South Carolina & Georgia Surf Forecast
Surf forecast for South Carolina and Georgia — Folly Beach, Isle of Palms, Myrtle Beach, Garden City, Hilton Head, and Tybee Island. Live cams, 7-day swell, tide and wind.
The South Carolina and Georgia coast curves from the Grand Strand (Myrtle Beach, Garden City) through Charleston's beaches (Isle of Palms, Folly) down to Hilton Head and Tybee Island. The continental shelf here is among the widest on the US East Coast, which drains energy from incoming swell — the same system that fires the Outer Banks arrives noticeably smaller here. What does get through tends to be clean and user-friendly.
Folly Beach is the region's surf hub: the Washout, a stretch left bare by Hurricane Hugo, picks up more swell than anywhere else in the state and hosts the bulk of the local scene. The northern Grand Strand beaches face more east and catch NE windswell slightly better; Hilton Head and Tybee face southeast across an even wider shelf and need genuine groundswell to break well.
Hurricane season (August–November) is the main event — long-period SE groundswell from offshore systems is what this shelf handles best. Winter cold fronts produce short-period windswell windows that clean up quickly behind the front. Summer is small but warm and forgiving — an ideal longboard and learner season.
Water temps are the mildest north of Florida: mid-50s °F in winter, mid-80s at the summer peak. A 4/3 covers the coldest months; trunks from May through October. Strong tidal currents near the many inlets are the main hazard, and the large tide swing (5-7 ft) means many spots only break properly on part of the tide.