Surf Forecasts:
The Bowl surf forecast from 10 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 10 Jul, 10PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 10s period, W swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 11 Jul, 1AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 10s period, W swell with 400 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 10 Jul, 10PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 10s 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 Friday (Jul 10) at 10PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.3m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 8s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at The Bowl in the next 16 days are 1.4m 10s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Jul 11) at 1AM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.4m 2s period and expected on Tuesday (Jul 14) at 1AM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 10PM (Fri 10th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 10PM (Fri 10th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 1AM (Sat 11th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Bowl over the next 16 days.
Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about The Bowl.
It’s dead quiet for the first chunk. Nothing really worth paddling out for until Monday July 20th. That’s a long wait – over a week of small, sloppy or just plain poor conditions.
The Bowl is a reef, for advanced surfers only. It’s fairly consistent when the ocean cooperates. Water temp is 55°F, which is about normal for this time of year.
The real highlight lands on Monday July 20th. Early morning brings a 6ft swell out of the NNW (moderate energy at 459), with a light offshore breeze and clean conditions. That’s the pick of the whole forecast. Later that same afternoon, it drops to 4ft from the north (275 energy), but it goes glassy – dead calm – and the surf is clean. That’s your window. Swell direction is a little off the ideal NW, but the reef handles it well in those conditions.
Before that? Saturday July 19th throws a big 10ft northwest swell (1177 energy), but it’s cross-onshore and choppy. That’s not a surf day – more of a kite session if anything.
After the Monday 20th window, the week goes ordinary again. Thursday July 23rd brings 7ft from the west (825 energy), with cross-off winds keeping it clean, but not a standout by any means.
So the bottom line: wait until Monday July 20th. That’s your best shot. Everything else is average to poor.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 14°C on Sun morning, min 11°C on Fri afternoon). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Wed morning, min 13°C on Mon morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | Sunday 12 | Monday 13 | Tuesday 14 | Wednesday 15 | Thursday 16 | |||||||||||||||
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) | W 9 | W 11 | W 10 | W 10 | W 9 | WNW 9 | W 8 | W 8 | W 7 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 9 | WNW 10 | W 11 | W 10 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | WNW 8 | WNW 9 | WNW 8 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 97 | 319 | 400 | 267 | 203 | 129 | 64 | 43 | 28 | 35 | 33 | 65 | 129 | 242 | 158 | 87 | 57 | 40 | 20 | 25 | 24 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 5:39PM4.30m | 5:57AM4.37m | 6:43PM4.48m | 7:09AM4.50m | 7:42PM4.70m | 8:15AM4.66m | 8:36PM4.92m | 9:14AM4.82m | 9:27PM5.10m | 10:07AM4.91m | 10:14PM5.21m | 10:57AM4.92m | 10:59PM5.25m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 11:26AM1.91m | 00:02AM2.14m | 12:33PM1.81m | 1:08AM1.85m | 1:33PM1.67m | 2:06AM1.53m | 2:27PM1.53m | 2:58AM1.22m | 3:16PM1.44m | 3:47AM0.99m | 4:03PM1.40m | 4:34AM0.87m | 4:47PM1.44m | ||||||||
 | |  | | |  |  | | | | | | | | | |  | | | |  | |
 | 4:20 | — | — | 4:22 | — | — | 4:24 | — | — | 4:24 | — | — | 4:26 | — | — | 4:28 | — | — | 4:31 | — | — |
 | — | — | 10:16 | — | — | 10:15 | — | — | 10:14 | — | — | 10:13 | — | — | 10:12 | — | — | 10:09 | — | — | 10:08 |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 12 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 16 |
Feels °C | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 13 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 9 | W 11 | W 10 | W 10 | W 9 | WNW 9 | W 8 | W 8 | W 7 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 9 | WNW 10 | W 11 | W 10 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | WNW 8 | WNW 9 | WNW 8 |
| kJ | 97 | 319 | 400 | 267 | 203 | 129 | 64 | 43 | 28 | 35 | 33 | 65 | 129 | 242 | 158 | 87 | 57 | 40 | 20 | 25 | 24 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 12 | NNE 9 | NNE 8 | NNE 8 | NE 8 | NE 7 | NE 7 | NNW 6 | NW 6 | E 7 | E 7 | W 14 | W 12 | — | W 18 | W 18 | E 5 | — | W 10 | — | N 10 |
| kJ | 72 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 75 | — | 6 | 6 | 1 | — | 2 | — | 2 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNE 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | N 7 | E 7 | W 21 | W 15 | E 7 | W 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | E 6 |
| kJ | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | E 2 | — | — | ESE 2 | SE 2 | — | ESE 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | 2 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 63 | 34 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 176 | 0 | 207 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 176 | 369 | 369 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Scotland - North Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
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