The Bowl Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Scotland – North Coast, UK)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
Maps
Live
Weather State
Spot Information

The Bowl Surf Guide

The Bowl on the North Coast is an exposed reef break that has quite consistent surf and can work at any time of the year. The best wind direction is from the south. Tends to receive a mix of groundswells and windswells and the ideal swell direction is from the northwest. There is a right breaking reef. Sometimes crowded. Watch out for rocks and rips.

The Bowl Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	4	fairly consistent	8.9°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing The Bowl:

The best conditions reported for surf at The Bowl occur when a Northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the South.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf The Bowl (for consistent clean waves)?

februaryBest Season: autumn

The best time of year for surfing The Bowl with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Autumn and most often the month of February. Clean surfable waves are typically found 43% of the time in February while 47% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 10% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

43%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

47%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

10%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore The Bowl Location Map

Interactive The Bowl surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to The Bowl is Wick Airport (WIC) in U.k., 37 km (23 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to The Bowl is Kirkwall Airport (KOI) in Scotland, 57 km (35 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

The Bowl Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Thursday, 7 May 2026, 11:36 Local Time

m, °C	Thursday 07
ft, °F	10AM	1PM	4PM	7PM
Wave (m)	N	N	N	W
Period (s)	10	9	9	9
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	off	off	off	off

Tides at The Bowl

Current tide and informaton

For Scrabster, Scotland, 6 km from The Bowl.

Next High Water: 12:47pm | 4.0m

Next Low Water: 06:43pm | 2.33m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

The Bowl Sea Temperature

The water temperature (8.9 °C) at The Bowl is very cold. You will need a quality steamer wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots. Cloudy, with an effective air temperature of (9.0 °C), so feeling about the same in the water or out of it.

Today, many surfers would wear a winter wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots.