Back Strands Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Sligo, Ireland)

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- 16 Day Forecast
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Back Strands Surf Guide

Back Strands in Sligo is a fairly exposed reef break that has fairly consistent surf and can work at any time of the year. Offshore winds blow from the southeast. Tends to receive a mix of groundswells and windswells and the ideal swell direction is from the west. A right hand reef break. When the surf is up, it can get quite busy in the water.

Back Strands Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	5	fairly consistent	11.7°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Back Strands:

The best conditions reported for surf at Back Strands occur when a West swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Southeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Back Strands (for consistent clean waves)?

februaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Back Strands with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of February. Clean surfable waves are typically found 35% of the time in February while 55% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 10% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

35%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

55%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

10%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Back Strands Location Map

Interactive Back Strands surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Back Strands is Sligo Airport (SXL) in Ireland, 20 km (12 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Back Strands is St Angelo (Enniskillen) Airport (ENK) in England, 54 km (34 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Back Strands Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 13:00 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05
ft, °F	10AM	1PM	4PM	7PM
Wave (m)	NW	WNW	WNW	WNW
Period (s)	8	8	10	9
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- on	cross- on	on	cross- on

Tides at Back Strands

Current tide and informaton

For Back Strands, 0 km from Back Strands.

Next High Water: 08:49pm | 3.12m

Next Low Water: 02:23pm | 0.62m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Back Strands Sea Temperature

The water temperature (11.7 °C) at Back Strands is quite cold. Despite the sun, windchill of 8.0 °C means that surfers will need plenty of neoprene. Wear a quality winter wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots. A windchill factor of (8.0 °C).

Today, many surfers would wear a winter wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots.