Indian River (Southside) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s break down the surf on the way for Indian River (Southside).

To be straight with you, this 16-day forecast is a bit of a struggle. There’s a whole lot of rough, windy, and gutless conditions, with only a tiny glimmer of hope late in the game. The water’s running at 77°, which is a solid 5° warmer than average for this time of year – you’ll feel that tropical bath straight away.

We start with a brief, sad little window on Thursday the 10th. The morning serves up a weak 3ft S swell, barely holding itself together (combined energy of 51). Winds are offshore from the WSW at 12 mph, but the period is a short 6 seconds. It’s surfable if you’re desperate, but not a session you’d drive for. That afternoon, the swell drops even further to 2ft and the energy vanishes (36).

From Friday the 11th through to the middle of the second week, it’s a total write-off. Rain, messy onshore winds, and tiny swell. Friday morning brings a NE wind at 16 mph, chopping up a 2ft heap of nothing. The combo of tiny waves and often crowded line-ups just isn’t worth it.

There is one muscular spike on Friday the 18th when the energy jumps to 199 in the morning (5ft) and 218 in the afternoon (5ft). However, this is a short-period 6-7 seconds from the ENE, and the wind is cross-offshore and strong at 19-22 mph. Over 5ft makes this advanced-only territory, and with that short, punchy period, it’s going to be lumpy, not clean.

Monday the 21st brings the biggest numbers of the whole run – 7ft with 557 energy in the morning and 630 in the afternoon. That’s some serious water movement, but the near gale NE winds at 31 mph are blowing cross-onshore, turning the ocean into a washing machine. At 7ft, this is experts-only and honestly, it’s more kite-surfing weather than a surfable day.

The single real standout comes on Tuesday the 22nd in the afternoon. The wind finally swings offshore from the W at 16 mph, the swell holds at a clean 4ft from the ENE with a 9-second period, and the combined energy sits at a solid 236. The forecast calls it “good surf conditions” and for an advanced break like this, that’s your call to action. It’s not a long groundswell, but the offshore flow will clean it right up.

Everything after that fades into small 2ft leftovers on Wednesday the 23rd with strong offshores, and then the final days on Thursday the 24th and Friday the 25th are blown out by 25 mph onshore winds and tiny 2ft junk.

So here’s the real talk: from the 11th to the 17th there’s a dry spell of pure crap. The only window worth paddling out for is the afternoon of Tuesday the 22nd – clean offshore wind, moderate 4ft ENE swell, and a real chance at some groomed, lined-up sets. If you’re advanced and you’ve got patience, that’s your one good bet in the whole forecast.

Rusty.

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