Indian River (Northside) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what Indian River (Northside) has cooking for us over the next couple of weeks. I gotta be straight with you – it’s going to be a long, quiet stretch for the most part. We’ve got a big gap of nearly two weeks with practically nothing worth paddling out for. The first real chance of a wave doesn’t show up until Monday the 17th, and even then, it’s barely a ripple.

The Long Flat Spell

The forecast starts Friday the 14th with tiny, weak surf – we’re talking 0.3ft to 0.7ft at best. The combined swell energy is laughably low, sitting between 8 and 14 units. Winds are all over the place, but it doesn’t matter because there’s no push. Saturday is more of the same with 0.7ft to 1ft and onshore winds kicking up a chop. Sunday gets a little lumpy with a 2ft to 3ft SSE windswell, but the period is a shocking 3 to 4 seconds, and with onshore winds up to 22 mph, it’s just a messy, blown-out waste of time. The combined energy climbs to 31, but it’s all junk.

Monday 17th & Tuesday 18th – Faint Hope

Monday morning the 17th, we finally get a sniff of something clean. The swell drops back to 3ft from the SSE, but the wind turns NNW and becomes cross-offshore. The energy is only 62 – weak – but the conditions are clean. By Monday afternoon, it goes glassy with a 2ft SE swell. It’s not going to blow your mind, but for a beginner-friendly beach/jetty break, it’s the first passable window. Tuesday the 18th sees a jump in period to 13 seconds on the afternoon, giving that SE swell a bit more grunt, but the onshore wind ruins it.

The Two-Week Wait

After Tuesday, it’s back to the desert. From Wednesday the 19th all the way through Thursday the 27th, we are looking at flat to tiny waves (0.7ft to 1ft) with poor conditions and energy readings mostly under 50. There’s one blip on Sunday the 23rd with a 3ft S swell and clean cross-offshore winds, but the period is a short 5 seconds and energy is only 56. It’s surfable but very ordinary. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The Standout – Saturday 29th August

Finally, a light at the end of the tunnel. On Friday morning the 28th, we get a whisper of something bigger: a 4ft ENE swell with glassy conditions and a combined energy of 99 – just sneaking into moderate territory. But the real standout is Saturday morning the 29th. The swell holds at 4ft from the ENE, but the energy jumps to a solid 239 (moderate wave energy). The wind is a clean cross-offshore from the SSW, making for good-looking waves. The period is only 7 seconds, so it’s short-period windswell, but for Indian River (Northside) that’s the best we’re going to see in the entire 16-day outlook. This is a beginner break, and 4ft is a fun, manageable size. The water temp is about average for late August. Keep an eye on this one, but remember it’s a long way out, so don’t book the week off just yet.

That’s the story for now. A whole lotta nothing, with a decent little window at the end. Keep those fingers crossed the forecasts hold.

Rusty.

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