Surf Forecasts:
Indian River (Southside) surf forecast from 23 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 23 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 6s period, S swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 29 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 6s period, S swell with 61 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 23 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 6s period with S swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Indian River (Southside) this week:
The surf forecast for Indian River (Southside) over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Sunday (Aug 23) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.7m and 6s period with a secondary swell of 0.5m and 6s. Another secondary swell of 0.2m and 12s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Indian River (Southside) in the next 16 days are 1.0m 6s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 29) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.8m 5s period and expected on Friday (Aug 28) at 11AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Sun 23rd Aug) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 11PM (Sun 23rd Aug) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 6s |
| Most Powerful | 2AM (Sat 29th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 6s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Indian River (Southside) over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cooking for the next couple of weeks.
To be honest, the first week and a half is a right write-off. We’re looking at a long, painful gap of small, weak surf with virtually no energy to speak of. The swell is barely a wobble, with the combined energy stuck in the low double digits (like 10 to 27) for days on end. It’s mostly shifty, short-period stuff that’s just not worth paddling out for. The wind is all over the shop too, mostly cross or onshore, and even the occasional glassy morning (like Wednesday the 26th) only gives us a pathetic 0.3m dribble, which is about 1 foot. You’d be better off cleaning the wax off your board than trying to ride that. The water is sitting at 77°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least a paddle won’t freeze you, but there’s no wave to catch.
Things start to look a little more promising as we head into the first week of September. On Thursday the 3rd, we finally see the swell come to life. The morning session at Indian River (Southside) sees a clean 0.7m (about 2 feet) from the SE with a moderate offshore wind out of the WNW. The combined energy jumps up to 209, which is a massive step up from the nothing we’ve had. The period is a solid 12 seconds, so there’s some proper groundswell in the mix. This is the first real opportunity to get a few clean ones, and it’s the standout of the early period.
But the real highlight, the one you want to circle on the calendar, is Friday the 4th of September. Friday afternoon looks absolutely beautiful. We’ve got a glassy 1.1m (about 4 feet) swell rolling in from the SE, with a 12-second period, and the energy is pumping at 433. That’s some proper juice. The wind is totally glassy, and the conditions are set for a clean, classic afternoon session. The swell direction from the SSE is a good match for this break, and with that kind of period and energy, the waves will have proper shape. This is the best on offer by a long shot. The Saturday morning of the 5th still has some 1.3m (about 4 feet) leftover from the SE, but it’s a touch more onshore, so it won’t be quite as clean as that Friday glass-off.
So, to sum it up: suffer through the flat spell for a week, get a bit of a taste on Thursday the 3rd, then absolutely go for it on Friday the 4th of September. That’s the one.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 28°C on Sun afternoon, min 21°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 6mm), mostly falling on Thu night. Warm (max 28°C on Fri afternoon, min 22°C on Wed morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 23 | Monday 24 | Tuesday 25 | Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | |||||||||||||||
AM | 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) | E 8 | ESE 12 | SSE 6 | ESE 12 | ESE 12 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | SE 5 | ESE 5 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | S 6 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 5 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 26 | 23 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 16 | 22 | 21 | 29 | 32 | 28 | 39 | 61 | 17 | 20 | 15 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | off | cross-off | cross | on | cross-off | cross-off | cross | off | glassy | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | glassy | cross | cross-off | cross-on | on | cross-on |
High Tide | 6:30PM0.94m | 6:27AM0.72m | 7:15PM0.96m | 7:15AM0.76m | 7:55PM0.98m | 7:58AM0.79m | 8:31PM0.99m | 8:38AM0.83m | 9:06PM0.99m | 9:17AM0.87m | 9:39PM0.98m | 9:55AM0.90m | 10:13PM0.96m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 11:19AM0.25m | 00:44AM0.28m | 12:10PM0.22m | 1:24AM0.25m | 12:54PM0.18m | 1:58AM0.22m | 1:36PM0.13m | 2:29AM0.18m | 2:16PM0.10m | 2:58AM0.13m | 2:57PM0.08m | 3:29AM0.10m | 3:38PM0.07m | 4:01AM0.07m | |||||||
 | |  |  | |  | | | | | | | | |  |  |  |  | | | | |
 | 6:20 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — |
 | — | 7:44 | — | — | 7:42 | — | — | 7:40 | — | — | 7:38 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:36 | — | — | 7:35 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 26 | 28 | 27 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 28 | 27 | 22 | 23 | 23 |
Feels °C | 27 | 27 | 27 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 21 | 25 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 26 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 19 | 21 | 22 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 4 | SSE 5 | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | SSE 5 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | S 5 | ESE 6 | S 5 | ESE 8 | SSE 5 | SSE 5 | SSE 5 | SSE 6 |
| kJ | 3 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 23 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 16 | 22 | 19 | 2 | 25 | 19 | 39 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 7 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 8 | ESE 12 | ESE 12 | ESE 12 | ESE 12 | SSE 5 | SSE 5 | NNE 3 | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | E 5 | E 14 | SE 10 | SSE 7 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | E 11 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 |
| kJ | 5 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 32 | 28 | 2 | 26 | 17 | 17 | 15 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 5 | E 8 | E 7 | E 7 | E 7 | E 6 | E 6 | SSE 5 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | E 12 | SE 10 | E 11 | E 5 | — | E 10 | E 10 | — | SE 6 |
| kJ | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | — | 2 | 2 | — | 1 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | NNW 2 | NNE 3 | — | SSW 3 | — | SSE 6 | SSE 4 | SE 5 | ESE 5 | SSE 6 | S 5 | S 5 | S 6 | NE 4 | ENE 4 | E 4 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 4 | — | 1 | — | 6 | 9 | 21 | 29 | 6 | 36 | 20 | 61 | 10 | 20 | 14 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 335 | 568 | 75 | 141 | 102 | 141 | 43 | 141 | 141 | 330 | 363 | 188 | 282 | 1158 | 0 | 0 | 217 | 14 | 245 | 189 | 162 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Delaware | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Indian River (Southside) 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 Indian River (Southside) Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Indian River (Southside) provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Indian River (Southside) can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Indian River (Southside) 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 (Indian River (Southside)) 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 Indian River (Southside) 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.
Indian River (Southside) is 28 km (17 miles) from Ocean City. If you plan a vacation in Delaware, look for hotels and other accommodation in Ocean City. Ocean City has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest