Virginia Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s break down what Virginia Beach has cooking for the next couple of weeks. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it – this forecast looks pretty frustrating for the most part. We’ve got a long, quiet stretch of small, weak, and messy surf stretching over the first two weeks, and then a massive spike in size that's going to be way too big for the average surfer. The swell energy is mostly weak for a long time, and the wind just won't cooperate.

First thing, the water is sitting at 79°, which is way warmer than usual for this time of year. That’s a plus, but it doesn't fix the waves.

From Wednesday the 16th all the way through to Tuesday the 29th, it’s a real struggle. The swell is tiny, mostly between 1 ft and 4 ft, with periods mostly under 9 seconds. That’s just short-period junk. You'll see a little bump in energy on Saturday the 19th afternoon and Sunday the 20th, with swell reaching around 4 ft to 4 ft from the E, but the wind is onshore or cross-onshore, so it's going to be choppy. The combined energy during that blip gets into the low hundreds (129 on Saturday, 125 on Sunday), but with the wind, it's a write-off. There are a few clean windows, like Friday the 18th morning and Monday the 21st morning, but the swell is so small (1 ft to 2 ft) you'd be paddling for nothing.

Now, jump to Wednesday the 30th of September. That’s the big one. An ESE swell rolls in at 10 ft to 11 ft with a long 9 to 10-second period. The combined energy is enormous (1550 to 2201). The wind might be light in the morning, which could make it clean, but for a beach/jetty break like this, a 10 ft+ swell is a beast. That’s expert-only, borderline dangerous for most. It's too big for a beginner spot.

Thursday the 1st of October, it's still big at 7 ft to 8 ft with ENE wind howling at 16 mph. That cross-onshore wind makes it a total blowout despite the energy. That setup is looking more interesting for the kite surfers than us with paddles.

So what's the best on offer? Honestly, it's slim. If you just need to get wet, the cleanest small waves will be Monday the 21st morning with that 2 ft ESE swell and light offshore wind, or Wednesday the 24th morning with a similar 3 ft ENE swell and clean conditions. They’re not good, just the least-bad. The single standout in size is Wednesday the 30th, but with a huge asterisk – that's a day for expert surfers only. For everyone else, it's a spectator sport.

That's the skinny from here. We’re in a dry spell, but the forecast can flip, so don't write it off completely.
Rusty.

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