Surf Forecasts:
Crab Island surf forecast from 2 Sep 2026:
- Most powerful swell: Friday 4 Sep, 10AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 12s period, W swell with 2,864 kJ wave energy.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Crab Island this week:
The most powerful waves expected at Crab Island in the next 16 days are 3.0m 12s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Sep 04) at 10AM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.7m 4s period and expected on Sunday (Sep 06) at 1PM.
| Wave Type | Time (IST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | - | - |
| Best Surf | - | - |
| Most Powerful | 10AM (Fri 4th Sep) | 10ft (3.0m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Crab Island over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, grab a coffee and listen up. It’s Rusty here. We’re looking at a pretty grim run of surf for the next couple of weeks. To be honest, the first 14 days are a write-off for any kind of decent paddle surfing. The wind is howling from the wrong directions, and the quality is just not there. You’d be better off cleaning the wax off your board than looking at the ocean. We have to wait a full two weeks before anything even starts to look promising.
The only real standout, and I mean the *only* one, is shaping up for Wednesday the 16th. Crab Island (Clare) is a reef break, exposed to the swell. It’s not for the faint-hearted, it’s an advanced spot, and it can get busy. But for that one morning, the planets finally align. We’ve got a solid 6.2 ft groundswell from the WSW with a long period of 11 seconds, packing a punch with moderate wave energy (858). The wind? Glassy. Completely glassy. That’s the kind of morning that makes you forget about the two weeks of nothing that came before it. The water is about average for this time of year. The full day is good, with the Thursday morning the 17th also looking clean but with a slightly smaller 4.9 ft swell and glassy conditions again. If you’ve been waiting, that Wednesday 16th morning is the call. The rest of that day gets a bit choppy, but that morning window is gold.
Before that, don’t even bother. There’s a stretch of nothing until we get to Saturday the 5th where a 5.6 ft west swell shows up, but it’s cross-onshore and the energy is weak (651). It’s a marginal call at best. It stays poor and messy right up until the 11th of September where the swell drops right off and the energy is pathetic, under 100. We go from Thursday the 10th afternoon right through to Tuesday the 15th with absolutely nothing worth mentioning. It’s a proper flat spell.
So, the final word: sit it out until Wednesday the 16th of September. That glassy morning with a 6.2 ft groundswell at Crab Island is the one to circle on the calendar. Everything else is a hard pass.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 20mm), heaviest during Thu afternoon. Very mild (max 18°C on Wed afternoon, min 14°C on Thu afternoon). Winds increasing (light winds from the SSW on Tue night, strong winds from the W by Thu night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Mon afternoon. Very mild (max 19°C on Sun morning, min 14°C on Fri night). Winds increasing (light winds from the SW on Sat morning, strong winds from the SW by Mon afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 2 | Thursday 3 | Friday 4 | Saturday 5 | Sunday 6 | Monday 7 | Tuesday 8 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SW 7 | WSW 6 | WSW 8 | WSW 8 | WSW 8 | W 10 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 10 | W 10 | W 8 | WSW 8 | WSW 9 | WSW 14 | WSW 12 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | W 9 | W 9 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 112 | 175 | 308 | 424 | 521 | 956 | 2864 | 2831 | 1616 | 644 | 307 | 137 | 256 | 415 | 1765 | 1420 | 1484 | 998 | 668 | 450 | 372 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | on | on | on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | on | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 9:04AM4.04m | 9:22PM3.94m | 9:50AM3.81m | 10:16PM3.64m | 10:49AM3.56m | 11:27PM3.35m | 12:06PM3.39m | 00:58AM3.23m | 1:37PM3.42m | 2:31AM3.36m | 2:58PM3.67m | 3:44AM3.66m | 4:01PM4.02m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 2:59PM0.65m | 3:21AM0.71m | 3:46PM0.92m | 4:11AM1.06m | 4:49PM1.22m | 5:24AM1.39m | 6:28PM1.39m | 7:15AM1.51m | 8:19PM1.23m | 8:50AM1.29m | 9:32PM0.84m | 9:52AM0.95m | 10:24PM0.44m | ||||||||
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | | | |  | | |  | | | | | | | |
 | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:50 | — | — | 6:52 | — | — | 6:54 | — | — | 6:56 | — | — | 6:58 | — | — |
 | — | 8:24 | — | — | 8:22 | — | — | 8:20 | — | — | 8:17 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:13 | — | — | 8:10 | — |
mm | 1 | — | — | 1 | 8 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 3 | 4 | — | — | 1 |
Temp °C | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 |
Feels °C | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 8 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 8 | WNW 7 | — | — | — | — | — | SW 14 | SW 14 | W 10 | W 10 | W 8 | WSW 8 | WSW 9 | WSW 14 | — | — | — | W 10 | W 9 | — |
| kJ | 34 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | 8 | 644 | 307 | 137 | 256 | 415 | 1765 | — | — | — | 668 | 450 | — |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SW 14 | SW 13 | WNW 9 | SW 13 | W 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 7 | 31 | 7 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SW 13 | — | NW 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 7 | WSW 6 | WSW 8 | WSW 8 | WSW 8 | W 10 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | — | — | SSE 3 | S 3 | — | — | WSW 12 | W 10 | W 10 | — | — | W 9 |
| kJ | 112 | 175 | 308 | 424 | 521 | 956 | 2864 | 2831 | 1616 | — | — | 2 | 5 | — | — | 1420 | 1484 | 998 | — | — | 372 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 132 | 138 | 138 | 138 | 627 | 162 | 162 | 597 | 97 | 16 | 97 | 16 | 99 | 101 | 164 | 162 | 577 | 117 | 92 | 114 | 376 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Clare | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Crab Island 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 Crab Island Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Crab Island provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Crab Island can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Crab Island 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 (Crab Island) 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 Crab Island 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 Clare? If you are looking for accommodation near Crab Island, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Clare, consider staying in Galway which is 35 km (22 miles) away. Other places in and around Clare where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Inis which is 35 km (22 miles) away, Shannon, Foynes and Limerick.
Nearest