Strandhill Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, folks, Rusty here. I’ve had a look at the charts for the Strandhill area over the next couple of weeks, and I’ll be straight with you – it’s a bit of a tough stretch. The forecast is showing a real lack of quality, with the wind and swell not lining up for any proper sessions. We’re looking at a long, dry spell.

For the first few days, from Saturday the 15th right through to the end of the month, the story is mostly the same. The swell is small, and the wind is almost always onshore or cross-onshore, which is just going to turn the ocean into a messy, lumpy, choppy mess. The combined wave energy is weak, mostly under 100 (83), so there’s no real power in the water. The water temperature is 62°, which feels a touch warmer than normal for the time of year, but that’s about the only small mercy.

The one tiny window where things might clean up is on the morning of Sunday the 16th. We get a light offshore wind from the SSE, which is a little unusual for Strandhill as it’s a beach/sandbar setup that really needs that optimum WNW swell to deliver. The swell is only 2 ft with a short 8-second period, and the energy is a paltry 32. It would be clean, but it’s just too small and weak to get excited about.

The biggest pulse of swell comes through from Wednesday the 19th into Thursday the 20th, with heights around 5 ft to 6 ft and a 9-10 second period. The combined energy gets up into the moderate range (399 to 476). But the wind is a fresh cross-shore or cross-onshore, making it lumpy and poor quality. With that size and the wind, it’s really only going to be interesting for the kite surfers, not for a paddle surfer.

The forecast even shows a couple of glassy, clean mornings on the 26th and 27th, but the swell is virtually non-existent at 0.7 ft. There’s just nothing to ride.

The only real glimmer of hope is right at the end of the run, on Sunday the 30th of August. We see a small increase in swell to 3 ft from the WNW, with a 7-second period, and the combined energy reaches 101. It’s still cross-onshore, so not perfect, but it’s the first sign of life in over a week. It’s not a standout, but it’s the only thing that might produce a few grovelly, close-out waves.

So, strap in for a quiet period. There’s nothing on the horizon that’s worth putting the wetsuit on for. But, as things go, it won’t stay this poor forever, and the forecasts can change.

Rusty.

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