Indian Wells Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a coffee and settle in, because the next 16 days at Indian Wells are a bit of a mixed bag. We're looking at a long stretch of pretty ordinary conditions before things finally start to show some life. The water temp is sitting right around average for this time of year, 71°, so nothing wild there.

The first few days are a write-off. Tuesday and Wednesday this week are tiny, with weak, short-period swell from the southeast. The wave energy is sitting in the 40s and 60s, which is just flat-out weak. Winds are messy, cross-off or cross, and the waves are just not worth paddling out for. Thursday and Friday are a bit bigger, but the wind swings onshore, making things choppy and ugly. The swell energy does climb into the moderate range by Friday morning, but it’s a short-period SE windswell with a cross-onshore breeze – a recipe for a frustrating session.

The weekend of the 29th and 30th is a little better with some cleaner conditions and light winds, but the swell is still tiny and inconsistent. The wave energy drops right back down into the weak zone. You might get a couple of grovelly waves, but it’s nothing to get excited about.

Now, we’ve got a bit of a gap through the end of August and into the first week of September. The morning of Tuesday, September 1st is the first real standout. We’ll see a jump in swell to 4ft from the SSW, and the wave energy jumps into the strong zone. The wind is a clean cross-off from the west, and the comment says to expect good surf conditions. That’s a solid window for a session. The period is short (7 seconds), so it’s more of a windswell than a groundswell, but with that energy and clean wind, it’ll be a fun day for intermediate surfers.

After that, the wind turns ugly again. Wednesday and Thursday of that week are a mess with onshore winds and a long-period SE swell (12 seconds) that just gets chopped up. The energy is moderate, but the wind kills it.

The following week is a bit of a desert. The wind is strong and messy, and the swell energy is weak again. But then, hold on – the morning of Wednesday, September 9th is the true gem of the entire forecast. We’ve got a clean 4ft SSW swell with a pure offshore wind from the northwest (12 mph). The wave energy is back in the moderate zone, and the conditions are described as "gentle offshore and clean." That’s your best bet. With that offshore wind, the sandbar at Indian Wells will be grooming up nicely, though it’s a fairly consistent spot so there might be a few others out there.

So, to sum it up: the first week is mainly a write-off. The best two windows are the morning of Tuesday, September 1st and the morning of Wednesday, September 9th. The 9th is the clear winner thanks to the offshore wind.

Rusty.

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