Indian Wells Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it for Indian Wells.

Right off the bat, we’re looking at a pretty ordinary run of surf for the first week or so. Monday the 20th has some tiny 3ft swell from the SSW with a short 8-second period, and the water is sitting at 69°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year. The wind is glassy in the morning, so it’s clean, but the energy is weak (100). It’s surfable, but nothing to get excited about. After that, things go downhill fast with onshore winds and poor conditions right through until the middle of the week.

The real action starts to build on Wednesday the 22nd. The swell jumps up to 8ft from the SSW (energy 776), but it’s accompanied by a risk of thunderstorms and a strong cross-shore wind, making it a lumpy mess. By Wednesday afternoon, the swell hits 10ft (energy 1068), and while the wind is cross, that’s just too much size for this break. This is expert-only territory, and even then, the conditions are far from ideal.

Now, here’s the standout. Thursday morning the 23rd. The swell drops to a more manageable 8ft from the S with a 9-second period, and the wind goes offshore from the NW. That’s the magic combo. Clean, offshore conditions and a solid groundswell pushing through. The energy is still strong (1000), so there's plenty of power, but it won’t be closing out. This is the best session on offer for experienced surfers. The period is long enough to produce good shape, and with offshore wind, it’ll be glassy. This is your window.

Friday the 24th sees the swell drop back to 3ft, and the glassy morning is clean but tiny. Then we go into another long stretch of poor quality until the end of the month. Most days are plagued by onshore or cross-shore winds, and the swell is either too small or too messy. There’s a brief look on Tuesday the 28th with a 5ft SSW swell and clean cross-offshore wind, but the energy is moderate (297) and the conditions are only marginal.

Looking into the second week, the forecast becomes less certain, but Sunday the 2nd of August shows some promise. The morning has a clean 7ft SSW swell with light cross-offshore wind and moderate energy (379). It’s worth keeping an eye on, but don’t book your flights yet.

Overall, the only real standout here is Thursday morning the 23rd. Get on it if you can. The rest of the outlook is a lot of waiting for the wind to play nice.

Rusty.

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