Strandhill Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a proper look at what the next couple of weeks are serving up, and I’ll be straight with you – it’s a tough stretch for surf at Strandhill.

The overall pattern is grim for most of the period, with only a handful of very brief windows where you might get a wave, and even then, it’s nothing to write home about. The first real surfable option doesn’t show up until Sunday the 30th of August, but it’s marginal at best. The following weeks are littered with blown-out, onshore slop or flat spells, with long gaps of nothing recommended.

The first break on offer is Strandhill itself, a sandy beach-and-sandbar setup that’s fully exposed to the swell. The water temp is going to feel about average for the time of year, so you won't be needing a winter suit just yet.

For the first few days, forget it. Friday the 28th of August has some tiny 1.0 ft WNW windswell with a short period of 8 seconds, but the wind is onshore and it’s just poor. Saturday the 29th is even smaller. The first tiny flicker of hope comes on Sunday morning the 30th of August. A new, weak 1 ft swell from the WSW rolls in with a 10-second period, but the wind is light from the SE – that’s offshore for Strandhill. The combined energy is pitiful at just 33, but the wind is clean. It’s tiny, but glassy. The afternoon gives you a slight bump to 2 ft and a cross-off breeze, making for surfable, but very ordinary conditions. It’s a score of 1 out of 10 stuff, but if you’re desperate for a paddle, that’s your window.

Then the wind swings onshore and we get a solid stretch of nasty weather. Monday the 31st of August brings moderate cross-onshore winds and lumpy, 3 ft slop. As we move into the first week of September, the swell builds but the wind stays terrible. Tuesday the 1st of September sees 5 ft waves with a fresh cross-onshore wind blowing it all to bits – messy, choppy, and poor. By Wednesday morning the 2nd of September, the wind drops and we get a clean, 2 ft wave, but it has very weak energy (63) and is just ordinary again.

The next decent-sized swell arrives on Thursday the 3rd of September. It’s a 7 ft clean wave in the morning from the W with a 10-second period, and the combined energy jumps to 848 (moderate). But by afternoon the wind cranks up from the WSW, turning it into a lumpy mess. Then on Friday the 4th of September, a big 10 ft swell with a 13-second period (that’s a real groundswell) slams in, but the energy is a massive 2914. The wind is a strong cross-onshore, and the forecast explicitly says the swell is too big for this break. That’s expert-only territory, and even then, with that wind, it’s a washing machine.

The rest of the first half of September is a write-off. Strong winds, lumpy seas, and cross-shore chop dominate. There’s a brief moment on Tuesday the 8th of September with a small, clean 3 ft wave in the morning, but it’s very weak (energy of 84). The next day, the 9th, we get 28 mph cross-shore winds with a 10 ft swell that’s just blown out and dangerous. By the 10th we’re looking at an 12 ft, 12-second groundswell with near gale force winds, all poor conditions. The final days of the forecast are more of the same – small, weak, and onshore.

If you must surf, your only real options are the clean but very tiny windows on the morning of Sunday the 30th of August, or the clean but weak morning of Wednesday the 2nd of September. The 10 ft swell on the 4th is too big and windy. Honestly, for a beach break like this with no shelter from the prevailing wind, this whole 16-day run looks a lot more interesting for kite surfers than paddle surfers.

Rusty.

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