Palm Beach, FL Surf Forecast (2024)

FAQs

How big are the waves at Palm Beach? ›

SURFLINE. One of the most well-established surf reports and forecasts and was founded in 1985 by the late Sean Collins. Surfline is based in Southern California and provides a comprehensive wave forecasting website for users worldwide.

A surf report, however, is not a 100 percent accurate maritime weather forecast tool. Instead, surf reports represent interpretations of data collected over time from a given surf spot, and so each surf report site will have tuned the weather algorithms it uses to make sense of its prevailing conditions.

Sited alongside stunning, high dollar real estate, Palm Beach's Reef Road is one of the few places in the state where the surf can achieve true "big wave" status, maxing out at 15 feet. It's known by many as the best surfing in Florida. Here's a guide to surfing there.

Palm Beach stretches along 2.3km and caters for many different levels of surfers. For beginners, you'll want to head to the southern end AKA “kiddies corner” for some family fun and constant gentle waves for you to practice the basics on. Perfect for more mature learners too.

Now, how this affects surfing?… Well, every break has it's favored tides, which is mainly due to the bathymetry of that specific break. However, usually most spots favor a 'low going high' or when the tide is on the rise, 'filling in'. This is the believed “tidal push” which may help the forward momentum of waves.

Not necessarily — it depends on where you plan to surf. High tides are great if you're headed towards a reef break. The only exception is if it's near a bluff, in which case the waves rarely break before hitting land. Conversely, medium to low tides are better if you're surfing near a beach break.

Generally speaking the perfect size for beginners is 1 to 2ft. For intermediates: 2-4ft waves are best as it gives you more face of the wave to progress your skills on. You should keep an eye on the 'Swell Period', because it's a lot more indicative of the actual wave size (see the next point).

Thus, a "3-foot" wave is roughly six feet high (in actuality a height of ~1.8 m), i.e., head-high to a 6-foot (~180 cm) person; a "2-foot" wave is roughly four feet high (height of ~1.2 m), i.e., chest-high to such a person; and a "6- to 8-foot" wave would be 2 to approaching 3 times head-high to such a person (height ...

What wind is too strong for surfing? ›

But generally for surfing, you want light offshore winds under 15mph for clean, groomed waves. Anything more than that (say, a gusty offshore wind over 25mph) will make it harder to paddle into waves and, on weaker swells, harder to generate speed on the waves.

Simply put, the best time of day to surf is in the early morning and late evening. The surf is the best at these times because the winds are calm during the beginning and end of the day.

The best tides to surf in can vary depending on the location, but in general, mid to high tides are ideal for beginners as they provide more forgiving waves. However, experienced surfers may prefer lower tides as they produce faster and more challenging waves.

HALF MOON BAY, Calif.

– The shape of the California coastline, in combination with a rock formation about 20 miles south of San Francisco, can lead to surf reaching nearly 60 feet high that's known by locals as the Maverick waves.

South Beach:

Located in Penrod Park, just east of where I-95 ends, South Beach has the potential to deliver barreling, board-breaking peaks. During north or northeast swell conditions, the A-frames are shapeliest on the incoming tide with offshore (west to northwest) winds.

The waves range from 0.5 to almost 2 metres with an average length or ride ranging from 35m to 85m depending on the wave and skill of the surfer. The average duration of a ride is 10-13 seconds.