Fanad Head Reef Surf Forecast

/ Donegal (44 surf breaks) /

Ireland (149 surf breaks)

Surf Forecasts:

Fanad Head Reef surfForecast / Donegal / Ireland

12 Day Weather and Surf, issued 6 am Tuesday 16 Sep 2025 IST

Forecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent

Fanad Head Reef surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.

Today's Fanad Head Reef sea temperature is 15.7° C
(Which is 2.1°C warmer than normal for this time of year)

Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Fanad Head Reef this week:

The surf forecast for Fanad Head Reef over the next 12 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Sep 16) at 10PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.4m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 9s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Fanad Head Reef in the next 12 days are 3.5m 14s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Sep 17) at 10PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.6m 3s period and expected on Wednesday (Sep 17) at 10AM.

Wave Type	Time (IST) & Date	Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+)	10PM (Tue 16th Sep)	4.5ft (1.4m) 10s
Best Surf	7PM (Wed 17th Sep)	11ft (3.5m) 14s
Most Powerful	10PM (Wed 17th Sep)	11ft (3.5m) 14s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Fanad Head Reef over the next 12 days.

Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent

12 Days Hourly

Print Table

	Short Range Forecast Moderate rain (total 18mm), heaviest on Tue night. Very mild (max 17°C on Thu night, min 11°C on Tue night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the ESE on Tue night, calm by Thu afternoon).									Days 3-6 Weather Summary Light rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Fri night. Very mild (max 15°C on Fri morning, min 10°C on Sat night). Winds increasing (moderate winds from the WSW on Fri night, near gales from the NNE by Sat afternoon).
	Tuesday 16			Wednesday 17			Thursday 18			Friday 19			Saturday 20			Sunday 21			Monday 22
	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night
Rating (10 max)	0	0	1	0	1	!	3	2	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) & direction (?)	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	W	WNW	WNW	WNW	NNW	NNW	NNW	NNW	NNW	N	N	N	N	N	N	NNW	N
Period(s) (?)	12	11	10	9	10	14	12	10	14	12	11	10	10	9	9	8	8	6	6	10	5
Wave Graph (?)
Energy (?)	1140	673	270	108	1038	3894	1295	584	833	1015	810	421	366	573	980	610	291	105	88	72	40
Wind (km/h)	WNW	W	SE	SSW	SW	SSW	S	WSW	SW	SSW	SW	N	NNW	N	NNE	NNE	NNE	N	N	N	NW
Wind State (?) onshore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore offshore glassy	cross- on	cross- on	off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	on	on	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on	on	on	cross- on	on
High Tide / height (m)		2:52PM 2.54	3:45AM 2.38		4:13PM 2.78		4:48AM 2.59	5:07PM 3.04		5:33AM 2.80	5:48PM 3.25		6:09AM 2.96	6:23PM 3.40		6:41AM 3.09	6:55PM 3.47		7:11AM 3.17		7:24PM 3.47
Low Tide / height (m)			9:23PM 0.98	9:42AM 0.98		10:35PM 0.74	10:42AM 0.73		11:23PM 0.50	11:26AM 0.48		12:01AM 0.31	12:02PM 0.29		12:33AM 0.17	12:35PM 0.16		1:02AM 0.10		1:06PM 0.10	1:30AM 0.09

	Tuesday 16			Wednesday 17			Thursday 18			Friday 19			Saturday 20			Sunday 21			Monday 22
Sunrise	7:03	-	-	7:05	-	-	7:07	-	-	7:09	-	-	7:09	-	-	7:11	-	-	7:13	-	-
Sunset	-	7:45	-	-	7:44	-	-	7:40	-	-	7:37	-	-	7:36	-	-	7:32	-	-	7:30	-

Rain (mm)	1	-	13	-	-	-	-	3	1	-	-	2	-	1	1	1	-	-	-	-	2
Temp. °C	14	14	13	15	15	14	15	16	17	15	15	13	12	13	11	11	11	11	12	12	12
Feels °C (?)	8	10	8	10	7	7	12	15	12	9	9	9	4	4	0	0	1	3	5	6	7

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 Donegal

Wind Update The wind is still cross-on at Fanad Head Reef (moderate winds from the W at Malin Head 22 km from Fanad Head Reef). No surfable waves
1 hour 8 minutes ago Fanad Head Reef

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22 km away, 1 h 8 min ago

25 km/h

0.0

15.7

Air / Water (°C)

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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Fanad Head Reef 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 Fanad Head Reef Surf forecast

The above surf forecast table for Fanad Head Reef provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 12 days. A general guide to surfing at Fanad Head Reef can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Fanad Head Reef 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 (Fanad Head Reef) 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 Fanad Head Reef 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.

Fanad Head Reef is 22 km (14 miles) from the city of Malin Head. If you plan a holiday in Donegal, look for hotels and other accommodation in Malin Head. Malin Head has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.