Virginia Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what Virginia Beach has cooking for us. Gotta be straight with you – it’s a rough stretch ahead. We're looking at a long, flat spell right through the first week and into the second. The water is sitting at 80°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least the sessions that do happen won’t be chilly.

The main problem is that for the next several days, from Wednesday morning all the way into the start of September, we are stuck with tiny, weak dribble. We're talking 0.7ft to 2ft of mostly short-period wind swell, and the wind is nearly always from the worst directions. The combined energy is rarely above 70 (weak), so there’s just no push. It’s mostly poor surf conditions with onshore or cross-onshore breezes messing up the little bumps that do show.

Wednesday, 26 August through Tuesday, 1 September is effectively a write-off. There is a glimmer of hope on Tuesday, 1 September afternoon, where a long-period 0.7ft swell shows up with a 14-second period, but the energy is still only 27 (weak). It’s tiny, cleanish with light cross-shore wind, but you'd need a longboard and a lot of patience.

The real change, and the one thing worth circling on the calendar, is the Friday, 5 September window. By Saturday morning the swell bumps up to 3ft from the ENE with a moderate period of 9 seconds, and the combined energy hits 138 (moderate). This is the biggest push of the whole outlook. The problem is the wind. It’s a fresh breeze from the NE at 16 mph on the Saturday morning, and 22 mph by the afternoon, which is going to make it rough and lumpy at the beach. Because Virginia Beach is an exposed beach/jetty setup, that strong onshore wind is going to trash the shape. Honestly, with that much wind and chop, this setup starts looking more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing for the average surfer.

That stretch from 5 September to 7 September offers the only real size, with swell heights up to 3ft and energy peaking at 205 (moderate) during the Saturday rain showers. By Monday, 7 September, the wind backs off to a lighter breeze, making the 3ft ENE swell look cleaner. That Monday morning looks like your best bet: light cross-shore wind and a bit of leftover energy (125). It's not firing, but it's the most surfable the beach gets.

Even into the second week, size remains below 2ft, and while Tuesday, 8 September offers a clean cross-offshore wind with swell energy of 160 (moderate), the swell is still just 2ft. It’s surfable but very ordinary.

Overall, don’t get your hopes up. Pick your moment around the 7th or 8th of September for the cleanest wind and the most manageable waves. The rest is a waiting game.

Rusty.

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