Higgins Beach surf report and forecast
Forecast for the selected hour
Now · 5pm
Shorebreak only
FlatNo window today · next Tue All day (7am–6pm)
Too much water on the bank. Nothing is breaking properly at this tide.
The wave field solved for this hour on the real seafloor, playing forward. A model, not a camera.
Loads when it comes into view.The wave field solved for this hour on the real seafloor, playing forward. A model, not a camera.
This hour
The 5pm readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water
- Swell3.8 ft · 5 s · NNWMakes the wave: 81% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- 1.8 ft · 8 s · SSESecondary: 19% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- Wind16 mph from the NNWOffshore to a shoreline facing 162°Strong
- Tide3.4 ft, fallingNext low -3.7 ft at 11:09pm · NAVD88, NOAA 8418445 predicted (no live sensor)
- BreakerDrowned bank
- Energy33 kJHeight² × period²Marginal
- Water55° · air 49° · UV 0
High confidence.
Best windowNone today · next Tue All day (7am–6pm)
Too much water on the bank all day.
Against what Higgins Beach likesWhy it is Flat, not Very Poor
Preferred tide and swell are surfer-consensus notes for this spot, not yet reviewed against measurements. Wind is judged by the general rule (light or offshore helps). No percent match: these are plain states and reasons.
Nearby at 5pmThe Wall, Good Harbor Beach and 3 more
The break
The seafloorSand over a cobble and ledge base, with a river-mouth bar at the east end
Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.
- Bottomsand over a cobble and ledge base, with a river-mouth bar at the east end
- DepthCUDEM 1/9 arc-second (2021), relative to NAVD88. Depth shown is below the selected hour’s tide.
- CoverageRock reef and headland shapes resolve well. Nearshore sandbars are interpolated flat in this dataset, so a beachbreak’s bar is not in the picture. A tile’s year is its publication, not the survey date.
Why it breaks like thisTwo swells at once, the seafloor spreads it, the tide has drowned the bank
Read from the current hour (today at 5pm). Each number, and what it does to the wave.
Two swells at once
3.8 ft at 5s from the NNW carrying 81% of the energy, plus 1.8 ft at 8s from the SSE (19%).
The shorter, steeper train is carrying most of the energy here, so expect a choppier, less organised lineup than the longest period in the list would suggest on its own. Why period matters more than height
The seafloor spreads it
Kr 0.61 · 92% of modelled rays break.
Energy is fanning outwards over the bottom here, so the wave arrives smaller than the open-ocean swell height suggests. Nothing is wrong with the forecast. The seafloor took the difference. Why two breaks a mile apart differ
The tide has drowned the bank
3.4 ft of tide over it.
There's now too much water above the bank for the swell to trip on it, so the waves roll straight over unbroken and only the shorebreak works. This is the case a size-only rating cannot see. the swell is still out there, the spot just isn't using it. How the tide moves the break
Wind is offshore
16 mph from the NNW, against a shoreline facing 162°.
Blowing from the land into the face, holding the wave up as it stands. That is what grooms it and gives you the clean, hollow version of this spot.
How Higgins Beach worksA short, punchy sandbar break tucked between the Spurwink and…
A short, punchy sandbar break tucked between the Spurwink and Scarborough river mouths. Prouts Neck blocks anything from the southwest, so Higgins wants a hurricane swell out of the southeast or a good nor'easter, and it turns on well before the rest of Saco Bay does. Cold: 4 °C in March, 18 °C in September.
- Best tidemid to low
- Best swellSE–S groundswell
- Suitsintermediate
2 swell trains in the current hour · How this is calculated
Common questions4 questions about Higgins Beach
- What is the best tide for Higgins Beach?
- Higgins Beach works best on mid to low tide. Tide matters because depth is what trips a wave: as the water fills in, the break slides shoreward onto a different part of the bottom, and over a shallow bank enough water stops it breaking at all. Our forecast solves each hour at that hour's real water level rather than assuming one.
- What swell direction is best for Higgins Beach?
- SE–S groundswell suits Higgins Beach best. The direction that matters is the one at the break, not the one on the buoy: the seafloor bends swell on its way in, so a spot can work on an angle the open coast is missing. We model that bending for each break rather than reporting the offshore direction.
- Is Higgins Beach good for beginners?
- Higgins Beach suits intermediate surfers, over sand over a cobble and ledge base, with a river-mouth bar at the east end. That is the wave this bottom makes on an average day, and it moves: the same break is a different proposition on a bigger swell or a different tide, so read the day's forecast rather than the label.
- What is the bottom like at Higgins Beach?
- sand over a cobble and ledge base, with a river-mouth bar at the east end. It is the reason this break behaves the way it does: the shape of the seabed decides where the swell focuses, where it trips, and whether it spills or pitches. We model Higgins Beach on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.