Icelands Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here.

Honestly, looking at this whole 16-day stretch, the opening week is a bit of a grind. We’ve got a solid pulse of south-southwest groundswell under us right away, but the wind is just shocking for the first few days. It’s mostly cross and cross-onshore, with a fresh breeze and lumpy conditions through Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The swell is there, with 4.3ft to 6.2ft on the cards for Icelands (reef), and the combined energy is moderate to strong, reading 1261 to 2141 units through that period, but it’s a messy, ragged sea. It might be tempting because of the size, but you’ll be fighting the chop and the tide, and it just won’t be worth your energy. Thursday afternoon is a write-off with a fresh cross-onshore blowing 22 mph.

The first real sign of life comes on Friday. The morning is still cross and a bit lumpy, but the afternoon starts to clean up with a cross-off breeze as the swell jumps to 7.2ft out of the SSW with a 17-second period. That’s a proper groundswell with some grunt. Then we hit the weekend, and this is where the standout window opens up. Saturday the 8th is the pick of the first week, with clean conditions all day under light cross-off winds, and 6.9ft of SSW swell with a 16-second period. The combined energy is strong at 2182, and this is proper Icelands territory—clean lines, hollow enough to get you on your rail, and that offshore push holding the face up.

Sunday the 9th is almost as good, with 6.2ft of south swell and light cross-off winds keeping it glassy in the morning. The swell direction is slightly more south, which can be a bit more straight at this spot, but the quality is there. The combined energy is still strong at 1771. This is when it’s worth getting out of bed early.

The following week, starting Monday the 10th, sees the winds settle into a consistent south-easterly cross-off pattern, but the swell becomes more inconsistent. Monday afternoon is a gem though—the period spikes to 20 seconds, which is very long-period groundswell, with 3.9ft of south swell. The energy is still strong at 2227, and while the size is less, those long-period lines will have real push and shape. The wave comment says it’s excellent for experienced surfers, and that’s the call. Just know that long-period swells like this can close out a bit at beach breaks, but at a reef like Icelands, it’s where it shines.

Tuesday the 11th and Wednesday the 12th bring a bigger pulse again, with 7.2ft and 6.6ft out of the south, but the conditions remain clean with that moderate cross-off breeze. The energy is strong, peaking at 3401 on Tuesday morning, so there’s plenty of power. It’s good, but a notch down from the weekend due to the onshore component being slightly more present.

We roll into the second week with a more settled pattern. The swell backs off a touch but stays consistent in the 4.3ft to 5.9ft range, with light to gentle cross-off winds keeping things clean. It’s not as punchy as the weekend, but it’s steady. Friday the 14th is decent, and then we hit another standout window on Saturday the 15th and Sunday the 16th. Saturday morning has 4.9ft of S swell at 16 seconds with a light breeze—clean and glassy. Sunday morning is similar with 4.9ft at 17 seconds, nice and clean.

But the real highlight of the second week is Monday the 17th. The morning starts with a glassy, 3 mph east-south-east wind and 5.6ft of SSW swell. The wave comment calls it excellent for experienced surfers, and you can see why. The water is clean, the lines are long, and the energy is strong at 2420. That’s your standout for the back half. Tuesday the 18th will also be a good one, with 6.9ft out of the SSW and a gentle cross-off breeze, that’s still a solid day.

Now, regarding the water, for the first break I’m talking about—Icelands—the water temp anomaly isn’t provided in the data I have, so I’ll just say that’s about average for this time of year.

The crowd situation at Icelands is listed as “often”, so expect plenty of company, especially on the best days like Saturday the 8th and Monday the 17th. It’s a reef break that’s fairly consistent, and when it’s good, it’s worth sharing.

One thing to keep in mind is all this swell is over 4.9ft for a lot of the window, and some of it over 8.2ft, so this is not a beginner’s playground. This is expert territory. If you’re a strong

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