Surf Forecasts:
Magheraroarty Strand surf forecast from 16 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 18 Aug, 7PM (local time) - 7ft (2.2m), 9s period, W swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 19 Aug, 7PM (local time) - 7.5ft (2.3m), 10s period, WNW swell with 1,059 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 16 Aug, 4AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 8s period with NW 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 Sunday (Aug 16) at 4AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.1m and 8s period. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Magheraroarty Strand in the next 16 days are 2.3m 10s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 7PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.8m 7s period and expected on Monday (Aug 17) at 10PM.
| Wave Type | Time (IST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 4AM (Sun 16th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 8s |
| Best Surf | 7PM (Tue 18th Aug) | 7ft (2.2m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 7PM (Wed 19th Aug) | 7.5ft (2.3m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Magheraroarty Strand over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – the next couple of weeks are looking pretty bleak for a proper surf at Magheraroarty Strand. There’s a real gap at the start of the forecast, so if you were hoping to get wet this weekend, you might want to make other plans.
The first real chance of anything worthwhile doesn’t show up until Tuesday the 19th of August. Before that, it’s mostly small, weak, and messy. Sunday the 16th has a tiny bit of push – around 3ft from the WNW with a light cross-off breeze, so it’s surfable but honestly pretty ordinary. The energy’s weak, only reading 104 on the combined scale, and the period’s a short 8 seconds, so it’s not going to have much punch. Monday’s even worse, dropping off and struggling with light rain and poor conditions.
Now, the one true standout in this whole stretch is Wednesday morning and afternoon on the 19th. The swell builds to a solid 7ft to 7ft from the west, with a period that climbs to 10 seconds – that’s proper groundswell energy, and the combined energy readings jump right up to 671 and then 832, which is strong, meaty stuff. The wind is cross-offshore, moderate but clean, and the morning has that “marginal” tag on it, but the afternoon looks better with the wind and tide lining up. This is the pick of the fortnight, but here’s the catch – at 7ft, it’s getting into expert territory. Not one for the beginners, that’s for sure. The break is inconsistent at the best of times, so you’ll want to be patient and pick your moments. It’s an exposed point, and the optimum swell direction is NNW, but we’re getting a straight west swell, which is still workable but not quite perfect.
After that, it’s a long, sad slide back into nothing. Thursday the 20th sees the wind swing onshore and the quality just dies. The rest of the week and into the following week is mostly tiny, wind-affected junk. There’s a slight bump around the 28th and 29th with some 4ft to 4ft west-northwest swell, but the wind is cross-onshore or onshore, and the energy is only moderate at best. By the 26th and 27th, it’s practically flat – energy readings down to a pathetic 1 or 2, so you’re looking at dribble.
The water temp is sitting at 61°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year – about 3°F above the long-term average. So, it’s not freezing, but it’s not exactly tropical either. There are no other breaks in the data to switch to, so we’re stuck with this one spot, and it’s a blank run for the most part.
Bottom line: if you’re an experienced surfer, keep an eye on Wednesday the 19th – that’s your window. Everyone else might as well stay home and wash the wetsuit. It’s a long dry spell, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Forecasts can change, so don’t give up hope, but right now, this is a quiet stretch.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 18mm), heaviest on Mon afternoon. Very mild (max 16°C on Mon afternoon, min 13°C on Sat night). Winds increasing (light winds from the WSW on Sat night, fresh winds from the WSW by Mon afternoon). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 8mm), mostly falling on Tue night. Very mild (max 15°C on Tue afternoon, min 13°C on Tue night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the W on Tue night, light winds from the NNW by Wed night). | |||||||||||||||||||
Sat 15 | Sunday 16 | Monday 17 | Tuesday 18 | Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | ||||||||||||||
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) | WNW 8 | NW 8 | WNW 8 | NW 7 | W 10 | W 8 | N 7 | W 7 | W 8 | W 8 | W 9 | W 9 | W 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 9 | W 9 | N 6 | N 6 | N 6 | N 5 |
Wave Graph | ||||||||||||||||||||
191 | 167 | 98 | 33 | 51 | 165 | 16 | 311 | 410 | 659 | 775 | 664 | 826 | 833 | 424 | 235 | 124 | 200 | 98 | 25 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | on | on | on | on | cross-on | on |
High Tide | 8:47PM3.72m | 9:05AM3.21m | 9:24PM3.50m | 9:42AM3.06m | 10:01PM3.21m | 10:20AM2.87m | 10:40PM2.89m | 11:00AM2.67m | 11:23PM2.58m | 11:51AM2.46m | 00:22AM2.31m | 1:08PM2.31m | 1:58AM2.17m | |||||||
Low Tide | 2:57AM0.04m | 3:01PM0.10m | 3:33AM0.24m | 3:40PM0.33m | 4:09AM0.50m | 4:20PM0.61m | 4:47AM0.78m | 5:05PM0.91m | 5:32AM1.05m | 6:04PM1.19m | 6:36AM1.27m | 7:35PM1.36m | ||||||||
— | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:11 | — | — | 6:11 | — | — | 6:13 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | |
— | 9:07 | — | — | 9:05 | — | — | 9:02 | — | — | 9:00 | — | 8:58 | — | — | 8:55 | — | — | 8:52 | — | |
mm | — | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | 4 | 8 | 1 | — | — | 3 | 2 | 2 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 15 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 |
Feels °C | 12 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 8 | NW 8 | WNW 8 | WSW 6 | W 10 | N 8 | WSW 8 | N 7 | N 7 | — | W 17 | W 17 | W 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 9 | W 9 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 |
191 | 167 | 98 | 55 | 51 | 18 | 133 | 4 | 4 | — | 6 | 6 | 826 | 833 | 424 | 235 | 99 | 55 | 37 | 19 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 9 | WSW 7 | WSW 7 | NW 7 | N 8 | NW 7 | N 7 | W 18 | W 16 | — | — | N 8 | W 17 | W 16 | W 16 | W 16 | WSW 9 | WSW 9 | WSW 9 | WSW 8 |
6 | 9 | 9 | 33 | 33 | 7 | 16 | 6 | 5 | — | — | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 26 | 15 | 13 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | N 9 | N 9 | N 9 | NW 7 | W 18 | NNW 6 | — | — | — | — | — | N 8 | — | W 16 | — | W 15 | W 17 | W 17 | W 11 |
— | 6 | 6 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 5 | — | 4 | 6 | 5 | 9 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | SSE 2 | W 8 | W 8 | — | W 7 | W 8 | W 8 | W 9 | W 9 | — | — | N 8 | N 6 | N 6 | N 6 | N 6 | N 5 |
— | — | — | 1 | 165 | 165 | — | 311 | 410 | 659 | 775 | 664 | — | — | 5 | 95 | 124 | 200 | 98 | 25 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 120 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 23 | 3 | 341 | 392 | 433 | 345 | 394 | 87 | 58 | 66 | 361 | 133 | 121 | 341 | 181 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Donegal | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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.











