Strandhill Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for Strandhill. The next 16 days are a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. We’ve got a good stretch of flat, junk surf coming up before things start to look interesting again.

First up, we kick off on Tuesday the 25th of August. The morning is a write-off, with a weak 3ft swell from the west, 10-second period, and only 118 combined energy. It’s clean enough with that offshore breeze from the southeast at 12 mph, but it’s just not doing anything. The afternoon is even smaller, dropping to 2ft and 59 energy. Wednesday and Thursday are worse, with tiny slop and then a glassy 2ft on Thursday morning that looks pretty but has no push. Honestly, the first few days are a bit of a dud.

Then there’s a real gap. From the end of the 27th right through to the 30th of August, things are flat or straight-up messy. The 30th sees a slight pulse of 3ft with 127 energy, but it's wrapped in a southerly wind that isn’t doing the break any favours, and the afternoon even picks up a risk of thunderstorms. Not your day.

Now, the big news: the end of August and start of September gets gnarly, but it’s for experts only. On the 31st of August, we’ve got a 12ft west swell with a 11-second period, cranking combined energy (3129), but the wind is a cross-onshore at 16 mph. That's a lot of water moving, but it'll be a messy, choppy beast. Only for the heavies, and even then, it’s going to be a battle.

The first of September still holds 10ft from the west, with even more energy at 1300, and the wind is cross-shore. The file actually says the swell might be too big for this break. That’s a red flag – Strandhill can handle a lot, but this is edging into unsurfable territory for most. It’s kite-surfing territory if anything.

Things settle down after that. We get a drop to 4ft on the 2nd, but the wind stays lumpy. It’s not until the 9th of September – that’s Wednesday morning – that we see a real shift. A small, clean 5ft from the northwest, with a period of just 7 seconds, but a light easterly offshore breeze at 3 mph. The combined energy is 243 – weak but present. The file says “expect good surf conditions”. This is the standout window. The wind will be slight, almost glassy, and the shape should be fun on the sandbars. It’s not going to be world-class, but compared to the rest, it’s the one to circle in the diary. If you can wait, that’s your session.

So, in short: the start is flat, the middle is blown-out and too big, but the 9th of September offers a clean, small window of fun waves. The water temperature is about average for the time of year, so no surprises there. The crowds at Strandhill can pop up, but on a weekday morning like that, you should have plenty of room.

Rusty.

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