Surf Forecasts:
Indian River (Southside) surf forecast from 25 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 29 Jul, 5AM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 7s period, S swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 29 Jul, 5AM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 7s period, S swell with 339 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 29 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 7s period with SSE 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 Wednesday (Jul 29) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.4m and 7s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 9s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Indian River (Southside) in the next 16 days are 1.8m 7s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 29) at 5AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.2m 5s period and expected on Thursday (Jul 30) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Wed 29th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 7s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Wed 29th Jul) | 6ft (1.8m) 7s |
| Most Powerful | 5AM (Wed 29th Jul) | 6ft (1.8m) 7s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Indian River (Southside) over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G'day, Rusty here.
Well, I’ve had a good look at the charts for the next couple of weeks, and I gotta be straight with you – it’s one of those periods where the ocean just doesn’t want to play ball. We’re staring down a long, dry run with hardly any swell worth paddling out for. The only spot on the radar is Indian River (Southside), and even then, it’s slim pickings.
Right now, and for the next few days, it’s a tough scene. The swell is tiny, barely 2ft to 2ft from the SE or ESE, with a short period of 8 seconds or less. The combined wave energy is weak, sitting in the 30s or 40s (44 on Saturday afternoon). The wind is mostly cross-onshore, making it choppy and messy. It’s just not worth getting wet.
We do see a little flicker of hope from Wednesday the 30th of July into Thursday the 31st. The wind swings offshore and light, cleaning things right up, and we get a couple of glassy mornings. The swell is still tiny, 2ft to 2ft, and the energy is still low (31 to 58), but those clean conditions mean there’s a slight chance of a fun little wave if you’re on a log. The spot is fairly consistent, so it’s not completely dead, but crowds are often a problem here, and with such small surf, it’ll be a scrap for scraps.
The most promising window, and I’m not getting too excited, is around Monday the 3rd of August. Monday morning we get a glassy 3ft swell from the SE at 8 seconds, with the combined energy bumping up to a moderate 73. The wind is glassy, so it’ll be clean. Still, it’s a beach/jetty setup, and with a short period swell like that, the waves will be a bit weak and straight. It’s really only for the advanced crew who can squeeze a turn out of nothing.
After that, it’s back to the same story – tiny, weak, and mostly messy. There’s a couple of clean offshore mornings around the 8th and 9th of August, but the swell is just 1ft. It’s a real struggle.
To be honest, we’ve got a solid 16 days of mostly poor surf. The water temp is sitting at 76°F, which is about average for the time of year, so at least it’s warm while you’re sitting there waiting for nothing. If you’re desperate for a paddle, maybe the glassy morning of the 3rd gives you a chance, but don’t expect much. This is a blank run, and for this area, that’s not unusual.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastSome drizzle, heaviest during Mon night. Warm (max 24°C on Mon afternoon, min 20°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 44mm), heaviest during Tue night. Warm (max 27°C on Thu afternoon, min 19°C on Thu morning). Mainly fresh winds. | |||||||||||||||||||
Sat 25 | Sunday 26 | Monday 27 | Tuesday 28 | Wednesday 29 | Thursday 30 | Friday 31 | ||||||||||||||
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) | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSE 4 | SSE 7 | SSE 7 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | SE 7 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 28 | 35 | 35 | 30 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 18 | 197 | 96 | 106 | 86 | 31 | 35 | 64 | 40 | 28 | 12 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on | off | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross-off |
High Tide | 7:03PM0.93m | 6:59AM0.69m | 7:47PM0.96m | 7:45AM0.71m | 8:27PM0.98m | 8:27AM0.73m | 9:04PM0.99m | 9:07AM0.75m | 9:39PM0.99m | 9:46AM0.77m | 10:12PM0.98m | 10:24AM0.79m | 10:45PM0.95m | |||||||
Low Tide | 1:14AM0.23m | 12:37PM0.18m | 1:56AM0.22m | 1:20PM0.15m | 2:34AM0.20m | 2:00PM0.12m | 3:08AM0.18m | 2:38PM0.10m | 3:39AM0.15m | 3:17PM0.08m | 4:09AM0.12m | 3:57PM0.08m | 4:40AM0.10m | |||||||
 |  | | |  |  | |  | |  | | |  |  | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — |
 | 8:16 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:14 | — | — | 8:14 | — | — | 8:13 | — | — | 8:12 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | 41 | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 22 | 22 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 23 | 26 | 25 | 22 | 27 | 25 | 23 | 26 | 25 |
Feels °C | 20 | 23 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 20 | 27 | 24 | 22 | 26 | 24 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 6 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | E 6 | ESE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | NE 6 | SSE 7 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | NE 7 | SE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | NE 7 |
| kJ | 16 | 35 | 35 | 30 | 18 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 13 | 1 | 96 | 106 | 86 | 84 | 35 | 64 | 40 | 28 | 12 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 8 | ENE 6 | — | — | ESE 8 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 8 | SE 8 | — | SE 9 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 7 |
| kJ | 28 | 10 | — | — | 23 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 31 | — | 40 | 18 | 16 | 12 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | S 7 | — | — | — | — | — | E 6 | E 6 | E 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | — | — | SE 2 | SSE 3 | SSE 4 | SSE 4 | SSE 7 | — | — | N 5 | NNW 4 | NE 8 | — | — | S 2 | S 4 |
| kJ | — | — | 12 | 18 | — | — | 1 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 197 | — | — | 60 | 24 | 149 | — | — | 1 | 11 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 204 | 38 | 41 | 380 | 2 | 1181 | 1467 | 102 | 335 | 1467 | 0 | 38 | 22 | 38 | 41 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 43 |
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