Lido Beach surf report and forecast
Forecast for the selected hour
Now · 4pm
Shorebreak only
FlatNo window today · next tomorrow All day (9am–7pm)
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 4pm readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water
- Swell0.9 ft · 6 s · EMakes the wave: 100% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- Wind7 mph from the NNEOffshore to a shoreline facing 189°Moderate
- Tide0.4 ft, fallingNext low -1.9 ft at 8:19pm · NAVD88, NOAA 8516881 predicted (no live sensor)
- BreakerDrowned bank
- Energy2 kJHeight² × period²Marginal
- Water64° · air 56° · UV 1
High confidence.
Best windowNone today · next Tomorrow All day (9am–7pm)
Too much water on the bank all day.
Against what Lido 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 4pmRockaway Beach 90th Street, Ditch Plains and 3 more
The break
The seafloorSand, groin-held bars
Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.
- Bottomsand, groin-held bars
- DepthCUDEM 1/9 arc-second (2015), 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 thisOne swell, uncrossed, the tide has drowned the bank, wind is offshore
Read from the current hour (today at 4pm). Each number, and what it does to the wave.
One swell, uncrossed
0.9 ft at 6s from the E and nothing significant crossing it.
A single train is the cleanest case there is: the sets arrive from one angle, so the peak should sit in the same place each time instead of wandering. Why period matters more than height
The tide has drowned the bank
0.4 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
7 mph from the NNE, against a shoreline facing 189°.
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 Lido Beach worksRock groins hold sand into defined bars along Lido, which gives…
Rock groins hold sand into defined bars along Lido, which gives it more consistent shape than the open beach either side. It faces due south, so it wants a genuine south or southeast swell and goes flat quickly when the Atlantic is quiet.
- Best tidelow to mid
- Best swellS–SE swell or a hurricane groundswell
- Suitsintermediate
1 swell train in the current hour · How this is calculated
Common questions4 questions about Lido Beach
- What is the best tide for Lido Beach?
- Lido Beach works best on low to mid 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 Lido Beach?
- S–SE swell or a hurricane groundswell suits Lido 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 Lido Beach good for beginners?
- Lido Beach suits intermediate surfers, over sand, groin-held bars. 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 Lido Beach?
- sand, groin-held bars. 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 Lido Beach on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.