Surf Forecasts:
The Bowl surf forecast from 11 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 12 Jul, 1AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 9s period, WNW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 14 Jul, 1PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 11s period, W swell with 260 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 12 Jul, 1AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 9s period with WNW 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 Sunday (Jul 12) at 1AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 7s. 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 1.0m 11s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Jul 14) at 1PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.6m 3s period and expected on Thursday (Jul 16) at 4PM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 1AM (Sun 12th Jul) | 3ft (0.9m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 1AM (Sun 12th Jul) | 3ft (0.9m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 1PM (Tue 14th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 11s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Bowl over the next 16 days.
Oi, Rusty here.
Alright, the long-range view for The Bowl is a bit of a mixed bag, with a lot of waiting for the right window. The forecast starts on Saturday the 11th of July, and straight up, the first week is looking pretty flat and underwhelming. The surf quality is poor for most of that time, and you’ll be watching the horizon more than riding it. There is a notable gap of very little to no worthwhile surf from Saturday the 11th all the way through to Monday the 20th.
Now, the bright spots start to appear after that wait. The first real standout is on Monday the 20th. The Bowl sees a 4 ft swell from the N, and the wind goes glassy – dead calm – in the morning. That’s a major positive. The water temperature is 55°, which is about average for the time of year. The combined energy is a moderate 277, so there’s some push in the water. For an advanced reef break, this is your best shot in the first half of the outlook. The swell period is short at 8 seconds, so it’ll be a bit crumbly and a little less powerful than you might hope, but clean, glassy conditions at The Bowl are a treat. The afternoon looks to get messy with a cross-off wind, so get on it early.
Looking further ahead, there’s another glimmer on Sunday the 26th of July. Again, a glassy morning with a 4 ft swell from the N and a short period of 7 seconds. The combined energy is a weaker 208, but the clean, mirror-like conditions make it more attractive than the raw numbers suggest. The afternoon clears into glassy conditions too, though the swell drops off to 3 ft.
For the second week, there is some size, but it’s mostly messy. On the 19th, you’ve got a big 8 ft swell from the NNW, but it’s accompanied by strong onshore winds, making it a complete washout. That setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. For experts only, and even then, it’s not inviting.
So, to sum it up: the first week is a write-off. Your best chance for a clean session is the morning of Monday the 20th, with a glassy 4 ft NW swell. The second glassy window on Sunday the 26th is a smaller but promising option if the long-range forecast holds.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 15°C on Mon morning, min 11°C on Sat morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 22°C on Thu morning, min 14°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 11 | Sunday 12 | Monday 13 | Tuesday 14 | Wednesday 15 | Thursday 16 | Friday 17 | |||||||||||||||
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 10 | W 9 | WNW 9 | W 8 | W 8 | W 7 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 9 | WNW 12 | W 11 | W 10 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 8 | W 8 | W 9 | W 8 | WNW 11 | W 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 267 | 203 | 129 | 64 | 43 | 28 | 37 | 33 | 64 | 113 | 242 | 125 | 63 | 39 | 25 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 24 | 50 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | 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 | cross-off | cross-off | cross |
High Tide | 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 | 11:45AM4.85m | 11:44PM5.19m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 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 | 5:20AM0.88m | 5:31PM1.54m | ||||||||
 |  |  |  | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | |
 | 4:22 | — | — | 4:24 | — | — | 4:24 | — | — | 4:26 | — | — | 4:28 | — | — | 4:31 | — | — | 4:31 | — | — |
 | — | — | 10:15 | — | — | 10:14 | — | — | 10:13 | — | — | 10:12 | — | — | 10:09 | — | — | 10:08 | — | — | 10:07 |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 |
Temp °C | 11 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 16 |
Feels °C | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 15 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | 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 | W 8 | W 8 | W 9 | W 8 | W 8 | W 10 |
| kJ | 267 | 203 | 129 | 64 | 43 | 28 | 37 | 33 | 64 | 96 | 242 | 125 | 63 | 39 | 25 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 50 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNE 8 | NE 8 | NE 7 | NE 7 | NNW 6 | E 7 | E 7 | E 7 | W 14 | WNW 12 | — | W 18 | W 18 | — | — | — | N 10 | N 9 | N 9 | WNW 11 | ESE 2 |
| kJ | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 113 | — | 6 | 6 | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 1 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | N 7 | — | W 21 | W 15 | E 7 | W 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 12 | N 8 | N 8 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 9 | 4 | 1 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 5 | 1 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | E 2 | — | — | E 3 | ESE 2 | ESE 2 | ESE 3 | SE 3 | ESE 3 | E 3 | ESE 3 | ESE 3 | E 3 | ESE 3 | SE 3 | SE 3 | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 5 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 176 | 0 | 176 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 59 | 176 | 176 | 864 | 186 | 369 | 17 | 51 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Scotland - North Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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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