Surf Forecasts:
South Padre Island surf forecast from 17 Aug 2026:
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 20 Aug, 7PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 5s period, SE swell with 49 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 Thursday (Aug 20) at 7PM. 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 | 7PM (Thu 20th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 5s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for South Padre Island over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough stretch ahead for South Padre Island. We’re looking at a solid 16-day run with barely a glimmer of surf worth paddling out for. The whole window is plagued by onshore winds and weak, short-period swell.
Starting from Sunday, August 16th, right through to Monday, September 1st, the story is pretty much the same. The swell is tiny, mostly around 1 ft to 4 ft, but it’s coming from the ESE or SE with a period of just 4 to 6 seconds. That’s pure windswell with no punch. The combined wave energy is pitiful, mostly well under 100 (39 on Sunday morning), so there’s just no grunt in the water.
To make matters worse, the wind is almost constantly a cross-onshore breeze, anywhere from a gentle 6 mph to a strong 25 mph. Thursday afternoon the 20th sees the strongest wind and the biggest swell of the run at 4 ft, but with a 5-second period and a strong cross-onshore messing it up, it’s just blown-out junk. On Wednesday the 26th afternoon and Thursday the 27th afternoon, the wind does swing onshore, but the swell is still tiny—3 ft to 2 ft—so even with cleaner conditions, there’s nothing to ride.
The water temp is warm at 84°F, which is about normal for the time of year, so that’s one good thing. But honestly, for a surfer, there’s nothing to get excited about. This stretch looks more interesting for the kite surfers than for anyone trying to paddle into a wave with that constant cross-on breeze and weak swell.
Forget about any standout days. The best you could hope for is a tiny, ankle-biter wave on a morning with lighter wind, but it’s still going to be poor. Hang loose, check the charts again in a few days—these things can change.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 28°C on Sun afternoon, min 27°C on Sun night). Winds increasing (light winds from the SSE on Sun night, fresh winds from the SE by Tue afternoon). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 29°C on Wed afternoon, min 27°C on Wed night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the SE on Thu afternoon, light winds from the S by Fri night). | |||||||||||||||||||
Sun 16 | Monday 17 | Tuesday 18 | Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | ||||||||||||||
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) | SE 6 | ESE 6 | ESE 6 | ESE 6 | SE 4 | ESE 9 | SE 4 | SE 4 | SE 4 | SE 4 | SE 4 | SE 5 | SE 5 | SE 5 | SE 5 | SE 4 | SE 5 | SE 5 | SE 4 | SE 4 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 58 | 29 | 18 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 47 | 37 | 28 | 38 | 30 | 17 | 22 | 17 |
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 | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 7:45PM0.49m | 5:55AM0.48m | 10:13PM0.49m | 5:28AM0.51m | 4:42AM0.54m | 4:07AM0.57m | 4:10AM0.58m | 4:21AM0.59m | ||||||||||||
Low Tide | 00:57AM0.41m | 1:33PM0.22m | 00:54AM0.48m | 2:30PM0.20m | 3:32PM0.18m | 4:36PM0.17m | 5:37PM0.16m | 6:31PM0.15m | ||||||||||||
 |  | | | | | | |  | | | | | | | |  | | | | |
 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — |
 | 8:05 | — | — | 8:04 | — | — | 8:02 | — | — | 8:01 | — | — | 8:00 | — | — | 8:00 | — | — | 7:59 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 |
Feels °C | 31 | 30 | 31 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 28 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 32 | 27 | 28 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 6 | — | ESE 6 | E 9 | ESE 6 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | — | E 10 | E 9 | ESE 7 | — | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 8 | — | — |
| kJ | 58 | — | 18 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 8 | 7 | — | 2 | 2 | 5 | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | E 9 | ESE 9 | E 10 | — | — | — | — | SE 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 2 | 15 | 7 | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 6 | ESE 6 | — | ESE 6 | SE 4 | SE 5 | SE 4 | SE 4 | SE 4 | SE 4 | SE 4 | SE 5 | SE 5 | SE 5 | SE 5 | SE 4 | SE 5 | SE 5 | SE 4 | SE 4 |
| kJ | 30 | 29 | — | 18 | 9 | 13 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 47 | 37 | 28 | 38 | 30 | 17 | 22 | 17 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1059 | 971 | 974 | 971 | 971 | 974 | 1062 | 971 | 974 | 1059 | 971 | 974 | 1062 | 971 | 974 | 1059 | 971 | 974 | 1062 | 971 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Texas | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
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