Surf Forecasts:
The Bowl surf forecast from 31 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 3 Sep, 4AM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 10s period, N swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 4 Sep, 4PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 13s period, W swell with 3,831 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 31 Aug, 10PM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 6s period with W swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for The Bowl this week:
The surf forecast for The Bowl over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Monday (Aug 31) at 10PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.5m and 6s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 7s. Another secondary swell of 0.3m and 10s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at The Bowl in the next 16 days are 3.5m 13s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Sep 04) at 4PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.5m 5s period and expected on Tuesday (Sep 01) at 1PM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 10PM (Mon 31st Aug) | 5ft (1.5m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 4AM (Thu 3rd Sep) | 5ft (1.6m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 4PM (Fri 4th Sep) | 11ft (3.5m) 13s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Bowl over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G'day, Rusty here. Let's cut through the noise and look at this 16-day window for The Bowl. It's a reef break, fairly consistent, and it loves a NW swell. The water temp is sitting at 57°F, which is about average for this time of year, so nothing to worry about there.
The first week is a bit of a mixed bag, with a lot of poor surf conditions and marginal calls. We get a bit of a pulse on Wednesday the 2nd of September with a 7ft swell from the NNW and a 10-second period, but the wind is messy, so it's not really worth chasing. The real standout that's got me excited is the Friday afternoon the 4th of September. We've got a solid 12ft groundswell from the west, with a 13-second period, and the wind is a clean cross-off. The combined energy is a massive 3851, which is serious power. This is one for the experts only, as it's going to be overhead and firing. The Bowl is exposed, and this NW optimum swell direction is a good match, so expect some thick, hollow waves.
After that, the swell hangs around but the wind gets messy again, with a lot of strong onshore and cross-shore conditions. The 11th of September has some solid size, but the wind is onshore, making it choppy.
The second week looks more promising. We have a couple of days of good surf. The morning of the 12th of September is looking clean with a 5ft swell from the north, a 10-second period, and gentle cross-off winds. The energy is moderate at 545. Then the afternoon glassed right off, with a light 4ft swell and glassy conditions. That's a classic session right there, clean and lined up. After that, it fades out.
So, the standout is clearly the Friday afternoon the 4th of September for the big swell crew, but keep an eye on the 12th of September for a more manageable and clean day.
Rusty out.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 13mm), heaviest on Wed night. Very mild (max 16°C on Mon morning, min 10°C on Tue night). Winds increasing (light winds from the SW on Mon morning, fresh winds from the W by Tue morning). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 12mm), heaviest on Sat night. Very mild (max 17°C on Thu afternoon, min 9°C on Sat night). Winds increasing (light winds from the SW on Thu afternoon, near gales from the W by Fri afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 31 | Tuesday 1 | Wednesday 2 | Thursday 3 | Friday 4 | Saturday 5 | Sunday 6 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 6 | W 4 | W 6 | W 6 | W 6 | WNW 7 | NNW 10 | NNW 10 | N 10 | N 10 | N 9 | W 11 | W 11 | W 13 | W 13 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | WNW 9 | WNW 8 | W 8 | W 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 20 | 48 | 123 | 30 | 252 | 273 | 846 | 850 | 621 | 301 | 194 | 149 | 673 | 3831 | 2092 | 1400 | 1368 | 739 | 227 | 555 | 603 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross | off | off | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 11:13AM4.82m | 11:19PM5.06m | 11:47AM4.72m | 11:55PM4.92m | 12:25PM4.57m | 00:38AM4.69m | 1:11PM4.38m | 1:32AM4.40m | 2:10PM4.17m | 2:47AM4.12m | 3:31PM4.04m | 4:29AM4.01m | 5:06PM4.09m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 5:17PM1.45m | 5:43AM1.23m | 5:54PM1.57m | 6:21AM1.42m | 6:34PM1.76m | 7:04AM1.70m | 7:23PM1.99m | 7:57AM2.02m | 8:29PM2.21m | 9:12AM2.31m | 10:04PM2.29m | 10:53AM2.41m | 11:44PM2.10m | ||||||||
 |  |  | |  |  |  |  |  | | |  | | | | | | |  | | | |
 | 6:09 | — | — | 6:11 | — | — | 6:13 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — |
 | — | 8:19 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:13 | — | — | 8:09 | — | — | 8:07 | — | — | 8:05 | — | — | 8:01 | — |
mm | 1 | 1 | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | 9 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | 7 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
Temp °C | 16 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 14 |
Feels °C | 14 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 7 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 6 | NNE 6 | W 6 | W 6 | N 8 | N 13 | NNW 10 | NNW 10 | N 10 | N 10 | N 9 | W 11 | W 11 | N 8 | N 8 | NNE 7 | — | WNW 9 | WNW 8 | W 8 | W 10 |
| kJ | 20 | 13 | 123 | 30 | 21 | 3 | 846 | 850 | 621 | 301 | 194 | 149 | 673 | 20 | 10 | 10 | — | 739 | 227 | 555 | 603 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 9 | N 9 | W 10 | W 9 | SE 5 | SE 6 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | — | W 6 | N 8 | N 8 | — | — | — | — | NNE 8 | NNE 8 | NNE 8 | NNE 9 |
| kJ | 14 | 2 | 31 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 94 | 44 | 18 | — | 29 | 86 | 31 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 22 | 22 | 26 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 4 | N 9 | N 7 | NW 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SE 4 | NW 8 |
| kJ | 1 | 2 | 8 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | W 4 | — | SSW 4 | W 6 | WNW 7 | — | — | SE 4 | W 5 | — | WSW 4 | S 4 | W 13 | W 13 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | — | SSE 4 | — | S 3 |
| kJ | — | 48 | — | 7 | 252 | 273 | — | — | 18 | 44 | — | 54 | 27 | 3831 | 2092 | 1400 | 1368 | — | 16 | — | 5 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 17 | 592 | 0 | 592 | 424 | 207 | 45 | 9 | 9 | 45 | 133 | 369 | 10 | 1085 | 531 | 592 | 474 | 7 | 10 | 524 | 421 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Scotland - North Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our The Bowl surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the The Bowl Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for The Bowl provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at The Bowl can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our The Bowl surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (The Bowl) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for The Bowl may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Are you planning a holiday in Scotland - North Coast? If you are looking for accommodation near The Bowl, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Scotland - North Coast, consider staying in Scrabster which is 7 km (4 miles) away. Other places in and around Scotland - North Coast where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Wick which is 39 km (24 miles) away and Kirkwall, 56 km (35 miles) away.
Nearest