Bundoran Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here with a look at what Bundoran’s got cookin’ over the next couple of weeks. I gotta be straight with you – the first part of this forecast is a bit of a heartbreaker. We’ve got a long, dry spell staring us down.

From Friday the 10th right through to Wednesday the 22nd of July, it’s pretty grim. There’s barely a ripple worth paddling for. The swell is tiny, mostly below 2ft, and what little energy there is gets chopped up by onshore or cross-onshore winds. You’ll see a few days with a light offshore breeze (E, ESE) making the surface glassy, but with swell heights bottoming out at less than 1ft to 1ft, it’s just not enough to push a wave. The water temp is sitting at a very unusual 62°, which is a solid 5° warmer than normal for this time of year – feels like a bath, but it won’t make the surf any better. The combined energy is weak, often in the low double digits (e.g., 14, 18, 22).

Around the 18th and 19th, we see a little pulse of NW swell, but the wind is howling from the north at 15 mph, making a mess of things. The 21st sees a bump in swell to 4ft but with a short, weak period of 6 seconds and chunky cross-onshore wind, it's just messy. Then on the 22nd, the swell pushes up to 5ft (324 energy), but again, the wind is on it. The numbers look more interesting for a kite session than a paddle session during this whole stretch.

But hold tight, because the light at the end of the tunnel is a beauty.

The real standout, the one you’ve been waiting for, comes on Friday the 24th of July. Bundoran (Ireland) wakes up to a proper shot of groundswell. We're looking at a solid 5ft swell rolling in from the west, and here’s the kicker – the wind swings around to a clean offshore from the southeast at 9 mph. The period jumps to a very long 14 seconds, which means power, shape, and those long lines. The combined energy is a whopping 1012, so there’s serious grunt in the water. The afternoon is even better with a steady 9 mph offshore breeze and the swell holding at 5ft from the west. This is premium stuff for experienced surfers; beginners should stay out of the way, as it will be a bit too much. The 14-second period will have those sets lining up beautifully.

Saturday the 25th is still a good day. The swell drops a touch to 4ft in the morning with a moderate offshore from the SSE (15 mph), still packing 329 energy – so the quality will be there, just a bit smaller and windier. The afternoon sees 5ft swell and a lighter cross-offshore wind, another solid session.

So, there you have it. A long, frustrating wait, but that Friday the 24th into Saturday the 25th looks like it will be worth the patience. Keep an eye on that long-range call, it’s promising but you know how it goes – we’ll nail it down closer to the day.

Rusty.

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