Gulf Coast
Galveston surf report
2.3ft
Fun-sized — 2.3 ft.
Sunday, September 27 · local time at the spot
Right now
Swell
2.3 ft
5 s · ESE115°
Wind
7.8 kt
SSE 150° · gusting 9.7 kt
Water temperature
86.5°F
30.3 °C
Daylight
7:10 AM
sunrise · sunset 7:09 PM
Rip current risk
No rip current risk level for this beach. HGX does not publish a Surf Zone Forecast. The National Weather Service publishes this for some coastlines and not others, so the assessment falls to you and the lifeguards — how to spot a rip current, what to do if you are caught, and what the flags mean.
Tide
Currently falling — next low at 11:54 AM (0.684 ft)
| Time | Tide | Height |
|---|---|---|
| 5:14 AM | high | 1.531 ft |
| 11:54 AM | low | 0.684 ft |
| 7:03 PM | high | 1.687 ft |
Tide values are predictions. Wind, pressure and surge move the real water level, sometimes by a lot — see the disclaimer.
Forecast
Model output, not a measurement — NOAA WaveWatch III
| Day | Height | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | 1.3 ft | 4 s | NW 312° |
| Mon | 1.1 ft | 3.5 s | NNW 339° |
| Tue | 2.5 ft | s | |
| Wed | 4.3 ft | s | |
| Thu | 4.8 ft | s | |
| Fri | 2.7 ft | 6.3 s | NNW 337° |
A model computes; it does not observe. Accuracy drops with range, and nearshore transformation is where it is weakest.
What to wear
At 86.5 °F (30.3 °C), most people at Galveston are comfortable in a boardshorts or a swimsuit.
No suit needed
for 75 °F and warmer
Warm enough to surf with nothing on. A long session in the sun still costs you more heat than it feels like.
The temperature is measured. The suit recommendation is not — it follows the manufacturers' convention, which varies by a degree or two between brands, and it knows nothing about wind, session length or how you personally run. The full chart and what it leaves out.
Surf cam
The break
- Type
- Gentle Gulf beach break
- Best swell
- S to SE groundswell, mostly wind-driven chop
- Best wind
- Offshore N
- Tide
- Mid tide
- Level
- Beginner
Hazards
- Small most of the year
- Rip currents on tropical-storm and hurricane swells
- Murky, brown water from river outflow
Local knowledge, not a measurement. Conditions decide the day — check the National Weather Service for warnings and the lifeguards for whether to go in.
Every source behind this page
- Solunar computed · read 8:39 AM
- NDBC 42035 buoy wind · read 8:10 AM
- NOAA WaveWatch III 42035 model cycle 20260927 6z · model · read 8:39 AM
- NDBC 42035 buoy wave height · read 7:50 AM
- NOAA CO-OPS 8771486 tide predictions · read 8:39 AM
All of it is public NOAA and National Weather Service data, free for anyone to use. What we add is the pairing of this spot with these stations — see the terms.
Nearby spots
- Pensacola Beach 1.3 ft · 750 km
- Clearwater Beach 1 ft · 1181 km
- Siesta Key 1 ft · 1224 km
- La Jolla 2.6 ft · 2167 km
- Honolua Bay 11.8 ft · 6219 km
Surf and beach conditions change faster than this page does, and nobody watches it in real time. When the water looks different from the numbers, trust the water and the lifeguards.