Surf Forecasts:
Back Strands surf forecast from 3 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 3 Jul, 7AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 10s period, W swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 4 Jul, 4PM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 9s period, W swell with 516 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 3 Jul, 7AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 10s 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 Friday (Jul 03) at 7AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.6m and 9s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Back Strands in the next 16 days are 1.8m 9s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Jul 04) at 4PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.3m 2s period and expected on Friday (Jul 03) at 1PM.
| Wave Type | Time (IST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 7AM (Fri 3rd Jul) | 3ft (0.9m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 7AM (Fri 3rd Jul) | 3ft (0.9m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 4PM (Sat 4th Jul) | 6ft (1.8m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Back Strands over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you - it’s gonna be a real mixed bag for the next couple of weeks around here.
First up, we’re looking at our main spot, Back Strands. The water temp is about what you’d expect for this time of year, nothing weird going on there.
The overall pattern is a long, frustrating wait for anything decent. We have to sit through a real dry spell right from the start. From Friday, July 3rd right through until Saturday, July 11th, it’s a whole week of pretty ordinary to poor conditions. The swell sticks mostly around the 2ft to 3ft mark, coming from the west, but the wind is all over the place - mostly cross or cross-onshore, and sometimes howling up to 22 mph. It’s just not worth paddling out. The energy is weak to moderate at best, but those onshore breezes ruin everything.
Sunday, July 12th afternoon is where it finally gets interesting. We get a jump in swell to 5ft from the west, with a solid 11-second period. That’s a long-period groundswell, and the energy jumps into the moderate range. Best of all, the wind goes glassy with a light breeze. This will be clean and should have some shape, but with that long period at a beach setup, it might wall up a bit. Still, this is the first real standout.
Monday, July 13th is looking like the pick of the entire forecast. Morning sees 5ft from the west with a 12-second period and light offshore SSE winds. The energy is solid. The same goes for the afternoon, with 4ft, 11-second period, and a light cross-offshore breeze. This is your window. Clean, long-period west swell with offshore winds at Back Strands. Don’t sleep on it.
After that, it drops off again. Tuesday and Wednesday the 14th and 15th get messy with more cross-onshore wind and weaker swell. The 15th has a bit of 4ft swell with a cross-offshore wind, making it marginal. The rest of the week into the 18th just fades away with tiny, weak windswell.
So, the standout here is clear: Sunday afternoon July 12th gets things started, but Monday July 13th is the real golden window. Get on it. The first week is a write-off, so don’t bother until then.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 10mm), heaviest on Fri morning. Very mild (max 19°C on Sun morning, min 12°C on Thu night). Winds increasing (light winds from the SSE on Fri morning, fresh winds from the W by Sat afternoon). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Mon morning. Warm (max 22°C on Wed afternoon, min 14°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 3 | Saturday 4 | Sunday 5 | Monday 6 | Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | |||||||||||||||
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 10 | WSW 10 | W 10 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | W 12 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 167 | 222 | 407 | 416 | 516 | 359 | 181 | 171 | 176 | 185 | 191 | 130 | 78 | 80 | 71 | 53 | 79 | 122 | 117 | 120 | 224 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | glassy | glassy | off | off | off |
High Tide | 8:38AM2.84m | 9:00PM3.35m | 9:14AM2.78m | 9:35PM3.29m | 9:54AM2.71m | 10:12PM3.22m | 10:37AM2.66m | 10:53PM3.12m | 11:28AM2.61m | 11:42PM3.01m | 12:27PM2.59m | 00:41AM2.92m | 1:34PM2.63m | 1:52AM2.87m | |||||||
Low Tide | 2:28PM0.51m | 3:10AM0.62m | 3:02PM0.58m | 3:47AM0.66m | 3:39PM0.68m | 4:27AM0.69m | 4:20PM0.80m | 5:13AM0.73m | 5:10PM0.93m | 6:06AM0.77m | 6:13PM1.03m | 7:10AM0.79m | 7:30PM1.04m | ||||||||
 | |  |  | |  |  | |  | | | | |  |  | | | | | | | |
 | 5:03 | — | — | 5:05 | — | — | 5:05 | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:09 | — | — | 5:09 | — | — |
 | — | — | 10:10 | — | — | 10:09 | — | — | 10:09 | — | — | 10:08 | — | — | 10:07 | — | — | 10:07 | — | — | 10:07 |
mm | 4 | 2 | — | — | 1 | 3 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 2 |
Temp °C | 12 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 17 |
Feels °C | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 18 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 10 | WNW 11 | — | — | — | — | W 9 | — | — | W 8 | — | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | W 12 |
| kJ | 167 | 107 | — | — | — | — | 181 | — | — | 185 | — | 130 | 78 | 80 | 71 | 53 | 79 | 122 | 117 | 120 | 224 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 13 | — |
| kJ | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 32 | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | WSW 10 | W 10 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | — | W 8 | W 8 | — | W 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | 222 | 407 | 416 | 516 | 359 | — | 171 | 176 | — | 191 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 80 | 53 | 427 | 727 | 53 | 27 | 267 | 22 | 53 | 268 | 27 | 266 | 276 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Sligo | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Back Strands surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
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.
Nearest