Dawlish Warren Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I’m lookin’ at the full 16-day window here, and I’ve gotta be straight with you—it’s a bleak run for Dawlish Warren (South West England). The water temp’s sittin’ at 67°F which is much warmer than usual for this time of year, a solid 5°F above normal, so it’s a treat if you’re just paddlin’ around, but the waves? Barely a whisper.

The first proper surf showing up is on the 27th of August, Thursday morning, with a weak 4ft swell from the SE, but the period’s a tiny 6 seconds, and the wind’s cross-on from the SSW at 9 mph. Combined energy’s a measly 71 – basically no push. It’s poor surf, no way around it. That afternoon gets worse with the wind pickin’ up to 16 mph, and the swell drops to 2ft. Friday the 28th morning has a small 3ft SW swell, but the cross-shore wind from the SW at 16 mph makes it choppy and messy. Friday afternoon sees a bump to 5ft SW swell, period still short at 6 seconds, and energy climbs to 188, but that fresh cross-onshore wind at 19 mph kills it—lumpy and poor.

Saturday the 29th gets a bit bigger, with the morning pushin’ 6ft from the SSW, period 6 seconds, and energy at 245, but the wind’s howlin’ from the SSW at 25 mph—strong cross-onshore, messy, and not worth it. Afternoon swell hits 7ft from the SSW, period 7 seconds, energy jumps to 503, but it’s gotta be said: with that strong cross-shore wind at 28 mph, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. The rest of the run? Sunday through to the 10th of September is a graveyard of tiny swells, mostly under 3ft, with periods that are either too short or too long (like a 16-second groundswell on the 2nd that’s only 0.3ft – tease). The only clean moments come on the 31st August and 1st September, with cross-off winds from the west, but the swell’s a pathetic 1ft to 2ft – not enough to stand up on. The 5th September morning has a glassy 3ft SW swell, period 5 seconds, energy at 39, but it’s still poor surf conditions. The 9th September sees a long-period 10-second swell from the west, but it’s a tiny 0.3ft. For a sheltered, inconsistent spot like Dawlish Warren that only really works on a SSW swell, this is a long blank stretch. There’s no standout, no best on offer—just a whole lot of waitin’.

Rusty

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