Royal Palms State Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let me tell you how it is for Royal Palms State Beach over the next couple of weeks.

Right now, things are looking pretty flat and messy. Honestly, the start of the forecast is a bit of a write-off. There's some small swell in the water, but the wave energy is weak, only registering about 172 to 184 (moderate energy), and with onshore and cross-onshore winds from the SSE and SW, it's just poor surf conditions. You’ve got a 1ft to 2ft swell with short periods of 11 to 14 seconds, but the wind just kills it. This pattern of poor surf and choppy conditions hangs around through the end of August and into the first few days of September.

We see a bit more energy bump up around September 2nd (Wednesday), with combined energy hitting 351 to 381 (moderate), but the wind is still cross-onshore, keeping it pretty ugly.

The real standout, and the only time I’d get excited, is the morning of Thursday, September 3rd. That morning, the wave energy jumps to a solid 820 (strong), with a clean 5ft swell from the SSW. The period is a nice 14 seconds, so there’s some proper groundswell in the mix. But the real selling point is the wind – it goes glassy. That means clean, smooth faces. It could be a really fun session on the reef and point there. However, the water temperature is a solid 72°F, which is a whopping 6°F warmer than normal for this time of year. That’s very unusual, so don't expect a cold one. That Thursday afternoon, the wind switches back onshore and the wind picks up to 12 mph, so that window of clean waves is short. Get on it early.

After that little pulse, it fades back into the ordinary. The rest of the first week of September is a mix of marginal conditions and poor surf, with combined energy dropping back to the 400s and 300s. The morning of September 7th (Monday) shows a little hope with clean, cross-offshore winds from the ESE and a 2ft SSW swell, but it's surfable, not epic.

The second week, from September 8th onward, is a real snoozer. Small swell, weak energy mostly in the 200s and low 300s, and a lot of cross-onshore wind. The morning of September 11th has a glassy moment and a tiny 2ft SW swell, but at 324 energy, it's a weak option for a quiet, small-wave longboard session. Don't hold your breath.

Overall, the one standout is the glassy morning of September 3rd. The rest is for the diehards or the kite surfers, because this setup with the wind and the small, choppy surf looks more interesting for them than a paddle surfer in the second week.

Rusty.

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