Surf Forecasts:
South Padre Island surf forecast from 3 Sep 2026:
- Most powerful swell: Friday 4 Sep, 1PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 5s period, SSE swell with 34 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 0.8m 5s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Sep 04) at 1PM. 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 | 1PM (Fri 4th Sep) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 5s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for South Padre Island over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight with ya – the outlook for the next two weeks is a bit of a bummer. We're looking at a long, flat stretch with nothing really worth paddling out for. The whole forecast period from now through to the 18th of September is filled with poor surf conditions. There's no standout, no hidden gem, just a whole lot of "meh" on the charts.
For the south end of the Island, South Padre Island is your only option in the data, and it's an inconsistent beach and jetty setup. The entire run is a write-off. From Thursday the 3rd right through to Thursday the 17th of September, every single session shows "poor surf conditions". The swell is tiny, barely flickering above 3 ft, and most of the time it's hanging around 1 ft to 3 ft, which is just not enough to wrap around and do anything fun on a beach break.
The wind is the real killer here. It's almost constantly cross or cross-onshore, from the SSE or SE, and when it does go onshore it's from the ESE. That's a recipe for lumpy, choppy, grovelly conditions. The combined wave energy is weak, often in the low double digits, with the highest reading of 123 on the afternoon of the 12th of September. That's moderate energy, but it's only 5 ft of swell with a short 6-second period and a fresh cross-onshore breeze kicking it up. It'll be a mess. On the afternoon of the 11th of September, there's 4 ft of swell and 96 energy, but again, the wind is cross-onshore. On the 12th and 13th of September we see a little bump, but it's still not clean. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so that's one small comfort, but it's not enough to make you want to fight that chop.
Honestly, this whole setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. There's just no window of clean, ridable waves here. The wait continues.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Sat morning. Warm (max 29°C on Thu morning, min 28°C on Wed night). Mainly fresh winds. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Mon morning. Warm (max 29°C on Sun morning, min 28°C on Sat night). Mainly fresh winds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 3 | Friday 4 | Saturday 5 | Sunday 6 | Monday 7 | Tuesday 8 | Wednesday 9 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SE 5 | SE 4 | SE 4 | SE 5 | ESE 5 | SE 5 | SE 5 | SE 5 | ESE 3 | SE 5 | ESE 5 | SE 6 | SE 6 | ESE 3 | ESE 4 | ESE 5 | ESE 5 | ESE 6 | ESE 5 | SE 6 | SE 4 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 21 | 31 | 22 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 17 | 22 | 17 | 31 | 13 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 2:06AM0.60m | 2:45AM0.63m | 3:20AM0.65m | 3:50AM0.63m | 4:13AM0.60m | 4:28AM0.56m | 1:27PM0.55m | ||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 2:31PM0.12m | 3:46PM0.10m | 5:04PM0.07m | 6:17PM0.06m | 7:22PM0.06m | 9:21AM0.53m | 8:21PM0.09m | 9:05AM0.48m | 9:15PM0.14m | ||||||||||||
 | |  |  | |  |  |  |  | | | |  | | | | |  |  | | | |
 | 7:09 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | 7:11 | — | — | 7:11 | — | — | 7:11 | — | — |
 | — | 7:46 | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | 7:44 | — | — | 7:42 | — | — | 7:40 | — | — | 7:39 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | — |
Temp °C | 29 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
Feels °C | 30 | 29 | 29 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 32 | 30 | 32 | 33 | 29 | 30 | 33 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 30 | 30 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 8 | SE 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 7 | E 7 | E 7 | E 7 | SE 6 | E 6 | E 5 | — | — | SE 7 | E 8 | E 8 | E 9 | E 8 | E 8 | SE 6 | E 8 |
| kJ | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 1 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | E 7 | E 7 | — | E 8 | — | — | E 8 | — | E 8 | — | — | — | E 8 | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | E 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 5 | SE 4 | SE 4 | SE 5 | ESE 5 | SE 5 | SE 5 | SE 5 | ESE 3 | SE 5 | ESE 5 | SE 6 | SE 6 | ESE 3 | ESE 4 | ESE 5 | ESE 5 | ESE 6 | ESE 5 | ESE 5 | SE 4 |
| kJ | 21 | 31 | 22 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 17 | 22 | 17 | 19 | 13 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 974 | 1059 | 971 | 974 | 1063 | 971 | 974 | 1063 | 971 | 974 | 1062 | 971 | 974 | 1062 | 971 | 971 | 971 | 971 | 974 | 1062 | 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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