Holden Beach Surf Break

Lat Long: 33.91° N 78.18° W

Holden Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 7 pm 17 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Holden Beach sea temperature is
28.6° C
0.5° 

Holden Beach surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


Holden Beach surf forecast from 18 Aug 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Monday 24 Aug, 8AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 6s period, SSW swell with glassy winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Monday 24 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 6s period, SSW swell with 135 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 23 Aug, 8PM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 6s period with SSW 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 Sunday (Aug 23) at 8PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.2m and 6s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 12s. Another secondary swell of 0.1m and 8s is also forecast. 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 6s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Aug 24) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.4m 2s period and expected on Sunday (Aug 23) at 2AM.

Wave TypeTime (EDT) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+) 8PM (Sun 23rd Aug)4ft (1.2m) 6s
Best Surf 8AM (Mon 24th Aug)4.5ft (1.4m) 6s
Most Powerful 2AM (Mon 24th Aug)5ft (1.5m) 6s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Holden Beach over the next 16 days.


The Lowdown

G’day, it’s Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next couple of weeks are a real scratch for surf along this stretch. We’re looking at a long, drawn-out run of small, messy, onshore slop for most of the period, with only a couple of brief windows where it might be worth paddling out. Don’t get too excited, but there are a couple of mornings that’ll have you at least thinking about it.

The outlook starts off pretty grim. From Tuesday the 18th right through to the 24th, it’s pretty much all poor surf conditions. We’ve got tiny waves, mostly under 3 feet, coming from the southeast and south, with periods all over the shop, mainly short and weak. The wind is mostly cross-onshore or straight onshore, which is going to chop up anything that tries to show. The combined energy is weak to moderate, sitting around the 40-90 mark throughout, which tells you there’s just nothing doing. It’s a bleak run, a solid week of small dribble and wind chop.

The first time the surf even gets close to interesting is the morning of Tuesday the 25th. The wind drops right out, and we’ve got glassy conditions at Holden Beach. The swell is still tiny, just 3 feet from the south with a short 6-second period, and the energy is still weak at 69. It’s not a day for a quiver of boards, it’s a day for the groveler. It’s surfable, but very ordinary, with clean little lines. It’s not a standout, just a welcome break from the onshores. It’ll be a bit of a bog-slog, but if you’re desperate for a paddle, that’s your window.

Then we slide back into more of the same for the rest of that week, with poor conditions and onshores returning. The swell height drops back to almost nothing, but on Wednesday the 26th, we see a shift in the swell direction to the SSE, and the period jumps right up to 15-16 seconds. This is a long-period groundswell, but with a tiny height of just 2 to 2 feet, and cross-onshore winds, it’s not going to produce anything worthwhile. The energy is now moderate, reading 168-176, but that’s all that’s happening. It’s just a tease of some proper swell energy with no size behind it.

We then head into the weekend of the 28th and 29th, and this is where things get a little more interesting. The morning of Friday the 28th has the wind turning offshore from the north, which will clean things right up. The swell has bumped to 4 feet, but it’s a short-period 6-second swell coming from the SSW. It’s clean, sure, but it’s going to be a bit all over the place, a peaky, jumbled mess. The energy is moderate at 159, but it’s not the cleanest. The surf is still only rated as ‘surfable but very ordinary’. That offshore wind is a big positive for the texture, but the short period and direction just don’t do it any favors at this exposed beach.

The morning of Saturday the 29th is similar story, with a clean, glassy texture and a north offshore wind, but the swell drops back to 2 feet with a 9-second period from the SE. It’s clean, but tiny and weak. Another grovel session.

Looking further out to the end of the month, the 30th and 31st, and into September 1st and 2nd, we’re back to mostly weak, small, and underpowered conditions. There are moments of glassy wind, but the swell stays small and the energy is consistently weak, under 80. There’s no real size on the horizon, and the long-range picture looks like a whole lot of nothing for surfers.

So here’s the honest truth: the best surf on offer in this whole 16-day window is probably the clean but junky 4 feet on the morning of Friday the 28th. It’s not big, it’s not powerful, but with that offshore wind, it’ll be the cleanest you’ll see it. The other morning to consider is Tuesday the 25th for a glassy, knee-high dribble. Everything else is a write-off. It’s a tough stretch, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. Keep the longboard string out, and wait for the next proper swell.

Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Light rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Wed night. Warm (max 33°C on Tue afternoon, min 26°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light.

Days 5-7 Weather Summary

Heavy rain (total 32mm), heaviest during Sun afternoon. Warm (max 30°C on Fri morning, min 23°C on Sun afternoon). Mainly fresh winds.

Tuesday
18
Wednesday
19
Thursday
20
Friday
21
Saturday
22
Sunday
23
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.4
SE
8
0.4
SE
9
0.5
SE
11
0.5
SE
10
0.4
SE
9
0.4
SE
9
0.4
SE
9
0.3
SE
8
0.3
SE
8
0.9
SSW
4
0.8
SSW
5
0.6
S
5
0.7
SSW
4
0.6
S
5
1
S
5
1
S
6
1
S
6
1
S
6
1.5
SSW
6
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
17
19
58
48
31
29
20
11
11
25
26
16
20
16
43
64
76
74
135
Wind (km/h)
15
SW
10
SW
15
S
10
SSW
10
SSE
20
S
5
SSE
10
SSW
15
S
20
SSW
20
SSW
20
S
20
SW
20
WSW
10
SW
10
W
15
SSW
30
W
10
SSW
Wind State
cross-on
cross-on
on
cross-on
cross-on
on
on
cross-on
on
cross-on
cross-on
on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross
on
cross
cross-on
High Tide
11:49PM1.29m
12:30PM1.41m
00:36AM1.20m
1:22PM1.36m
1:26AM1.12m
2:17PM1.33m
2:19AM1.07m
3:12PM1.32m
3:15AM1.06m
4:06PM1.33m
4:09AM1.07m
4:57PM1.37m
Low Tide
6:00AM0.25m
6:47PM0.43m
6:48AM0.31m
7:48PM0.49m
7:40AM0.35m
8:52PM0.53m
8:38AM0.38m
9:55PM0.53m
9:37AM0.38m
10:50PM0.51m
10:31AM0.36m
11:37PM0.46m
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
thunderstorm
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
thunderstorm
part cloud
cloud
rain showers
thunderstorm
thunderstorm
part cloud
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:35
6:35
6:37
6:37
6:39
6:39
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
7:57
7:55
7:54
7:53
7:52
7:51
7:50
 mm
2
5
11
4
12
Temp °C
30
32
33
30
32
32
28
31
31
29
30
30
28
27
28
28
27
26
26
Feels °C
33
35
34
34
36
36
34
35
33
32
33
33
31
28
30
29
28
25
29
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for Holden Beach:

join our community of surf reporters

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 locationNearest