Surf Forecasts:
Back Strands surf forecast from 6 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Saturday 12 Sep, 10AM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 13s period, WNW swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 8 Sep, 10AM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 10s period, WNW swell with 2,049 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 10 Sep, 1AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 8s period with W swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Back Strands this week:
The surf forecast for Back Strands over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Sep 10) at 1AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.8m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 12s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Back Strands in the next 16 days are 3.5m 10s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Sep 08) at 10AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.0m 4s period and expected on Sunday (Sep 06) at 1PM.
| Wave Type | Time (IST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 1AM (Thu 10th Sep) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 8s |
| Best Surf | 10AM (Sat 12th Sep) | 5ft (1.5m) 13s |
| Most Powerful | 10AM (Tue 8th Sep) | 11ft (3.5m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Back Strands over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming down the line for us.
Right off the bat, things are pretty ordinary for the first week or so. We’ve got a lot of poor surf conditions and strong winds messing things up at Back Strands, the only spot on the radar here. The water’s sitting at 62°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s about the only plus.
Sunday the 6th kicks off with a small, weak 2ft swell from the west, period at 8 seconds and combined energy is only 49 – that’s weak stuff. And it’s blown out by a strong 25 mph south wind. Not worth a paddle. Monday the 7th sees a bit more size, 5ft from the west-northwest, but that 19 mph cross-shore wind is creating lumpy cross-chop. Tuesday the 8th gets proper big – 11ft from the west-northwest – but it’s messy with strong cross-onshore winds at 28 mph. That’s expert-only territory, and even then, the conditions are poor. Honestly, that’s looking more like a kite session than a surf.
Wednesday the 9th has a brief window with 5ft and offshore wind in the morning, but the period drops to 9 seconds and the conditions are still not rated well. We get a small, clean window on Thursday morning the 10th with 2ft, but it’s tiny. Friday the 11th afternoon actually goes glassy – 3ft, west swell, 8-second period, and the wind is dead calm. It’s surfable but very ordinary.
Then we get a real standout. Saturday morning the 12th is the best on offer across the whole forecast. We’ve got 5ft from the west-northwest, a 13-second period – that’s proper groundswell – and combined energy of 732, which is moderate. The wind is a gentle 9 mph offshore from the south-southeast, so it’ll be clean. This is a reef break, so that long-period swell will really line up nicely. Expect very good surf conditions. The afternoon though, it gets ruined by a 22 mph cross-onshore. So get on it early.
Sunday the 13th holds some size, 5ft, but the wind is up again. The rest of the second week is a mixed bag of onshore winds and lumpy conditions. There’s another potential standout on Saturday the 20th morning – 6ft from the west, 11-second period, combined energy of 792, and a gentle offshore from the southeast. That’s promising, but it’s a long way out, so keep an eye on it. The following Monday the 21st morning has clean, cross-off winds and 6ft, but it’s only rated as marginal.
Overall, there’s a lot of chop and wind to sit through. The Saturday the 12th morning is the clear winner if you can make it. The second week has some potential, but it’s less certain. If you’re keen, keep watching the forecasts – things can change.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 21mm), heaviest during Mon afternoon. Very mild (max 19°C on Sun morning, min 12°C on Mon night). Mainly strong winds. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 6mm), mostly falling on Fri night. Very mild (max 17°C on Thu afternoon, min 13°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 6 | Monday 7 | Tuesday 8 | Wednesday 9 | Thursday 10 | Friday 11 | Saturday 12 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 8 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 9 | WNW 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 10 | W 10 | W 9 | W 8 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | W 12 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 49 | 122 | 314 | 474 | 369 | 710 | 2049 | 1955 | 1215 | 377 | 190 | 76 | 57 | 194 | 279 | 190 | 131 | 201 | 732 | 1073 | 694 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | on | glassy | cross-off | off | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 2:18PM2.72m | 3:09AM2.55m | 3:39PM3.00m | 4:20AM2.77m | 4:39PM3.34m | 5:13AM3.02m | 5:27PM3.64m | 5:57AM3.22m | 6:09PM3.85m | 6:36AM3.37m | 6:48PM3.94m | 7:12AM3.45m | 7:25PM3.90m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 8:53PM0.99m | 9:13AM0.98m | 10:09PM0.69m | 10:16AM0.72m | 11:03PM0.38m | 11:05AM0.45m | 11:47PM0.12m | 11:47AM0.23m | 00:25AM-0.05m | 12:26PM0.09m | 1:01AM-0.11m | 1:03PM0.03m | 1:34AM-0.07m | ||||||||
 |  |  |  |  |  | | |  | | | | | |  | | | | | | | |
 | 6:48 | — | — | 6:50 | — | — | 6:52 | — | — | 6:54 | — | — | 6:56 | — | — | 6:58 | — | — | 7:00 | — | — |
 | — | 8:14 | — | — | 8:10 | — | — | 8:08 | — | — | 8:06 | — | — | 8:04 | — | — | 8:00 | — | — | 7:59 | — |
mm | — | 2 | — | — | 5 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | 1 | — |
Temp °C | 19 | 19 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 14 |
Feels °C | 12 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 9 | 10 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 8 | W 10 | W 16 | — | W 10 | — | — | — | — | WNW 9 | WNW 8 | W 8 | W 8 | — | — | — | W 8 | W 10 | WNW 13 | — | W 12 |
| kJ | 49 | 122 | 79 | — | 369 | — | — | — | — | 377 | 190 | 76 | 57 | — | — | — | 131 | 200 | 732 | — | 694 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 13 | W 12 | W 11 | — | — | — | — | WNW 13 | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 3 | 10 | — | — | — | — | 201 | — | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 4 | SSW 5 | W 10 | W 10 | SW 4 | W 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | — | — | — | SSW 4 | W 10 | W 10 | W 9 | — | — | S 3 | WNW 13 | — |
| kJ | 27 | 37 | 314 | 474 | 29 | 710 | 2049 | 1955 | 1215 | — | — | — | 9 | 194 | 279 | 190 | — | — | 3 | 1073 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 466 | 501 | 53 | 53 | 532 | 127 | 534 | 494 | 727 | 265 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 53 | 53 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 127 | 12 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Sligo | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Back Strands Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Back Strands provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Back Strands can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Back Strands surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Back Strands) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Back Strands may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Are you planning a holiday in Sligo? If you are looking for accommodation near Back Strands, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Sligo, consider staying in Sligo which is 19 km (12 miles) away. Other places in and around Sligo where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Killybegs which is 21 km (13 miles) away, Enniskillen, Ballina and Letterkenny.
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