Surf Forecasts:
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – this is a tough one for Zion. The whole 16-day window is a total write-off for surf. Not a single wave to be found in the forecast. The combined swell energy is stuck at zero (0) the entire time, so there’s just nothing to work with. The water’s sitting at 69°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year, but that doesn’t help when there’s no swell.
We start off Wednesday the 5th with a risk of thunderstorms and glassy conditions, but it’s flat. Thursday the 6th through to the weekend is all “poor surf conditions” – you’ll see some light winds, a bit of cross-shore action, maybe some clean conditions on Friday the 7th, but it’s all for nothing without a wave. Saturday the 8th and Sunday the 9th are the same story: flat.
The second week doesn’t offer any hope either. Monday the 10th through to Thursday the 20th is just a repeat – “poor surf conditions” on every single block. We get a few glassy moments again on Tuesday the 18th, with a bit of light offshore wind, but still, zero energy. You’ll see some cross-offshore winds around the 14th and 15th that would clean it up nicely, but with no swell, it’s just a pretty lake.
This is one of those blank runs where the area just goes quiet. It’s not unusual for Zion to have extended flat spells, and this is a classic example. Forecasts can change, but as it stands, don’t bother checking the tide charts. Leave the boards in the shed and go do something else.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Fri afternoon. Warm (max 28°C on Fri afternoon, min 20°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 40mm), heaviest during Sat night. Warm (max 27°C on Sun afternoon, min 20°C on Sat night). Mainly fresh winds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 6 | Friday 7 | Saturday 8 | Sunday 9 | Monday 10 | Tuesday 11 | Wednesday 12 | |||||||||||||||
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) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | cross | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | off | off | off | cross-on | cross-on | off | cross | cross | cross |
High Tide | |||||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | |||||||||||||||||||||
 |  |  |  |  |  | | | |  | |  |  | | | | |  | | | | |
 | 5:47 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — |
 | — | 8:05 | — | — | 8:04 | — | — | 8:02 | — | — | 8:00 | — | — | 8:00 | — | — | 7:59 | — | — | 7:57 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | — | — | 21 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 2 | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 24 | 24 | 23 | 27 | 28 | 24 | 28 | 28 | 22 | 25 | 27 | 23 | 23 | 26 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 23 |
Feels °C | 26 | 25 | 26 | 29 | 30 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 22 | 26 | 28 | 20 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 24 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1869 | 561 | 1153 | 2155 | 1153 | 1153 | 1153 | 1153 | 1163 | 1163 | 1163 | 1283 | 1860 | 1401 | 2727 | 2782 | 1261 | 1261 | 1967 | 1228 | 1260 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Lake Michigan | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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 Zion 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 Zion Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Zion provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Zion can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Zion 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 (Zion) 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 Zion 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.
Zion is 6 km (4 miles) from the city of Kenosha. If you plan a vacation in Lake Michigan, look for hotels and other accommodation in Kenosha. Kenosha has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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