Strandhill Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, checkin' in with the local outlook for Strandhill.

We're lookin' at a real mixed bag over the next 16 days, with some clean windows early on but a whole lot of frustration in between before a potential standout appears way down the line. There's a bit of a gap at the start, but we do have some surf from Monday morning onwards.

Monday, August 24th is your best early call. The morning session is the pick with a 3ft WNW swell, period around 11 seconds giving it some decent shape, and light offshore breezes from the SE keeping things clean. Combined energy is moderate (254). Water temp is 62°, and it's running a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so that's a nice little bonus. That morning window is really the one to jump on. By the afternoon, it gets a little smaller and the wind backs off to a slight air, but it'll still be clean with a 4ft W swell.

Tuesday, August 25th sees a drop in size, with a 3ft W swell in the morning and a clean but ordinary vibe. The wind picks up from the ESE at 9 mph, still offshore, so it's surfable but nothin' to write home about. The afternoon drops further to 2ft, and the wind goes cross-offshore, making it pretty average.

From Wednesday, August 26th through to the end of the month, it's a real struggle. The swell drops right off, down to 1.0ft – 2ft, winds are mostly cross-off or onshore, and the energy readings are weak. You're lookin' at a long stretch of poor surf conditions, with only tiny, weak waves on offer. Saturday the 29th has a tiny 2ft NW swell with a fresh offshore breeze, but the period is a short 6 seconds, so it won't have any push.

The 31st of August brings a sudden spike in size, with a 5ft WNW swell in the morning, but it's accompanied by a 9 mph cross-onshore wind and a short 6-second period, making for a choppy, ugly mess. By the afternoon it jumps to 7ft with onshore winds, and the energy jumps to 445. It's a messy, blown-out wave. This is one for the kite surfers, not for a paddle.

September 1st and 2nd stay poor, with strong onshore and cross-onshore winds and messy conditions. The swell is small and weak, just a write-off.

September 3rd offers a glimmer, with a 3ft W swell in the morning, period of 8 seconds, and a gentle offshore breeze from the SSE. It's clean and surfable, but only ordinary. The energy is moderate (129).

Then we hit another messy patch from September 4th with strong winds and lumpy 5ft – 6ft swell. Not the one.

Now, here's the one to keep an eye on. Saturday, September 5th morning. The forecast is showing a 6ft W swell, period of 10 seconds, and a light SSW breeze at 9 mph, making it cross-offshore and clean. The combined energy is strong (696). This is a serious swell, and with those clean conditions, it's going to be the best on offer across this whole 16-day window. It pushes into the expert-only zone for size, but for the experienced crew, this is a proper stand-out session. The afternoon goes to rat-shit with strong cross-onshore winds, so it's all about that morning.

After that, the 6th and 7th of September are messy with cross-onshore winds, but the morning of Monday, September 8th has a massive 12ft W swell with a 15-second period. That's a huge, long-period groundswell and combined energy is extremely strong (5590). However, the wind is a moderate cross-shore. This is directed at Strandhill, but the file says the swell is predicted to be too big for this break – this one is for the true experts only, and even then, it's likely a washing machine. By the afternoon, it's a 10ft swell with a fresh cross-shore – the whole setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Stay on it, the 5th of September morning is your mark.

- Rusty

Read more