Lynmouth Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s have a look at what’s on offer for the next couple of weeks around Lynmouth. To be honest, it’s a grim stretch. The whole 16-day window is a write-off, with no decent surf at all. Every single session is rated as poor surf conditions, so there’s no point getting your hopes up for a sneaky session. The water temperature is sitting at 67°F, which is a massive 6°F warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s a very unusual warm spell for the area.

The first few days are tiny and messy. Sunday the 2nd has swell of only 1.0ft from the WSW, with a short 8-second period, and a moderate cross-shore breeze making a cross-chop – not worth paddling out for. Monday the 3rd nudges up to 2ft, but still cross-shore wind and weak energy. Tuesday the 4th sees a bit more size, 3ft to 3ft, and the wind turns cross-offshore, so the surf is clean, but the swell period is a short 7 seconds, and combined wave energy is still weak (61 to 77). It’s just not enough push to get anything rideable.

Wednesday the 5th is the biggest of the whole run, with 4ft to 6ft swell from the west, but a strong breeze of 25 mph is blowing hard cross-shore in the morning, making it a messy, lumpy affair. The afternoon cleans up a bit with cross-offshore wind, but the swell is still short-period (7 seconds) and the energy is moderate (295). Still, poor surf conditions are called for, so it’s not worth the drive.

From Thursday the 6th onwards, it’s a tale of small, inconsistent, and wind-affected surf. The swell drops back under 4ft, period stays short, and the wind is almost always cross or cross-onshore. There’s a brief moment of glassy conditions on Friday the 7th morning, but the swell is just 1ft with a 5-second period and only 15 units of energy – you’d be floating. The rest of the first week is similarly poor.

The second week doesn’t get any better. From the 10th to the 13th, swell plummets to 0.3ft to 1ft with energy in the single digits. The wind is mostly cross or cross-onshore, and the period never gets above 9 seconds. Thursday the 14th and Friday the 15th see a slight bump to 3ft to 4ft, with moderate energy (151 to 173), but the wind is light cross-shore or cross-onshore, and the swell direction is west – not ideal for Lynmouth’s optimum WNW. The weekend of the 16th and 17th finishes with 6ft on Sunday afternoon (355 energy), but it’s cross-shore and the period is only 8 seconds – still poor.

So, the bottom line: there’s no surf worth chasing. Lynmouth is a sheltered point that needs a good W to WNW swell with clean winds, and we’re just not getting that. The only glimmer is the moderate swell size on the 5th and 16th, but the wind and short period ruin it. The lack of consistency here is normal – this spot is tagged as inconsistent, and this blank run is pretty typical for the area. Forecasts could change, but right now, keep the boards in the car.

Rusty.

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