Strandhill Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s have a look at what’s shaking for Strandhill over the coming days.

Alright, first thing to say: it’s a bit of a slow burner. The water temp is sitting at 17°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so that’s a small comfort when you’re sitting out there waiting.

Right now, the immediate picture is pretty grim. We’ve got a tiny 0.7ft swell with only 7 seconds of period and light rain, making for some poor conditions. That stretches into the weekend – Sunday morning offers a little lift with a 1ft, 10-second swell from the W with a light offshore SE wind, which will at least look clean, but it’s still tiny. The real story is that the surf doesn’t really get going until well into the following week.

We do have a proper pulse arriving on Tuesday the 1st of September. The morning sees a 5ft swell from the W with an 8-second period and a cross-offshore wind from the SSW, giving us clean lines at the take-off. The combined energy is moderate at 335 – a solid step up. It’s not world-class, but it’s surfable and the wind is your friend. Keep an eye on the afternoon as the wind swings cross-shore and messes things up a bit.

Now, the standout window is clearly the first week of September, but you need to be picky. The real heavyweight arrives from Thursday the 3rd of September, with a massive 12ft to 13ft swell from the W, with a period stretching to 12-13 seconds. Combined energy is through the roof – 3,181 and then 4,340 – this is powerful water. However, the wind is a solid cross-onshore from the W and WSW, so the quality is going to be lumpy and messy. This is expert-only territory, and honestly, at that size with that wind, the setup looks far more interesting for kite surfing than for a paddle session. The waves will be closing out and it will be a beast of a paddle.

If you want the best of the swell without the chaos, look to the later part of the first week. The morning of Saturday the 5th of September sees the swell dropping back to 5ft from the WNW with a 10-second period and a clean cross-offshore wind. The combined energy is a solid 450 – moderate to strong. That’s your window for some proper, rideable waves. The wind is clean and the swell has enough period to stand up.

As we push into the second week, the pattern settles. Tuesday the 8th of September morning looks very tidy. A 4ft swell from the WNW with a 9-second period and a light offshore SSE breeze. The waves will be clean, the combined energy is moderate at 261, and conditions should be good for a session that doesn’t require a fight. That’s another standout.

Things get a bit iffy again mid-week, but then we see another interesting window arrive on Friday the 11th of September. This is a long-range call, so less certain, but the forecast shows a 8ft to 8ft swell from the W and WNW with a 12-second period, and a cross-offshore wind from the SSE and S. The combined energy is very strong at 1,735. That’s a serious groundswell with a long period, which at a beach break like Strandhill can be a bit straight, but the clean offshore flow makes it a promising prospect for the more experienced surfer. Saturday the 12th of September morning then looks like a great follow-up with a 5ft, 11-second swell from the WNW, light cross-offshore wind, and exceptional combined energy of 531. That’s likely the pick of the second week.

Overall, don’t bother with the first few days. The best on offer is the early morning of Saturday the 5th of September for a clean, solid session, and then the morning of Tuesday the 8th of September. Keep the second week window of Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th of September in mind, but treat it as a promising possibility rather than a sure thing.

Rusty.

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