning of Monday, September 14th, and Wednesday, September 16th, but the swell is a pathetic 1 ft and 1.0 ft respectively. You’d be floating on a lake, not surfing.
Holden Beach is an exposed beach break, which means it needs a solid, clean swell to work. When the energy is this weak (combined energy values mostly in the double digits) and the wind is all over the shop, it’s just not happening. Given the persistent onshore breezes and the small, short-period swell, this setup honestly looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing for the vast majority of the period.
Save your energy, folks. This one’s a dud.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 43mm), heaviest during Sat night. Warm (max 31°C on Fri afternoon, min 24°C on Sun night). Mainly fresh winds. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 3mm), mostly falling on Mon afternoon. Warm (max 28°C on Wed afternoon, min 24°C on Mon night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the ENE on Mon afternoon, light winds from the ENE by Wed morning). | |||||||||||||||||||
Fri 4 | Saturday 5 | Sunday 6 | Monday 7 | Tuesday 8 | Wednesday 9 | Thursday 10 | ||||||||||||||
PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 6 | SE 8 | S 5 | SSW 4 | SW 5 | S 5 | SE 9 | SE 9 | E 6 | E 7 | E 7 | E 8 | E 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | E 6 | SW 4 | SSW 5 | SW 6 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 15 | 11 | 18 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 144 | 145 | 184 | 253 | 181 | 111 | 68 | 34 | 20 | 18 | 83 | 80 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 2:07AM1.19m | 3:00PM1.53m | 3:14AM1.21m | 4:04PM1.56m | 4:19AM1.26m | 5:04PM1.60m | 5:20AM1.34m | 5:59PM1.62m | 6:17AM1.42m | 6:50PM1.63m | 7:10AM1.50m | 7:37PM1.60m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 8:22PM0.40m | 8:16AM0.22m | 9:34PM0.38m | 9:28AM0.20m | 10:39PM0.33m | 10:36AM0.16m | 11:35PM0.27m | 11:37AM0.12m | 00:25AM0.20m | 12:32PM0.08m | 1:10AM0.15m | 1:24PM0.07m | 1:53AM0.11m | |||||||
 |  | | |  |  | |  | | | |  | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:50 | — | — | 6:50 | — | — | 6:50 | — | — | 6:52 | — | — |
 | 7:35 | — | — | 7:32 | — | — | 7:31 | — | — | 7:30 | — | — | 7:29 | — | — | 7:28 | — | — | 7:25 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | 17 | 1 | 10 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 |
Temp °C | 31 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 28 | 30 | 28 |
Feels °C | 33 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 29 | 31 | 32 | 30 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 29 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SW 5 | S 5 | S 5 | SSW 5 | SSW 5 | — | — | S 5 | — | — | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | E 6 | ESE 6 | SE 9 | SE 8 |
| kJ | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 8 | 5 | — | — | 1 | — | — | 68 | 34 | 20 | 7 | 12 | 11 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 6 | SSE 6 | — | E 6 | S 5 | SE 8 | SE 9 | SE 9 | — | SW 5 | — | — | — | — | — | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | E 6 | E 6 |
| kJ | 1 | 3 | — | 1 | 19 | 11 | 13 | 13 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | 12 | 12 | 2 | 1 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | E 6 | — | SE 8 | — | E 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | E 9 | — | E 8 | — |
| kJ | — | — | 1 | — | 9 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | 1 | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 6 | SSW 4 | S 5 | SSW 4 | — | — | E 2 | E 4 | E 6 | E 7 | E 7 | E 8 | E 7 | ESE 7 | — | — | — | SW 4 | SSW 5 | SW 6 |
| kJ | 15 | 11 | 18 | 16 | — | — | 1 | 19 | 144 | 145 | 184 | 253 | 181 | 111 | — | — | — | 18 | 83 | 80 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 918 | 82 | 82 | 1143 | 273 | 827 | 817 | 655 | 697 | 827 | 110 | 678 | 110 | 110 | 0 | 308 | 501 | 519 | 892 | 29 |
Best forecast wave conditions in North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Holden Beach surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Holden Beach Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Holden Beach provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Holden Beach can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Holden Beach surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Holden Beach) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Holden Beach may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Are you planning a vacation in North Carolina? If you are looking for accommodation near Holden Beach, camping, hotels and condos and appartments in North Carolina, consider staying in Wilmington which is 48 km (30 miles) away. Other places in and around North Carolina where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Myrtle Beach which is 70 km (43 miles) away and Socastee, 80 km (50 miles) away.
Nearest