How to Read a Surf Forecast: Beginner’s Edition
Surf forecasts or surf reports are the surfer’s version of a crystal ball.
You’re essentially looking into the future to determine the best time and place to surf.
Unfortunately, surf forecasts aren’t 100% accurate (yet). And the best surfers will tell you that simply glancing the ratings for a particular day or relying solely on swell height is not enough to make an informed decision.
The problem, however, is that it’s easy to rely on the ratings if you’re a beginner.
How else can you decode the various nuances of a surf report when you’re still struggling to catch your first green wave?
The answer, good friend, is to read this article.
What is a surf forecast?
A surf forecast or surf report is a prediction of the conditions at a particular beach or surfing spot.
It typically includes information distilled into a report that’s easily digestible for your average John and Jane surfer. This information includes:
- Rating: Usually given in stars or a numerical system, the rating is an overall summary of how good the surf conditions are expected to be
- Wind: Wind strength, direction and gusts are used to determine whether a surf spot will be onshore or offshore
- Tides: The tides play a major role in the quality of surf. Knowing the tide times, heights and the difference between incoming tide and outgoing tide can help you plan when to hit the waves
- Swell period: Swell period refers to the time between waves and is measured in seconds. In a nutshell, higher periods mean more powerful waves while shorter periods mean weaker waves
- Swell size/height: This is the height of a single wave, usually measured in feet or meters
- Swell direction: Swell direction simply refers to the direction from which the swell is coming. From beach breaks to reef breaks, swell direction plays a subtle role in creating better shaped waves
How long have surf reports existed?
Wave, wind and tide reports have existed as part of oceanic weather reports for ships and boats for hundreds of years. Sailors needed to know what was coming in order to plan their voyage carefully and avoid storms.
The first surf forecast specifically for surfers can be traced to Sean Collins. Collins used fax machines, weather maps and shortwave radio to give Californian surfers in the 1970s and 80s information about wind direction, tidal movement, swell size, swell period and overall surf conditions in the area.
You just called the phone number 967-SURF and listened to recorded surfing conditions in your area.
What are the best surf forecasting websites?
Check any surfer’s browsing history and we guarantee their most visited sites will include a surf forecasting website.
There are hundreds of sites around the world ranging from small DIY projects to big businesses with teams of meteorologists.
When it comes to the best surf forecasting site, we’ve ranked the top three from most popular to least popular:
- Surfline: With live HD cameras, daily forecasts and advanced tools like wave height contour maps, Surfline is the go-to for surfers around the world. They have forecasts for over 3,000 spots globally, however, it’s their content creation and website/mobile app experience that sets them apart.
- Surf-Forecast: Provides detailed surf forecasts for over 7,000 spots worldwide and offers a free trial period. With a combination of detailed forecasts and user data, Surf-Forecast gives surfers a broad cross section of information to pull from. That said, it’s not the most user-friendly or visually appealing website.
- Windguru: One of the best websites for wind and weather forecasts for surfers, windsurfers, kitesurfers and sailors. When used in conjunction with Surfline or Surf-Forecast you can get a more detailed view into the overall surf conditions. Windguru isn’t the most user-friendly for beginners, but when combined with other surf forecasting websites it makes a good backup.
Surf forecasting: What you need to know (and what you don’t)
Confession.
We “Check the forecast” at least 10-20 times per day… even when we’re not planning on surfing.
We do this because seeing good conditions on the horizon is enough to completely turn your day around.
It’s like getting a notification that you just won the lottery (well, almost), except instead of winning cash you win epic waves and good times with friends.
That said, you don’t need to know every single detail of a surf forecast to have fun.
If you’re new to surfing, the most important elements to focus on are as follows. We’ve given you a breakdown of each point below alongside a “Key takeaway” section that summarizes what you really need to know about each feature.
Ratings
A rating system is in place to give surfers a quick overview of the overall conditions at a particular spot.
Ratings can vary depending on the site or app you’re using, usually ranging from 1-5 stars or a rating system like ‘poor’, ‘fair’ and ‘good’. These ratings are based on a combination of factors such as swell size, swell period, wind direction and tides.
What they don’t factor in, however, is the skill level of surfers, the quality of the sand banks or the type of waves at that spot.
Key takeaway: Ratings are good for providing a quick overview but shouldn’t be relied on too much.
Wind
Wind affects the quality of surf conditions in a major way.
The direction and strength of wind can make or break a surfing session. The two main wind types relevant to beginner surfers are onshore and offshore winds.
An onshore wind blows from the ocean towards the shore, creating choppy and messy waves. An offshore wind, on the other hand, blows from the shore out to sea – creating clean and organized waves.
Naturally, offshore winds are preferable since they groom the waves and make them easier to ride.
Wind speeds are also measured in knots or kilometers per hour (km/h), so make sure to check the unit of measurement used in the forecast.
Key takeaway: Offshore winds are best, but no wind or light onshore winds can also offer fun conditions.
Tides
Want to read a surf report like a pro? Consider how different tides affect a spot.
Some spots work best at low tide, others at high tide and some can work on both.
Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun on the Earth’s oceans. In countries close to the equator, tides tend to have less variation compared to those further away. This makes them more easily predictable for surfers.
Tides also change daily depending on the phases of the moon and can greatly impact how waves break.
For example, if a wave is breaking over a shallow reef, it may only be surfable during high tides when there is more water covering the reef. At low tides, the wave may break too close to the shallow reef and be unrideable.
Knowing what tide various surf breaks work best on is one key to decoding whether a surf session will be good or not.
Key takeaway: Knowing how tides affect a certain surf break helps you understand when it will be best to surf there.
Swell period
We deliberated over whether to include the swell period in this list since it’s not something that beginner surfers should focus on too much.
That said, you’re going to see little numbers next to a swell size number like “3ft at 10 seconds”. So we thought we’d break it down for you.
Swell periods are essentially the time between sets of waves. It’s measured in seconds. A high or long period swell can also be called a ground swell. A low or short period is called wind swell.
The higher the swell period, the more powerful and well-defined the wave shape will be.
Conversely, a short period swell leads to more disorganized waves.
For example, a 3ft wave at 10 seconds will result in better quality and more powerful unbroken waves than a 3ft wave at 5 seconds. This is because a high period swell creates more energy, which means better-formed waves.
A short wave period swell, on the other hand, is created by localized winds and doesn’t travel as far. With this type of swell you can expect waves that are weaker.
Swells can also be broken up into primary and secondary swell too, but we’ll talk about that at a later time.
Key takeaway: Swell period affects the quality of waves, but focus on swell size as a beginner.
Wave height/size
Along with wind direction, wave height is one of the most important factors in determining surf conditions.
Wave height or size is usually measured in feet or meters and gives an indication of how big waves will be at a certain spot on a particular day.
Most forecast websites provide a range of wave heights, for example “2-4ft”. This means that there could be some variation in average wave height depending on the specific location within that spot.
As a beginner surfer, it’s best to stick with smaller wave heights (around 1-3ft) to practice your skills and build confidence.
Keep in mind that swell height and wave size can be completely different.
This is because swell height is measured by open ocean or deep water swells, whereas wave size is measured by offshore buoys closer to shore where waves are affected by the sea floor and other conditions.
Key takeaway: Wave height is one of the main factors in determining surf conditions, so pay attention to this when checking a forecast. A wave height of 1-3ft is ideal for beginners.
Swell direction
Last but not least we have a swell direction.
This refers to the origin of the swell and the direction it is traveling towards a particular spot.
Swell direction can greatly impact how waves break at a surf spot. For example, if a west facing coastline is receiving swell from the north, the waves will generally break down (southwards) the beach.
Likewise, if a surf break is located in a north-facing bay that’s protected from south swells, a south swell (unless it’s very large) might not produce any waves at that spot.
Given that our Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Barbados retreat locations receive swell from different directions, you needn’t worry too much about this.
Key takeaway: Swell direction is important to consider for more experienced surfers looking for specific types of waves, but not as crucial for beginners. Focus on the other factors first before delving too deeply into swell direction.
Wrapping up: How to determine the best time to surf?
Knowing how to read surf forecast is a crucial step in bridging the gap between weekend warrior and true surf devotee.
If you can decode a forecast, you’ll be able to better plan your surf trip, read the ocean conditions and score epic surf days at your local beach. Things like primary swell, long period waves, cross shore winds and more will all make sense to you as you progress.
For now, knowing how the aforementioned factors affect a beach break, reef break or point break will determine what kind of waves you’ll get on a given day.
