Surf Forecast: How to Read Surf Reports Properly

Definition

What is a Surf Forecast?

A surf forecast describes the predicted surf conditions at your chosen surf spot for every time of day. After all, before heading into the water, you want to know exactly how the waves are breaking at your selected spot. The terms surf reportor swell forecast are often used synonymously, as is the German term “Wellenvorhersage.” To accurately assess the conditions, several factors need to be considered—all of which are explained on this page.

Typically, you don’t just check the surf forecast when you’re already standing on the beach looking at the waves. It’s much more convenient to take a look the day before to get an idea of what the waves might be like the next day. That way, you can decide whether to get up before sunrise to catch a session or sleep in and check the situation later. While the surf forecast isn’t 100% accurate, it does provide a general idea of whether the waves during your surf trip will be packing some energy or if the ocean will be completely flat.

Quick Facts Surf Forecast

Provides a general outlook on surf conditions
Forecasts offer a reliable tendency, but not absolute certainty
Key parameters: swell height, swell direction, period, wind direction, and tide
Best sources: apps and websites like Surf-Forecast, Windguru, or Surfline
Use the forecast before your trip, the night before, and on the day itself

The History of Surf Forecasting

A quick look into the history of surf forecasting reveals that it's only recently become as easy as it is today. Nowadays, a single tap on an app gives you access to global surf forecasts—anytime, anywhere.

Before the internet, surfers would interpret surf forecasts using data from newspapers. These included detailed tables and satellite images that helped surfers roughly estimate how the waves might develop in the coming days. However, this information was primarily intended for fishermen and sailors, as the surf community wasn’t yet large enough to have its own dedicated resources.

Today, apps and even dedicated surf watches offer accurate, location-specific forecasts. Pros plan their swell trips accordingly, and hobby surfers use them for spontaneous weekend getaways. Surf forecasts have become an essential part of every surf trip.

Many smartwatches now feature tide data and app integrations to track your surf sessions

Surf Reports for Spot Selection

Why Is a Surf Forecast So Important?

A surf forecast isn’t just a nice extra—it’s essential for efficient surf travel. At Pure Surfcamps, we analyze forecasts daily—not only for our guests but also to ensure the quality of our camp locations. A solid forecast helps you choose the best time of day to surf, assess safety conditions, understand currents, and read the shape of the waves.

Especially for beginners, it's incredibly helpful to know whether tomorrow will bring powerful, head-high sets or mellow, peeling waves—perfect for practice. If you learn to read a forecast properly, you'll progress faster, surf more safely, and simply enjoy your time in the water a whole lot more.

Surf Forecast for Moliets-Plage

What Does a Surf Forecast Look Like and How Do You Read It?

As mentioned earlier, there are countless websites and apps that provide surf forecasts. Some of the most popular include Surf-Forecast, Surfline, and Windguru. These platforms offer a wide range of data, which can be overwhelming at first glance. To help you navigate it all, we’ll walk you through a sample forecast for Moliets-Plage below.

Example: Surf Forecast – Moliets-Plage (France)

Moliets-Plage is one of the most popular spots for surf camps in southwest France—not just because of its endless sandy beaches, but also thanks to the rapidly changing yet often excellent surf conditions. It’s a classic beach break with shifting sandbanks, meaning that tide, swell direction, and wind all have a major impact on the quality of the waves.

Surf Forecast Moliets-Plage

Daily Forecast (Surf, Swell, Wind)

In this example, we’re looking at the surf forecast for Moliets-Plage:

Surf (m): 1.2–1.5 m – comfortably surfable, even for advanced beginners
Primary Swell: 1.6–1.8 m from NW at 12 seconds – powerful and consistent
Secondary Swell: adds extra energy from NW – can bring more wave variety
Wind: Light and offshore in the morning – a perfect combo for clean waves
Tide: Mid tide early in the morning – ideal for beach breaks like Moliets-Plage

Our tip: Go surfing early – especially between 6:00 and 9:00 AM when wind, swell, and tide align perfectly. During this time, the water is often glassy, the sandbanks shape clean peaks, and your chances for a mellow, fun session are highest—especially if you're just starting out.

Surf Forecast for Moliets-Plage (Source: Surfline.com)

Wind, Weather, Air Pressure & Forecast Reliability (Source: Surfline.com)

Surf Forecast for Moliets-Plage (Source: Surfline.com)

Swell Factor

Understanding Swell: Primary and Secondary Swell

The swell is the backbone of every wave—it refers to the wind-generated wave energy traveling across the open ocean, eventually transforming into rideable waves near the coast. A solid surf forecast distinguishes between the primary swell and the secondary swell:

Primary Swell: Indicates the direction, height, and energy of the dominant swell (e.g. 1.8 m @ 12 s from NW)
Secondary Swell: Additional swell energy that may enhance or disrupt wave quality, depending on the spot

A key element is the period—the time interval between two wave crests. The longer the period (e.g. 12 seconds), the more powerful and organized the waves will be as they reach the shore.

At our surf camps, we not only teach you how to read surf forecasts—we also show you how to spot swells on the horizon, interpret them, and learn from what you see.

[Translate to English:] Primary und Secondary Swell für Moliets-Plage (Quelle: Surfline.com)

Swell Period Factor

Wave Period in Seconds

The wave period, measured in seconds, is a key factor in every surf forecast. It tells you how much time passes between two wave crests. The longer the period, the more energy the wave carries.

Example – Moliets-Plage on May 27 (6:00 AM):

Primary Swell: 1.4 m at 10 seconds from WNW (301°)
Secondary Swell: 0.7 m at 13 seconds from NW (305°)

This means two different swell systems are arriving at Moliets at the same time. The primary swell brings consistent, medium-length waves. The secondary swell is smaller but carries more energy (13 s), and it can improve the overall surf conditions when both swells work together harmoniously.

Rule of thumb:

6–8 s: short, choppy wind waves
9–11 s: solid conditions for beginners
12+ s: powerful, long-period waves – ideal for more advanced surfers

For Moliets, 10–13 seconds is the sweet spot. It delivers enough push without making the waves too hollow or heavy—perfect for waist- to head-high surf.

[Translate to English:] Wellenperiode für Moliets-Plage (Quelle: Surfline.com)

Swell Direction and Swell Angle

Swell direction is one of the most important factors in a surf forecast. It indicates from which compass direction the waves are approaching the coast—and therefore whether a specific surf spot will actually receive that swell.

In forecast tools, swell direction is shown either as a compass direction (e.g. NW, WNW, S) or as a degree angle (e.g. 305°). Both indicate the same thing—just in different formats:

Compass direction (e.g. NW): gives a quick, general idea of the swell direction
Angle (e.g. 305°): precisely indicates the origin of the swell (North = 0°, East = 90°, South = 180°, West = 270°)

For Moliets-Plage, which faces west toward the open Bay of Biscay, a swell between 280° and 320° is ideal. A swell from 301° (west-northwest) hits Moliets-Plage perfectly. Combined with a height of 1.4 m, this makes for great conditions for intermediate surfers—and, depending on the sandbanks, even for progressing beginners.

Swell Chart for the Secondary Swell at Moliets-Plage (Source: Surfline.com)

Swell Chart for the Primary Swell at Moliets-Plage (Source: Surfline.com)

Wind Factor

Understanding Wind in a Surf Forecast

Wind plays a crucial role in wave quality. Even with perfect swell, strong onshore winds can ruin your session. At Moliets-Plage, offshore winds from the east (E/NE) are ideal—they smooth out the wave face and create clean, readable conditions.

Offshore wind (from land to sea): clean, well-shaped, and longer waves
Onshore wind (from sea to shore): choppy, unpredictable conditions
Glassy: no wind – ideal for beginners
Sideshore wind (from the side): can be okay or disruptive depending on the spot – at Moliets, light sideshore is often still surfable

In this example: Light offshore wind in the morning – perfect for beginners to practice take-offs and get into their first turns. As seasoned surfers know: the window for quality conditions can be short—make the most of it.

Wind

Offshore

Offshore wind is considered the best wind condition for surfing. With offshore wind, the wind blows from the land out to sea, resulting in long, clean, and well-shaped waves. This allows surfers to spot the waves from a distance and prepare early by getting into the right position.

Because the wind blows into the wave face, the wave breaks more evenly to the left or right, making it possible to ride it for a longer time. Offshore winds also tend to create steeper wave faces, allowing surfers to gain speed quickly when positioned correctly.

However, offshore wind can be more challenging for beginners. The take-off window is often smaller—either the wave is still too flat to paddle into, or it becomes too steep too quickly. Additionally, offshore wind pushes paddlers back toward the shore, making it harder to catch waves and stay in the right spot. Dealing with offshore wind takes practice—but as we all know, practice makes perfect.

To successfully catch waves in offshore conditions, it’s important to constantly adjust your position in the lineup and make sure you’re not getting pushed too far out by the wind. Stay focused and paddle actively toward the shore when necessary to hold your line.

Wind

Onshore

Onshore wind refers to wind blowing from the sea toward the coast. Among surfers, it’s generally unpopular because it causes waves to break unevenly and messily on the shore. This makes it difficult to predict when and where a wave will break.

Compared to offshore wind, onshore wind actually has one big advantage for beginners: the take-off window is longer, as the wave starts breaking earlier but doesn't pitch as steeply. Sometimes, a wave will already crumble into white water far out, and you can still catch it. Occasionally, you might get lucky and the wave reforms into a green wave as it approaches the beach. When that happens, it’s called a “rebuild.” In such cases, you can ride the wave parallel to the shore for quite a long time.

Wind

Sideshore

When the wind blows into the wave from the side, it’s called sideshore wind. The effect this has on the waves depends heavily on the surf spot. One direction might be more favorable than the other, depending on the local setup. That’s why it’s important to inform yourself about the specific conditions at your chosen surf spot.

Wind

Glassy (no Wind)

There’s absolutely no wind at the beach? Then the conditions are referred to as “glassy”. No wind while surfing is a highly desirable scenario, as the waves can break without any wind interference. This results in clean, smooth waves and allows surfers to clearly see upcoming sets from a distance. Mornings are often the calmest time of day, offering dreamy conditions—especially in summer when air and water temperatures are still mild and closely matched.

Tide

The tides—that is, the shift between high and low water—have a major impact on wave quality at every surf spot. We generally differentiate between:

High Tide: highest water level (incoming tide)
Low Tide: lowest water level (outgoing tide)

Depending on the spot, certain tide levels are more or less ideal for surfing. While reef breaks often only work well at high tide, many beach breaks like Moliets offer the best conditions at mid tide, when the waves break cleanly over the sandbanks.

Unlike wind or swell, tides can be predicted years in advance. You’ll find tide data in forecast apps, on surf forecast websites, or even as local tide charts in surf shops. The exact times and heights vary daily, influenced by moon phases and the sun’s position.

Tip: Find out in advance which tide works best for your spot and plan your sessions accordingly.

Tide Factor

Tides in Moliets-Plage

The tide chart shows the typical twice-daily cycle of high tide and low tide:

High tide: 5:18 AM (3.6 m) and 5:38 PM (3.7 m)
Low tide: 11:25 AM (–0.1 m) and 11:51 PM (–0.2 m)

At 6:24 AM, the water level is 3.3 m—this means the tide is falling from high tide, on its way toward low tide. For a spot like Moliets, which often works best at mid tide, this means: ideal conditions from around 6:00 to just before 10:00 AM.

The significant tidal range (over 3 meters difference!) creates noticeable changes in wave behavior throughout the day—especially relevant at a sandbank-dependent beach break like Moliets-Plage.

Early morning surf is ideal with this tide—high but falling water levels = well-shaped waves over functional sandbanks.

Tides in Le Boucou, Adour River – the Closest Measurement Point (Source: Surfline.com)

Spot Familiarity Factor

What Should You Pay Special Attention to in a Surf Forecast?

A surf forecast is only truly useful if you understand the spot. Every surf spot reacts differently to swell direction, wind, and tides. To interpret a forecast properly, you need some background knowledge about the local conditions.

Key factors include:

the optimal tide level for breaking waves (e.g. mid tide for Moliets),
the geographic orientation of the spot to know which swell directions will hit,
and the wind direction that creates offshore conditions.

You can usually find this information in forecast tools or surf spot guides.

Our tip: Before interpreting a forecast, take time to understand how the spot works—only then can you evaluate wind, swell, and tide correctly and plan your session effectively.

Surf Conditions Overview

Surf Spot Focus: Moliets-Plage (France)

Moliets-Plage is located on the French Atlantic coast, just north of Hossegor, and is a classic beach break with shifting sandbanks. Its expansive beaches, moderate wave heights, and consistent swell make it an ideal spot for both beginners and intermediate surfers.

Best swell direction: West to northwest (W–NW), as the spot is open to the Bay of Biscay
Ideal wind: Light to moderate offshore from the east creates clean, groomed waves
Best tide: Mid tide – this is when waves break most cleanly over the sandbanks
Wave height: Waist- to head-high (0.6–1.6 m) – depending on swell and sandbank structure

Tip for beginners: Surf early in the morning – with smaller swell, light offshore winds, and a peaceful lineup. Especially in summer, you’ll find perfect learning conditions, mild temperatures, and plenty of space in the water.

Ideal Surf Conditions in Moliets-Plage – Surf Forecast

Conclusion

Reading the Forecast Is Great – But Feeling the Spot Is Better

In the end, a solid surf forecast helps you plan your surf trip and know exactly what to expect for your session the next day. To get better at reading forecasts, it’s highly recommended to build what’s known as “local knowledge” over time and factor it into your interpretation. Only then can you truly understand how a spot reacts to different swell directions and winds. Ideally, you’ll return to the same surf spot for several trips, allowing you to refine your forecast-reading skills for that specific location. It also helps to read local surf blogs in advance—or simply talk to the locals once you’re there.

Surf Forecast: How to Read Surf Reports Properly | PURE Surfcamps