Birsay Bay Surf Forecast

/ Scot – Orkney (6 surf breaks) /

UK (471 surf breaks) / Lat Long: (59.13° N 3.33° W)

Surf Forecasts:

Birsay Bay surfForecast / Scot – Orkney / UK

12 Day Weather and Surf, issued 12 am Wednesday 17 Sep 2025 BST

Forecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent

Birsay Bay surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.

Today's Birsay Bay sea temperature is 14.2° C
(Which is 1.9°C warmer than normal for this time of year)

Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Birsay Bay this week:

The surf forecast for Birsay Bay over the next 12 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (Sep 19) at 7AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.9m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 1.0m and 10s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Birsay Bay in the next 12 days are 6.0m 12s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Sep 18) at 1PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.2m 5s period and expected on Thursday (Sep 18) at 1AM.

Wave Type	Time (BST) & Date	Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+)	7AM (Fri 19th Sep)	6ft (1.9m) 9s
Best Surf	7PM (Fri 19th Sep)	11ft (3.5m) 9s
Most Powerful	1PM (Thu 18th Sep)	20ft (6.0m) 12s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Birsay Bay over the next 12 days.

Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent

12 Days Hourly

Print Table

	Short Range Forecast Light rain (total 7mm), mostly falling on Wed afternoon. Very mild (max 14°C on Wed night, min 12°C on Tue night). Winds decreasing (gales from the WSW on Thu morning, light winds from the NW by Thu night).										Days 3-6 Weather Summary Moderate rain (total 10mm), heaviest on Fri night. Very mild (max 14°C on Fri night, min 9°C on Sat afternoon). Winds increasing (light winds from the WSW on Fri night, near gales from the NNE by Sat night).
		Wednesday 17			Thursday 18			Friday 19			Saturday 20			Sunday 21			Monday 22			Tue 23
	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM
Rating (10 max)	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) & direction (?)	NNW	N	N	N	WSW	WSW	WSW	NNW	WSW	NNW	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	NW	WNW	WNW	WNW
Period(s) (?)	9	9	9	9	14	12	11	9	8	8	10	10	10	9	10	12	11	8	8	8	14
Wave Graph (?)
kJ (?)	790	528	270	160	10510	10118	366	589	766	893	1293	1330	1403	1126	1275	1055	676	1190	390	207	322
Wind (km/h)	NNE	ESE	SE	SSW	SW	WSW	WNW	SSW	WSW	WSW	NNE	NE	NNE	NNE	N	NW	NNW	N	NNW	NNW	NNW
Wind State (?) onshore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore offshore glassy	cross- on	off	off	cross- off	cross	cross- on	cross- on	cross- off	cross	cross	cross- on	cross	cross	cross- on	cross- on	on	on	cross- on	on	cross- on	on
High Tide / height (m)		6:18AM 2.38	6:30PM 2.60		7:21AM 2.55		7:25PM 2.82	8:07AM 2.70		8:08PM 3.01	8:43AM 2.83		8:45PM 3.14	9:15AM 2.93		9:17PM 3.21	9:44AM 2.98		9:48PM 3.22	10:12AM 3.00
Low Tide / height (m)	11:51PM 0.84	12:20PM 1.03		1:02AM 0.61		1:18PM 0.82	1:51AM 0.37		2:02PM 0.61	2:31AM 0.18		2:39PM 0.44	3:05AM 0.06		3:12PM 0.32	3:36AM 0.01		3:43PM 0.26		4:06AM 0.04	4:14PM 0.25

		Wednesday 17			Thursday 18			Friday 19			Saturday 20			Sunday 21			Monday 22			Tue 23
Sunrise	-	6:45	-	-	6:47	-	-	6:48	-	-	6:50	-	-	6:54	-	-	6:56	-	-	6:58	-
Sunset	-	-	7:29	-	-	7:25	-	-	7:22	-	-	7:20	-	-	7:16	-	-	7:14	-	-	7:10

Rain (mm)	-	-	1	2	2	-	1	1	-	3	2	2	-	-	-	2	1	-	1	-	-
Temp. °C	13	13	13	14	14	14	13	14	14	14	11	9	11	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11
Feels °C (?)	8	5	7	8	2	3	6	7	7	9	7	-3	-1	-2	-1	1	1	4	4	6	5

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

Recent Eyeball Surf Reports for Scot - Orkney

Wind Update Continuing clean conditions at Birsay Bay (calm at Stromness 24 km from Birsay Bay). 1.9m 9s swell from the NNW with a 0.8m 11s groundswell from the W. 2 swells combining so expect closeout sets.
39 minutes ago Birsay Bay

Expand

View all

24 km away, 39 min ago

3 km/h

0.0

14.2

Air / Water (°C)

Please reload the page to see if there are any updates.

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 Birsay Bay 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 Birsay Bay Surf forecast

The above surf forecast table for Birsay Bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 12 days. A general guide to surfing at Birsay Bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Birsay Bay 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 (Birsay Bay) 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 Birsay Bay 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 Orkney Islands? If you are looking for accommodation near Birsay Bay, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Orkney Islands, consider staying in Kirkwall which is 26 km (16 miles) away. Other places in and around Orkney Islands where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Scrabster which is 58 km (36 miles) away and Wick, 79 km (49 miles) away.