Lahinch Strand Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s on the cards for Lahinch Strand. To be honest, we’re looking at a tough start with a long stretch of pretty ordinary conditions. There’s a massive gap before anything really gets interesting.

The water temp is sitting at 63°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, a nice little bonus when you’re suiting up.

From Friday the 14th right through to the 21st, it’s a write-off. The wind is mostly cross or cross-on, and the swell is small and weak. The wave energy is low, rarely cracking triple digits, and the surf is just poor. You’d be wasting your time.

There’s a brief flicker on the morning of Saturday the 22nd. The swell is tiny at 1ft from the WSW, but the wind goes glassy. It’s surfable, but only just, and it’s not going to get the heart racing.

After that, we hit another flat spell until Tuesday the 25th. The morning of the 25th finally shows some life. We’ve got a clean 3ft W swell with a 10-second period and moderate offshore wind from the NNE. The wave energy is moderate (139). It’s nothing epic, but it’s the first proper surfable window we’ve seen. The afternoon cleans up a bit more with a 3ft W swell, gentle cross-off wind, and clean conditions. Still just ordinary, but you’ll get a few.

The real standout, and the one to keep an eye on, is the afternoon of Thursday the 27th. We’ve got a 7ft swell from the WSW, but the period is only 7 seconds, so it’s a bit short. However, the wind is light offshore from the NNE, making for clean conditions. The wave energy is moderate (470). The warning here is that this break might be too big for beginners, and it’s a bit of a lumpy, short-period swell, so it won’t be perfect.

Then, and this is the big one, Friday the 28th. The morning brings a massive 18ft swell from the west with a very long 14-second period. The wind is a fresh cross-off from the NNE. The combined wave energy is a colossal 11355. This is a serious, serious groundswell. The afternoon keeps a 15ft swell with a 13-second period. This is expert territory only. The swell is way over 8ft, and with that long period, it’s going to be a freight train. It’s an incredible forecast, but it’s a week and a half out, so keep your fingers crossed. It’s one for the very experienced crew only.

Saturday the 29th still has an 12ft swell in the morning, dropping to 10ft in the afternoon. Still big, still for experts only.

So, to boil it down: there’s a lot of nothing, then a couple of tiny, ordinary windows, and then a massive, dangerous, but potentially world-class swell at the end. If you’re a beginner, stay away from the 27th onwards. For the experienced, the 28th morning is the best on offer, but treat it with huge respect.

Rusty.

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