US East Coast surf forecast

Surfing in US East Coast

The US East Coast faces the Atlantic from New York down to Florida, and its surf depends on storms rather than steady groundswell. The best season is usually late summer and autumn, roughly August to November, when hurricanes and tropical systems well offshore send long-period swell to the whole coast. October often combines that swell with the first cold fronts. Winter nor'easters bring bigger, colder surf to the northern half, and the cleanest days usually come a day or two after a storm passes and the wind swings offshore. Summer outside hurricane swells is often small.

This page covers Rockaway Beach in New York, the Outer Banks and Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina, Folly Beach near Charleston, Tybee Island in Georgia and New Smyrna Beach, Cocoa Beach and Sebastian Inlet on Florida's Space Coast. Almost all are sandy beach breaks, so shifting sandbanks, piers and jetties shape the waves. Rockaway works best on east and south-east swells around its jetties. The Outer Banks stick out into the Atlantic and catch more swell than anywhere nearby, with powerful, shifting banks that suit experienced surfers. Wrightsville Beach, Tybee Island and Cocoa Beach are gentler and popular with beginners on small days. The Washout at Folly Beach and Sebastian Inlet's First Peak, beside the north jetty, are among the region's better-quality waves.

Tide matters a lot on these shallow sandbars, and rip currents are the biggest hazard, especially around low tide and near inlets and jetties. Water is cold in the north for much of the year. Newport, Annapolis and Biscayne Bay appear in this area as sailing venues rather than surf spots.