Surf Forecasts:
South Padre Island surf forecast from 13 Jul 2026:
- Most powerful swell: Friday 17 Jul, 10AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 7s period, ESE swell with 150 kJ wave energy.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for South Padre Island this week:
The most powerful waves expected at South Padre Island in the next 16 days are 1.3m 7s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 17) at 10AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (CDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | - | - |
| Best Surf | - | - |
| Most Powerful | 10AM (Fri 17th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 7s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for South Padre Island over the next 16 days.
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you – we've got a long stretch ahead, and it's not looking great for paddling out.
Alright, let's get into it. For the next 16 days, South Padre Island is looking at a pretty grim run. The finder is not showing any good surf options in the whole window. The wind is stuck in a cross-onshore pattern from the SSE or SE, never letting up, and the swell is small and weak. The combined energy of all swells directed here is mostly in the double digits, like 65 on Monday morning, bumping up to 224 on Wednesday afternoon but that's still poor quality. It's more of a choppy, lumpy mess than anything rideable. The water temperature is about average for the time of year.
The period is short, around 6 to 7 seconds, so it's all windswell, no real energy. The swell heights are mostly under 3 ft, occasionally hitting 4 ft, but with that constant onshore wind, it's just a washing machine. For a beginner spot that's already inconsistent, this is a total write-off. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, honestly.
If you're desperate, keep an eye on Wednesday afternoon the 15th of July when the swell hits 5 ft from the ESE, but the risk of thunderstorms and a 16 mph cross-on wind will make it ugly. The rest of the period, from Thursday the 16th right through to Tuesday the 28th of July, is a steady diet of tiny, weak, and choppy surf. There's simply nothing to get excited about. For this area, a blank run like this is pretty normal when the wind doesn't cooperate, but forecasts can change, so don't scrap your board just yet.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Wed afternoon. Warm (max 28°C on Sun night, min 27°C on Sun night). Mainly fresh winds. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 3mm), mostly falling on Wed night. Warm (max 28°C on Wed night, min 27°C on Wed night). Mainly fresh winds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 13 | Tuesday 14 | Wednesday 15 | Thursday 16 | Friday 17 | Saturday 18 | Sunday 19 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 6 | SE 6 | SE 6 | SE 6 | SE 6 | ESE 5 | ESE 6 | SE 6 | ESE 6 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 5 | ESE 6 | ESE 6 | ESE 6 | SE 6 | SE 7 | SE 6 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 63 | 83 | 83 | 56 | 75 | 59 | 93 | 144 | 110 | 138 | 107 | 107 | 150 | 88 | 58 | 44 | 47 | 29 | 34 | 75 | 39 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross |
High Tide | 6:02AM0.72m | 6:47AM0.70m | 7:25AM0.66m | 1:17PM0.59m | 7:50AM0.60m | 3:32PM0.56m | 8:03AM0.54m | 5:14PM0.51m | 8:05AM0.50m | 7:03PM0.47m | 7:57AM0.48m | 9:22PM0.45m | |||||||||
Low Tide | 9:20PM-0.07m | 10:17PM-0.05m | 12:43PM0.59m | 11:11PM0.01m | 12:23PM0.53m | 00:03AM0.10m | 12:55PM0.46m | 00:50AM0.20m | 1:42PM0.38m | 1:31AM0.31m | 2:37PM0.30m | 2:00AM0.41m | |||||||||
 | |  |  |  |  | |  |  | | | | | |  | | | | | | | |
 | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:46 | — | — | 6:46 | — | — | 6:47 | — | — |
 | — | 8:24 | — | — | 8:24 | — | — | 8:23 | — | — | 8:23 | — | — | 8:23 | — | — | 8:22 | — | — | 8:22 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | — |
Temp °C | 28 | 28 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 |
Feels °C | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 28 | 28 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 9 | — | E 10 | SE 8 | ESE 10 | — | — | SE 6 | — | — | — | — | ESE 7 | — | E 10 | — | ESE 8 | E 10 | ESE 8 | ESE 10 | E 10 |
| kJ | 2 | — | 8 | 30 | 9 | — | — | 144 | — | — | — | — | 150 | — | 2 | — | 6 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 2 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | E 11 | — | SE 8 | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | 2 | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SE 8 | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 6 | SE 6 | SE 6 | SE 6 | SE 6 | ESE 5 | ESE 6 | ESE 6 | ESE 6 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 5 | ESE 6 | ESE 6 | ESE 6 | SE 6 | SE 7 | SE 6 |
| kJ | 63 | 83 | 83 | 56 | 75 | 59 | 93 | 80 | 110 | 138 | 107 | 107 | 91 | 88 | 58 | 44 | 47 | 29 | 34 | 75 | 39 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 974 | 1073 | 974 | 974 | 1059 | 971 | 974 | 1059 | 971 | 974 | 342 | 971 | 974 | 1059 | 971 | 971 | 974 | 971 | 971 | 971 | 971 |
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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our South Padre Island surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the South Padre Island Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for South Padre Island provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at South Padre Island can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our South Padre Island surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (South Padre Island) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for South Padre Island may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
South Padre Island is 66 km (41 miles) from Harlingen. If you plan a vacation in Texas, look for hotels and other accommodation in Harlingen. Harlingen has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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