Should I boat at South Padre Island, TX today?
Live GO / CAUTION / NO-GO boating conditions for South Padre Island, TX on Louisiana & Texas Coast, from NOAA wind, waves, gusts, an hour-by-hour risk timeline, marine warnings and live webcams.
Conditions right now
CAUTION as of Oct 23, 11:22 AM ET: wind ESE 8 kt, gusts 10 kt; waves about 3 ft every 6 s. Boatable with care: expect chop or building wind. Small boats should think twice.
From the NWS gridded forecast for this launch. The live page adds buoy observations, marine warnings and an hour-by-hour timeline.
About South Padre Island, TX
- Water: Louisiana & Texas Coast
- Location: 26.070, -97.160
- NWS marine forecast zone: GMZ150
- Live observations: NDBC BZST2, NDBC PCGT2
How the wind direction plays here
- Onshore (waves pile up at the launch, often rougher than the open-water number): NE, ENE, E, ESE, SE
- Offshore (deceptively calm at the ramp, rougher farther out, and it pushes you away from shore): SW, WSW, W, WNW, NW
- Cross-shore (moderate; watch which way it trends): N, NNE, SSE, S, SSW, NNW
Why direction matters: wind direction and fetch.
Nearby launches on Louisiana & Texas Coast
- Port Aransas, TX (122 mi): GO, wind E 9 kt, gusts 11 kt; waves about 2 ft every 5 s
- Galveston, TX (266 mi): GO, wind NE 8 kt, gusts 10 kt; waves about 2 ft
- Kemah / Galveston Bay, TX (273 mi): GO, wind NE 6 kt, gusts 8 kt; waves under 1 ft
- Grand Isle, LA (490 mi): GO, wind NNE 10 kt, gusts 13 kt; waves about 2 ft every 3 s
All launches · Boating the coast guide · How to read a marine forecast · What GO / CAUTION / NO-GO means