As Florence continues to strengthen as a Major category 4 hurricane & barrels towards the east coast, it leaves many people preparing for the worst, and some of us surfers hoping for the best.

Florence Swell Begins to Arrive in Florida

This past weekend much of the East Coast began receiving long period forerunner swell from Florence. Particularly in Florida, swell slowly started creeping into Central and Northern Florida in the 3-4ft range.

Moving forward through the week, Surf has remained fun for the northern part of the region, who have been seeing head high surf and clean conditions each morning.

New Smyrna has been a particular standout the past few days, as well as a few other spots in that area. Meanwhile, the Treasure Coast has seen minimal swell pushing in due to blocking from the cape & wrong swell angle.

How South Florida gets waves from Hurricane Florence

So where do we stand here in South Florida with Hurricane Florence Swell-wise you might be asking yourself. News is, you’re in luck.

As this storm plots its course WNW towards the Carolinas, it will eventually move into a more favorable swell window to push waves south past the Bahamas.

We should start seeing the beginning of this swell sometime towards the middle/end of Wednesday, and building through Friday.

Wednesday we should see swell build into the 2-3ft range, possibly a little more towards last light, and Thursday should end up being a really fun day of surf locally with waves building into the 5ft range before waning through the weekend.

Hurricane Florence Surf Conditions Could Line Up

Luckily for us Florida surfers, being on the south side of the hurricane will help us out with winds. We also have a high pressure system sitting over the Sunshine State which will set up good local winds for this swell.

The tides should also line up pretty well for us to catch incoming tide in the mornings, which most areas around here seem to enjoy.

Best bet will be to hit the surf bright and early before afternoon onshore breezes set up, but even then we might luck out with lighter sea breezes than normal. Keep your eye on the weather!

Where to capitalize on Hurricane Florence Swell in Florida

Honestly this one is going to be up to checking around and finding the best sandbars, or offshore reefs if the swell builds in more than projected.

Florida typically likes 6-12 second intervals on swell. Much more than that and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a spot without giant closeouts. At that point hopefully you have prior experience, or a really good friend!

I have a few spots in mind that I plan on checking out, but hopefully you already have a few picked out yourself (mine are secret!).

As is always the case with hurricane swell, things could change on a dime depending on where the storm decides to ultimately move in the next few days.

Keep your eyes on the horizon and keep those in the path of the storm in your thoughts. This storm is set to cause major havoc on wherever it lands and we can only hope for everyone to stay safe after they’ve prepared for the worst.