Hilton Head Island · Beaufort County · South Carolina
Hilton Head Island Surf Report & Forecast, South Carolina
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina: 1 ft, knee high, at 3 pm EST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Poor. The main swell is 1.4 ft at 12 seconds from the east-southeast, with a 5 mph cross-shore wind from the west-southwest, gusting 11 mph. Water is about 69°F, so a 2mm springsuit is the suggestion; the next high tide is 6.8 ft at 7:51 pm.
1 ft
knee high
- Swell
- 1.4 ft · 12 s · ESE
- Wind
- 5 mph (WSW), gusts 11cross-shore
- Tide
- 1.6 ft risinghigh 6.8 ft at 7:51 pm
- Water
- 69°F2mm springsuit
- Air
- 72°Ffeels like 75°F
- Sun
- rise 6:47 amset 5:27 pm
Hilton Head Island surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Hilton Head Island: 8 am, Poor to Fair, on a falling high tide.
Blue band: surf face height from the low end to set waves; dotted: occasional larger sets. Grey line: tide, in feet on the right scale. Colour strip: the hourly rating. Arrows: wind direction and strength, teal when offshore, orange when onshore.
Best-rated hour tomorrow at Hilton Head Island: 6 am, Poor, on a rising high tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 1 ft | Poor to Fair | 7 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 12 | 7.3 ft |
| 7 am | 1 ft | Poor to Fair | 6 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 11 | 8.2 ft |
| 8 am | 1 ft | Poor to Fair | 7 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 12 | 8.3 ft |
| 9 am | 1 ft | Poor to Fair | 7 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 14 | 7.6 ft |
| 10 am | 1 ft | Poor | 7 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 14 | 6.3 ft |
| 11 am | 1 ft | Poor to Fair | 6 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 12 | 4.6 ft |
| 12 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 5 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 10 | 2.8 ft |
| 1 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 5 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 11 | 1.6 ft |
| 2 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 5 mph cross-shore (SW), gusts 10 | 1.2 ft |
| 3 pmnow | 1 ft | Poor | 5 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 10 | 1.6 ft |
| 4 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 6 mph cross-shore (S) | 2.8 ft |
| 5 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 7 mph onshore (S), gusts 13 | 4.3 ft |
| 6 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 7 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 12 | 5.7 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 1 ft | Poor | 4 mph offshore (WNW) | 6.0 ft |
| 7 am | 1 ft | Poor | 5 mph offshore (WNW) | 7.3 ft |
| 8 am | 1 ft | Poor | 4 mph offshore (W) | 7.9 ft |
| 9 am | 1 ft | Poor | 4 mph cross-shore (W) | 7.7 ft |
| 10 am | 1 ft | Poor | 4 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 6.8 ft |
| 11 am | 1 ft | Poor | 5 mph cross-shore (SSW) | 5.5 ft |
| 12 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 7 mph cross-shore (SSW) | 3.8 ft |
| 1 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 9 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 14 | 2.3 ft |
| 2 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 10 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 16 | 1.3 ft |
| 3 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 11 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 17 | 1.2 ft |
| 4 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 11 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 18 | 1.9 ft |
| 5 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 11 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 18 | 3.2 ft |
| 6 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 10 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 16 | 4.6 ft |
Hilton Head Island beach conditions today: waves, sets and current
At 3 pm, sets at Hilton Head Island arrive about every 4 minutes with about 4 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and crumbly.
- Set waves
- about 1.0 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 4
- Sets
- every 4 minutes or so, each lasting about 33 s
- Lulls
- about 144 s between breaking waves
- How they break
- Barrelingwhich means the lip pitches out and can throw a barrel
- Shape
- Crumblywhich means whitewater rolls gently down the face
- Breaking
- 4% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- light, about 0.1 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Hilton Head Island surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Hilton Head Island: the biggest day is Monday, Nov 9 at 1 ft, and the best-rated day is Monday, Nov 9 (Poor to Fair). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, flat (under 1 ft) and Poor; Sunday, Nov 15, flat (under 1 ft) and Poor.
Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Hilton Head Island are in the Current app with a Premium subscription.
Bars: surf face height from the low end to set waves, by day. Colour strip: the day's best rating. Arrows: main swell direction. Shaded: this weekend.
The 10-day forecast as a table, with swell and wind
| Day | Surf | Rating | Main swell | Wind am | Wind pm | Best time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | 1 ft | Poor to Fair | 1.5 ft · 12 s · ESE | 7 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 12 | 5 mph cross-shore (SW), gusts 10 | 8 am |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 1 ft | Poor | 0.8 ft · 11 s · SE | 4 mph offshore (W) | 10 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 16 | 6 am |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 0–1 ft | Poor | 0.8 ft · 11 s · ESE | 7 mph offshore (W), gusts 13 | 8 mph cross-shore (SW), gusts 13 | 8 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 0–1 ft | Poor | 1.5 ft · 3 s · SW | 14 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 22 | 18 mph offshore (W), gusts 29 | 12 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | flat (under 1 ft) | Poor | 0.6 ft · 3 s · WSW | 17 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 23 | 19 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 27 | 9 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | flat (under 1 ft) | Poor | 0.2 ft · 3 s · WSW | 14 mph offshore (NW), gusts 20 | 9 mph offshore (NW), gusts 15 | 10 am |
| Sun, Nov 15 | flat (under 1 ft) | Poor | 1.1 ft · 2 s · NNE | 10 mph cross-shore (N), gusts 17 | 7 mph cross-shore (NE) | 10 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | flat (under 1 ft) | Poor | 0.8 ft · 3 s · ENE | 10 mph cross-shore (NNE), gusts 17 | 10 mph cross-shore (NE), gusts 18 | 1 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | flat (under 1 ft) | Poor | — | 11 mph cross-shore (NE) | 11 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 1 pm |
| Wed, Nov 18 | flat (under 1 ft) | Poor | — | 15 mph cross-shore (NNE), gusts 21 | 14 mph cross-shore (NE) | 4 pm |
| Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Hilton Head Island are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Hilton Head Island tide chart and tide times
Tides at Hilton Head Island today, Monday, Nov 9: low 1.0 ft at 1:15 am, high 8.3 ft at 7:36 am, low 1.2 ft at 1:59 pm and high 6.8 ft at 7:51 pm. At 3 pm the tide is 1.6 ft and rising.
Hilton Head Island tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | Low 1.0 ft at 1:15 amHigh 8.3 ft at 7:36 amLow 1.2 ft at 1:59 pmHigh 6.8 ft at 7:51 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 0.8 ft at 1:57 amHigh 7.9 ft at 8:17 amLow 1.1 ft at 2:39 pmHigh 6.7 ft at 8:29 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | Low 0.9 ft at 2:39 amHigh 7.7 ft at 8:54 amLow 1.1 ft at 3:16 pmHigh 6.5 ft at 9:06 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | Low 1.0 ft at 3:18 amHigh 7.4 ft at 9:31 amLow 1.1 ft at 4:01 pmHigh 6.0 ft at 9:46 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | Low 0.7 ft at 4:02 amHigh 6.8 ft at 10:16 amLow 1.1 ft at 4:43 pmHigh 5.8 ft at 10:32 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | Low 1.2 ft at 4:45 amHigh 6.9 ft at 10:59 amLow 1.5 ft at 5:30 pmHigh 5.8 ft at 11:18 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | Low 1.5 ft at 5:35 amHigh 6.7 ft at 11:45 amLow 1.7 ft at 6:18 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 5.8 ft at 12:10 amLow 1.8 ft at 6:27 amHigh 6.6 ft at 12:33 pmLow 1.6 ft at 7:10 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 5.8 ft at 1:06 amLow 1.8 ft at 7:21 amHigh 6.4 ft at 1:25 pm |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Hilton Head Island water temperature
The water temperature at Hilton Head Island is about 69°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 75°F and a 5 mph wind, a 2mm springsuit is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays between 67 and 69°F.
Water temperature is a forecast for the water at this spot, not a buoy reading. The wetsuit suggestion uses Billabong's wetsuit temperature scale, adjusted for air temperature and wind.
Surf spots near Hilton Head Island
- Burkes Beach5.0 mi NE · 1 ft · Poor
- North Jetty, Georgia9.6 mi SSW · 1 ft · Poor
- Sugar Shack, Georgia10 mi SSW · 1 ft · Poor to Fair
- 2nd Street, Georgia10 mi SSW · 1 ft · Poor to Fair
- Tybee Island Pier, Georgia12 mi SSW · 2 ft · Fair
- 17th Street Boardwalk, Georgia12 mi SSW · 2 ft · Fair
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head Island is a beach break in Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina, facing southeast. Also called Coligny.
Follow Hilton Head Island in the Current app
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Forecasts are estimates. Never rely on them for safety. For rip current risk and beach hazards, check the National Weather Service. Forecasts from Current's novel physics simulation. No AI. No black boxes. Ocean and weather data: NOAA (U.S. government data). NOAA does not endorse this site.