Icelands Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a good, hard look at what’s coming down the line for Icelands. This is a reef setup that’s exposed to the swell, and it’s a fairly consistent spot. The whole 16-day window has waves on offer, but it’s not all good news. The early part of the run is pretty frustrating, with a lot of marginal surf and cross-off winds.

The first real action we see is on Tuesday, the 21st of July. A solid SSW groundswell rolls in at 5 ft, with a long 14-second period. The combined energy is moderate (962). The water is running at 86°, which is about normal for this time of year. The problem is that the wind is cross-off from the SE at 9 mph, so it’s going to be bumpy and not the cleanest. It’s honestly a bit of a letdown for that setup.

We then grind through a stretch of smaller, weaker swells with persistent cross-off winds. The wind doesn’t really let up, and the swell direction swings around to the SSE, dropping the period to 10 seconds. The energy is moderate (666 to 828) but the quality just isn’t there. This goes on right through to the weekend and into the start of the next week.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. The standout window is the end of the month and the start of August. On Tuesday the 30th of July, the whole game changes. A very long period SSW groundswell of 19 seconds arrives. The swell is 4 ft, but the energy is very strong (1162). The wind goes glassy with a light S breeze. This is the kind of reef-swell marriage that gets the heart pumping. The break is a reef, so that long period is going to produce some beautifully shaped, powerful lines. Crowds are a possibility here, so get in early.

That quality carries through to the 31st of July with a SW groundswell, 17-second period, and glassy offshore winds. The energy is still strong (966). The waves are clean and lined up.

But the absolute best on offer is Saturday the 1st of August. We’ve got a 6 ft to 7 ft SSW groundswell with a 15 to 16-second period. The combined energy is through the roof (1904). And the wind? Glassy. Clean. It’s powerful, it’s big. This is expert territory at 7 ft on a reef, so only the experienced crew should be paddling out. The energy is very strong (1823 to 1904). This is the session to circle on the calendar.

After that peak, the swell holds but the wind gets messy on the 2nd and 3rd of August. A strong onshore change on the 3rd with 16 mph winds makes it poor for paddling. That setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than a traditional paddle session.

The window closes out nicely on the 4th and 5th of August, though. A clean 4 ft SSW groundswell with a long 18-second period on the 4th afternoon, and then a 6 ft SSW swell on the 5th morning with light offshore winds. The energy is very strong (2496). That is a powerful, clean reef wave. It’s a long-range call, so it’s a promising one but less certain this far out.

So, the one to chase is the 1st of August. If you can handle the size, that’s the pick of the whole run. The 30th and 31st of July are also very solid, cleaner options.

Rusty.

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