Surf Forecasts:
Magheraroarty Strand surf forecast from 28 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 3 Sep, 10PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 10s period, W swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 4 Sep, 7PM (local time) - 16ft (5.0m), 12s period, WNW swell with 8,122 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 29 Aug, 1AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 6s period with NNW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Magheraroarty Strand this week:
The surf forecast for Magheraroarty Strand over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 29) at 1AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.8m and 6s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 7s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Magheraroarty Strand in the next 16 days are 5.0m 12s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Sep 04) at 7PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 2.3m 8s period and expected on Wednesday (Sep 02) at 7PM.
| Wave Type | Time (IST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 1AM (Sat 29th Aug) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 10PM (Thu 3rd Sep) | 10ft (3.0m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 7PM (Fri 4th Sep) | 16ft (5.0m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Magheraroarty Strand over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, folks, Rusty here with the outlook for our stretch of the coast. I've got my eye on one main spot over the next couple of weeks, and honestly, it's a tale of two extremes. This is a quiet period with some seriously big, messy swell on the way, followed by a couple of days that look too big for comfort.
We’ll be looking at Magheraroarty Strand here, a point break that’s usually a beginner-friendly spot. The water is sitting at 61°, which is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year – a bit of a surprise, but a welcome one.
Right now, and through this weekend, it’s a write-off. We’ve got tiny, weak swell with not much energy behind it. The combined swell energy is down around 40 to 45, just a whisper. It’s bumpy and cross-on, with no real push. A total non-starter for a paddle. We’re looking at a gap of about three days with nothing worth wetting a wetsuit for.
Things start to get interesting from Monday the 31st of August, but it’s not good news. The wind goes cross-shore and we see a jump in swell height to 4 ft from the WNW, with a period of 6 seconds. The combined energy climbs to 159, which is moderate, but the quality is shot. It’s a lumpy, cross-chop mess.
Tuesday the 1st of September serves up a proper pulse. Swell jumps to 5 ft from the west, with a period now up to 8 seconds and the combined energy hitting 323. That’s a moderate, building swell. But the wind is howling and it’s a full-on cross-shore slop. The wave comment says it all: poor surf conditions.
We get a small window on Wednesday the 2nd of September. The swell eases a little to 5 ft from the NNW, and the wind swings SE at 10 km/h, blowing cross-offshore and making it clean. The period is a nice 9 seconds, giving the waves a bit of shape. The combined energy is 341, so there’s some push there. It’s only a "marginal" outlook, but if you’re desperate, the morning might offer a few clean, if a little mushy, lines.
Then, hold onto your boardies. From Thursday the 3rd of September, it gets wild. The swell jumps massively. Thursday morning has 8 ft at 10 seconds, and Thursday afternoon hits 10 ft at 10 seconds. The combined energy goes through the roof into the thousands – 1449 and then 1723. That’s strong wave energy. But the wind is screaming at 40 km/h, on the cross, and the surface is a messy cross-chop. This is not beginner territory; at over 8 ft, it’s expert-only, and even then, it’s a battle.
Friday the 4th of September is even bigger with 13 ft to 16 ft swell from the WNW. The period stretches to 12 seconds, a proper groundswell. The combined energy is through the roof, hitting 4630 and then a massive 7378. This is very strong, powerful energy. With the wind howling cross-onshore, this setup at a beachy point is honestly looking more interesting for kite surfers than paddle surfers. It’s not on for a standard surfer.
The standout window, if you can call it that, is the morning of Saturday the 5th of September. The swell has dropped back to a still-sizable 10 ft from the WNW at 11 seconds. But crucially, the wind goes light and variable from the SE at 10 km/h, making for a glassy, clean surface. The combined energy is still huge at 1979. The files are saying this is too big for this break. At 10 ft with that kind of energy, even with clean conditions, it’s going to be a foaming, washing-machine shorebreak. This is only for the most experienced and well-equipped watermen and women, and it’s a major caveat.
After that, it all falls away very quickly. The rest of the window from Sunday the 6th of September onwards is back to tiny, weak, and wind-affected surf with combined energies dropping back into the double digits. There’s nothing else to recommend.
So, the best on offer is the clean window on the morning of Saturday the 5th of September, but only if you are an expert and know this break well because it will be heavy and huge. For everyone else, this is a 16-day period that is best spent looking at the charts and waiting for the next one. The long-range pulse on the 8th and 9th of September looks promising, with an 18 ft pulse and a very long 12-second period, but again with strong onshore winds, it’s a kite-surfing scenario, not a paddling one.
Stay safe out there.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 7mm), mostly falling on Sun morning. Very mild (max 15°C on Fri afternoon, min 13°C on Sun night). Winds increasing (calm on Sat night, fresh winds from the NW by Sun night). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 15mm), heaviest on Wed afternoon. Very mild (max 16°C on Wed afternoon, min 11°C on Tue night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the SW on Mon night, calm by Tue night). | |||||||||||||||||||
Fri 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | Tuesday 1 | Wednesday 2 | Thursday 3 | ||||||||||||||
PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNW 5 | NNW 6 | NNW 6 | NNW 6 | N 6 | N 7 | N 7 | NNW 7 | WNW 6 | NW 6 | W 6 | W 8 | W 8 | NNW 10 | NNW 9 | N 9 | N 12 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 |
Wave Graph | ||||||||||||||||||||
26 | 45 | 39 | 40 | 25 | 34 | 34 | 40 | 136 | 31 | 202 | 310 | 208 | 463 | 307 | 169 | 171 | 1363 | 1667 | 1768 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | glassy | cross-on | on | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 7:15PM3.49m | 7:30AM3.19m | 7:45PM3.56m | 8:00AM3.24m | 8:16PM3.55m | 8:32AM3.23m | 8:48PM3.46m | 9:06AM3.16m | 9:23PM3.30m | 9:44AM3.03m | 10:04PM3.08m | 10:29AM2.85m | 10:54PM2.80m | |||||||
Low Tide | 1:23AM0.16m | 1:26PM0.11m | 1:53AM0.09m | 1:57PM0.09m | 2:23AM0.10m | 2:30PM0.14m | 2:56AM0.18m | 3:05PM0.26m | 3:32AM0.34m | 3:45PM0.45m | 4:13AM0.56m | 4:34PM0.70m | ||||||||
— | — | 6:31 | — | — | 6:33 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:39 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — | |
8:36 | — | — | 8:34 | — | — | 8:30 | — | — | 8:29 | — | — | 8:25 | — | — | 8:23 | — | — | 8:21 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
Temp °C | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
Feels °C | 13 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 7 | NNW 6 | NNW 6 | NNW 6 | N 6 | WSW 10 | WSW 10 | WSW 9 | WSW 10 | NW 6 | NNW 6 | W 8 | W 8 | NNW 10 | NNW 9 | N 9 | N 12 | N 11 | N 11 | N 10 |
11 | 45 | 39 | 40 | 25 | 78 | 154 | 106 | 136 | 31 | 16 | 310 | 208 | 463 | 307 | 169 | 171 | 86 | 56 | 31 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NW 10 | W 7 | W 7 | W 7 | NW 6 | N 7 | N 7 | N 7 | N 6 | N 6 | — | NNW 6 | W 18 | W 8 | WSW 7 | W 16 | — | — | — | — |
4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 34 | 34 | 23 | 23 | 7 | — | 13 | 6 | 120 | 42 | 5 | — | — | — | — | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 8 | — | — | NE 5 | W 9 | WNW 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 17 | WNW 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
1 | — | — | 1 | 6 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNW 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | NNW 7 | WNW 6 | W 10 | W 6 | — | NNW 6 | — | SE 3 | SW 7 | W 8 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 |
26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 40 | 136 | 499 | 202 | — | 37 | — | 6 | 437 | 581 | 1363 | 1667 | 1768 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 381 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 264 | 3 | 9 | 121 | 438 | 120 | 58 | 444 | 348 | 0 | 3 | 433 | 369 | 1250 | 793 | 361 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Donegal | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Live Wind Speed (km/h)
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Information about the Magheraroarty Strand Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Magheraroarty Strand provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Magheraroarty Strand can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Magheraroarty Strand 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 (Magheraroarty Strand) 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 Magheraroarty Strand 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.
Magheroarty Strand is 35 km (22 miles) from the city of Letterkenny. If you plan a holiday in Donegal, look for hotels and other accommodation in Letterkenny. Letterkenny has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.











