South Padre Island Surf Break

Lat Long: 26.67° N 97.29° W

South Padre Island Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 12 pm 18 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's South Padre Island sea temperature is
29.0° C
0.3° 

South Padre Island surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


South Padre Island surf forecast from 18 Aug 2026:

  • Most powerful swell: Friday 21 Aug, 7PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 5s period, SE swell with 55 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 1.1m 5s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Aug 21) at 7PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.3m 3s period and expected on Saturday (Aug 22) at 7AM.

Wave TypeTime (CDT) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+)--
Best Surf--
Most Powerful 7PM (Fri 21st Aug)3.5ft (1.1m) 5s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for South Padre Island over the next 16 days.


The Lowdown

Gutted, folks. I’ve stared at this forecast for South Padre Island until my eyes went square, and the news ain't good. We’ve got a solid 16-day window here, but it’s looking like a whole lot of flat, blown-out nothing. The swell window is just not lining up for us at all.

The first week is a write-off. From Tuesday the 18th through to the following Monday the 24th, the swell is tiny—mostly under 3ft—and it’s coming in with periods of 4-5 seconds, which is just chop. On top of that, the wind is cross-shore or cross-on from the southeast every single day, with speeds anywhere from 9 mph up to a gusty 25 mph. You’ll be fighting the surface texture more than riding any wave. There’s no energy at all, with the combined energy reading at 10 to 45. It’s a beach and jetty setup, so even the little bumps we get are going to be messy and lumpy. This is more of a kite-surfing kind of a scene than a paddle-surfing one, to be honest. The water temp is 84°, which is about normal for this time of year, but that’s the only thing that’s normal.

The second week doesn’t offer any real hope either. From Tuesday the 25th right through to Tuesday the 1st of September, it’s more of the same. The swell stays tiny and weak, with the energy values dropping down into single digits at times. The winds stay mostly cross-shore and cross-on, so everything is choppy. There’s a brief moment on the morning of Monday the 24th with a light cross-offshore breeze and a clean look, but the swell is still a pathetic 1ft with a 5-second period. Not even a longboard would be fun in that.

As we slide into the final days of the window on Wednesday the 2nd of September, it’s still a bust, just over a week away. The swell is a touch bigger at 3ft, but it’s still that short-period windswell, and the onshore winds keep it ragged. The energy is a moderate 33, but it doesn’t matter when the quality is so poor.

Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. This is a blank run. South Padre (South-Padre-Island) is just not offering up a single decent wave in this whole 16-day outlook. Everything is scoring zero. When the forecast is this consistently poor, it’s more normal for the area to just go flat than it is to see a dramatic change. But hey, that’s the coast for you. Forecasts have a way of changing, and it tends not to stay this bad for long. So keep your board waxed and your eyes on the charts. When it comes back, it’ll come back with a smile.

Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Mostly dry. Warm (max 29°C on Thu morning, min 27°C on Tue morning). Mainly fresh winds.

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Mostly dry. Warm (max 29°C on Fri morning, min 26°C on Sat night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the SE on Fri afternoon, light winds from the SSE by Sat morning).

Tuesday
18
Wednesday
19
Thursday
20
Friday
21
Saturday
22
Sunday
23
Monday
24
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.4
ESE
5
0.3
ESE
9
0.6
SE
4
0.5
SE
4
0.8
SE
4
0.8
SE
4
0.6
SE
5
1
SE
4
0.8
SE
4
0.6
ESE
5
1
SE
4
0.8
SE
5
0.8
SSE
5
0.9
SE
4
0.7
SE
4
0.4
SE
5
0.6
SE
4
0.6
SE
4
0.4
SE
5
0.6
ESE
3
0.6
SE
4
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
10
16
10
7
21
24
19
40
26
18
36
28
33
27
20
9
10
11
8
7
11
Wind (km/h)
15
SSE
30
SE
20
SSE
25
SSE
30
SE
30
SSE
20
SSE
35
SE
30
SSE
20
SSE
40
SE
25
SSE
15
SSE
30
SE
25
SSE
15
S
25
ESE
25
SSE
15
SSW
25
ESE
25
S
Wind State
cross
cross-on
cross
cross
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross
cross-on
cross-on
cross
cross
cross-on
cross
cross
cross-on
cross
cross-off
on
cross
High Tide
4:42AM0.54m
4:07AM0.57m
4:10AM0.58m
4:21AM0.59m
4:35AM0.59m
4:47AM0.59m
Low Tide
2:30PM0.20m
3:32PM0.18m
4:36PM0.17m
5:37PM0.16m
6:31PM0.15m
7:17PM0.14m
7:59PM0.13m
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
7:01
7:01
7:03
7:03
7:03
7:03
7:05
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
8:02
8:01
8:00
8:00
7:59
7:58
7:57
 mm
Temp °C
28
28
28
28
28
28
29
29
28
29
29
28
28
28
27
28
28
28
28
28
28
Feels °C
29
28
30
30
28
30
29
29
29
30
28
29
29
27
28
29
29
30
30
29
29
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for South Padre Island:

join our community of surf reporters

FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website

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.

Nearest locationNearest