Folkestone Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a good hard look at what’s on offer for the next couple of weeks, and I’ll be straight with you – it’s not looking great for getting wet. We’ve got a long stretch of poor conditions ahead, so don’t get your hopes up.

The outlook kicks off on Sunday, 12 July, but don’t get excited. There’s swell showing at Folkestone, but the wind is a strong cross-shore from the NE at 25 mph, making a mess of that 5 ft swell with a short, weak 6-second period. The water is sitting at 65°, which is much warmer than normal, but that’s about the only positive. The combined swell energy is weak, reading just 150. It’s a write-off.

We then slide into a long, flat run. From Monday 13 July all the way through to Sunday 20 July, the surf is a no-go. We’ve got tiny waves under 3 ft with short periods, mostly cross-shore winds, and the energy readings are in the teens or single digits. There’s a brief moment on Thursday 16 July morning that goes glassy, but there’s only 0.3 ft of swell. Not worth paddling out for.

The pattern picks up slightly on Friday 17 July afternoon, with a bit of 3 ft swell from the SW and a clean cross-off breeze. But with a 4-second period, that’s pure windswill, and the energy is only 40. Still not a surfer’s window.

Saturday 18 July gives us a clean offshore breeze from the NW in the morning, but the swell is a tiny 2 ft from the SSW and barely registers on the energy scale at 4. It’s a flat spell.

From Sunday 19 July right through to Saturday 26 July, almost every slot shows no swell or very small, weak waves with poor wind. The swell energy rarely cracks double digits. There’s a bit of a clean offshore window on the morning of Wednesday 22 July, but with no swell to speak of. By Friday 24 July, the wind gets strong, even hitting near gale force in the afternoon, so it’s not surfable.

The only possible standout, and I use that term loosely, is Monday 27 July. The morning shows a 4 ft swell from the SW, combined energy reading 56, with a clean cross-off breeze from the NNW at just 6 mph. The swell period is 5 seconds though – short and choppy. It’s not a classic, but if you’re desperate, that’s your best bet in the whole 16-day window. The water temperature at Folkestone is much warmer than usual, which is a small comfort.

So overall, we’re looking at a solid two-week blank for good surf. A blank run like this is fairly normal for this sheltered spot, especially when the wind and swell refuse to play ball.

– Rusty

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