Isle of Palms Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight – this outlook is a rough one for Isle of Palms Pier. We're looking at a long stretch of tiny, junky surf and unfriendly winds. If you're keen to get wet, you're going to have to pick your moments, and there aren't many.

We start off pretty grim. Tuesday the 8th and Wednesday the 9th are a complete write-off. We've got rain showers and storm risks, with fresh cross-onshore winds around 22 mph. The swell is small, only 3ft to 4ft, with a short, weak 6-7 second period. It's lumpy, choppy, and just plain poor. This stretch kicks off with water temperatures at a notably warm 85°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, but that's about the only positive.

The surf drops out almost completely for a solid week after that. From Thursday the 10th right through to Saturday the 19th, we're staring at a wasteland of ankle-biters. Generally, we're looking at surf between 0.3ft and 1ft. The wave energy is weak, with combined energy values mostly in the teens and twenties. There are a few glassy mornings, like Thursday the 10th, Saturday the 12th, and Saturday the 19th, but the swell is so tiny it's hardly worth paddling out for. The only thing that looks okay for a short while is the odd clean, glassy session with light winds, but you'd be surfing foam balls. This is one of those painful blank runs where the sandbars are just doing their own thing and there’s no power in the water to push anything through.

Now, after that long, flat spell, there is a real change on the horizon. It’s still a way off, but the models are showing some solid energy moving in around the 20th of September. As we get into the back half of the month, things start to pump.

The standout window is Sunday morning, September 20th. The swell is forecast to build to 4ft, coming from the east, with a combined energy reading of 201 – that's a moderate pulse for this spot. And with light SSE winds promising glassy conditions, it’s going to be the cleanest and most substantial surf we’ve seen in this entire stretch. The period is short at 8 seconds, so it'll be a bit crumbly, but it's more than rideable. This is definitely your best bet of the fortnight.

The swell continues to fill in for the next couple of days. Monday the 21st brings similar 4ft waves from the east, with light winds. Then on Tuesday morning, the 22nd, we’re looking at the biggest pulse of the period, with swell hitting 5ft from the east and an energy reading of 249. This is a proper amount of juice. However, this is right on the edge of being too big for the beginners, and it’s definitely pushing into more challenging territory. The easterly direction is decent for the pier, but I'd still be a little cautious if you're not comfortable in solid surf.

There’s another glimmer on the morning of Wednesday the 23rd, with clean offshore light winds and a 4ft east-northeast swell to finish out the window. All in all, it’s a long, flat grind for the first week, but there is a payoff on the horizon. Mark your calendars for the morning of the 20th through the 22nd. That’s the call.

Rusty, signing off.

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