Surf Forecasts:
The Pier surf forecast from 20 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 23 Jul, 11AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 6s period, S swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 22 Jul, 5PM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 6s period, S swell with 146 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 23 Jul, 11AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 6s period with S swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for The Pier this week:
The surf forecast for The Pier over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Jul 23) at 11AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.0m and 6s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 8s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at The Pier in the next 16 days are 1.5m 6s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 22) at 5PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.5m 6s period and expected on Wednesday (Jul 22) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11AM (Thu 23rd Jul) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 11AM (Thu 23rd Jul) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 6s |
| Most Powerful | 5PM (Wed 22nd Jul) | 5ft (1.5m) 6s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Pier over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G’day, Rusty here, and I gotta be straight with you – the next couple of weeks at The Pier are looking pretty grim. The swell is tiny, the wind is mostly onshore or cross-shore, and we’ve got long stretches of nothing. The water is sitting at 85°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least it’s a nice temp for a float.
Starting off, we’ve got a bit of small, weak swell Sunday afternoon, 19th July. It’s only 4ft from the south with a short, snappy 5-second period, and the combined energy is moderate (101). Problem is, the wind is a fresh cross-onshore, making it lumpy and poor – not worth paddling out for.
Monday the 20th and Tuesday the 21st are even worse, with tiny waves and the same onshore junk. Wednesday the 22nd pushes up to 5ft, but the wind is fresh cross-onshore again, and the energy is moderate (171). Still poor.
Thursday morning the 23rd is the first bit of hope. The swell drops to 3ft from the south, but the wind swings cross-offshore, and the conditions are clean. The energy is weak (92). It’s only surfable, not great, but it’s the best we’ve seen. After that, it’s back to tiny, poor surf right through to the end of July.
Then we hit a real gap. From Friday the 24th right through to Friday the 31st, there’s almost nothing – we’re talking waves under 2ft, mostly with poor wind. There’s a couple of glassy moments on the 25th, 26th, and 27th, but the swell is only 1ft to 2ft – not enough to ride.
Finally, on Saturday morning, 1st August, we get a little pulse. The swell is 5ft from the east, with a 5-second period, and the energy is weak (100). The wind is light and cross-offshore, so it’s clean. It’s surfable but very ordinary. That’s about it for the window.
Honestly, if you’re looking for a wave, this is a tough run. The Pier is exposed, but the swell direction is all wrong, and the wind is always messing it up. For a beginner, the 5ft days on the 22nd might be okay if you don’t mind the chop, but it’s not great. For everyone else, the best bet is the clean 3ft morning on the 23rd or the 5ft clean morning on the 1st of August. Not much to get excited about, but that’s the hand we’ve been dealt.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 6mm), mostly falling on Mon morning. Warm (max 33°C on Sun afternoon, min 27°C on Sun night). Mainly fresh winds. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 43mm), heaviest during Thu night. Warm (max 32°C on Wed afternoon, min 23°C on Fri morning). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the SSW on Wed afternoon, calm by Sat morning). | |||||||||||||||||||
Sun 19 | Monday 20 | Tuesday 21 | Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | Friday 24 | Saturday 25 | ||||||||||||||
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) | S 5 | S 5 | S 5 | S 5 | S 5 | S 6 | S 6 | S 6 | S 7 | S 6 | S 6 | S 6 | SSW 6 | S 6 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSW 5 | SSW 5 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 99 | 64 | 47 | 52 | 77 | 0 | 130 | 0 | 0 | 146 | 98 | 71 | 97 | 60 | 28 | 48 | 43 | 39 | 45 | 64 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 1:46AM1.40m | 2:32PM1.45m | 2:30AM1.34m | 3:20PM1.47m | 3:16AM1.30m | 4:06PM1.48m | 4:04AM1.27m | 4:53PM1.49m | 4:52AM1.26m | 5:42PM1.50m | 5:42AM1.25m | 6:32PM1.51m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 7:29PM0.19m | 7:46AM0.05m | 8:22PM0.25m | 8:30AM0.08m | 9:18PM0.29m | 9:17AM0.11m | 10:14PM0.30m | 10:05AM0.14m | 11:09PM0.29m | 10:55AM0.16m | 00:01AM0.27m | 11:45AM0.16m | 00:51AM0.24m | |||||||
 |  |  |  |  | | |  |  | |  | | | |  | | | | |  | |
 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — |
 | 8:24 | — | — | 8:23 | — | — | 8:23 | — | — | 8:22 | — | — | 8:22 | — | — | 8:22 | — | — | 8:21 | — |
mm | — | 1 | 3 | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 5 | — | 4 | 19 |
Temp °C | 33 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 28 | 30 | 31 | 29 | 30 | 32 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 25 | 27 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 23 |
Feels °C | 32 | 29 | 31 | 31 | 29 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 32 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 33 | 31 | 25 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | — | — | — | — | — | SE 7 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 7 | S 6 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | S 6 | ESE 8 | SSW 5 |
| kJ | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | 25 | 17 | 21 | 22 | 14 | 59 | 48 | 43 | 30 | 22 | 43 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SE 8 | — | — | ESE 8 | — | ESE 7 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 28 | — | — | 39 | — | 21 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 5 | S 5 | S 5 | S 5 | S 5 | S 6 | S 6 | S 6 | S 7 | S 6 | S 6 | S 6 | SSW 6 | S 6 | — | S 6 | SSW 5 | — | SSW 5 | SSW 5 |
| kJ | 99 | 64 | 47 | 52 | 77 | 89 | 130 | 170 | 104 | 146 | 98 | 71 | 97 | 60 | — | 34 | 21 | — | 45 | 64 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 764 | 196 | 402 | 917 | 320 | 436 | 1343 | 217 | 436 | 393 | 23 | 4 | 155 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 82 | 1 |
Best forecast wave conditions in South Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||
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 The Pier 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 The Pier Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for The Pier provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at The Pier can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our The Pier 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 (The Pier) 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 The Pier 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.
The Pier is 14 km (9 miles) from Georgetown. If you plan a vacation in South Carolina, look for hotels and other accommodation in Georgetown. Georgetown has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest