
Surf Forecasts:
The Peak surf forecast from 12 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Saturday 12 Sep, 10PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 12s period, WNW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 17 Sep, 10PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 14s period, WNW swell with 2,977 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 12 Sep, 10PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 12s period with WNW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for The Peak this week:
The surf forecast for The Peak over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Sep 12) at 10PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.6m and 12s period. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at The Peak in the next 16 days are 3.0m 14s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Sep 17) at 10PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.4m 3s period and expected on Sunday (Sep 13) at 10PM.
| Wave Type | Time (IST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 10PM (Sat 12th Sep) | 5ft (1.6m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 10PM (Sat 12th Sep) | 5ft (1.6m) 12s |
| Most Powerful | 10PM (Thu 17th Sep) | 10ft (3.0m) 14s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Peak over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G’day, Rusty here. Let’s talk about The Peak.
The coming run is a real mixed bag with some mellow windows and some wild, blown-out stuff in between. We start off with a bit of a dud on Saturday the 12th—there’s a 7 ft west swell running at 11 seconds, but that cross-shore wind in the morning and cross-on in the arvo have it lumpy and choppy. The combined swell energy is sitting at 1126 (moderate), but honestly, it’s not worth paddling out for. Sunday morning the 13th is a different story: the swell drops to a cleaner 4 ft from the west-northwest at 11 seconds, and with a light offshore SSE breeze at only 3 mph, it’s clean. Not big, but it’s the first actual surfable moment. The energy’s light at 280 (weak to moderate), but it’s a good time for a longboard or a funboard if you just want to get wet without fighting the wind. By Sunday arvo the swell fades to 3 ft, still rideable but ordinary.
Then there’s a real lull. Monday the 14th drops to a pathetic 1 ft, and through to Thursday the 17th it’s a write-off—wind onshore or cross-on, bumping up the chop, and that energy climbs to 2511 (strong) by Thursday arvo with 10 ft west-northwest swell, but it’s blown out and messy. Friday the 18th and Saturday the 19th stay marginal too—plenty of swell (7 ft to 10 ft) but the wind is cross or cross-on, so only the most desperate would bother.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Sunday the 20th morning swings back—fresh SSE offshore at 19 mph, a clean 6 ft west-northwest swell at 13 seconds, and the energy is 1157 (moderate). That’s a proper session for anyone who can handle a bit of wind. But the real standouts are Monday the 21st and Tuesday the 22nd. Monday morning: 6 ft west-northwest swell with a 10-second period, light SSE offshore at 3 mph, clean—energy at 684 (moderate), and it says “expect very good surf conditions.” Monday arvo stays clean with a 6 ft swell and a light SE offshore. Then Tuesday morning the 22nd is the pick of the whole run: 5 ft west-northwest swell at 12 seconds, glassy—NNW wind at 3 mph, completely still, energy 633 (moderate). Tuesday arvo is also glassy at 4 ft. That’s your best two days: the 21st and 22nd. The water temp is 61° with a 4° anomaly, so a touch warmer than usual for this time of year.
Wednesday the 23rd drops way off—2 ft and not worth a look. Thursday the 24th has a small window in the morning: 4 ft west swell at 11 seconds with a gentle SSE offshore, clean, energy 405 (moderate), but it’s a short-lived glimpse before the wind gets nasty. Friday the 25th is tiny again. Then we get one final, very promising spike from the long range: Saturday the 26th morning delivers a 6 ft west-northwest swell with a 15-second period—that’s a proper long-period groundswell, excellent shape, but it’ll be best at a point or reef because at a beach break it can straighten up. The energy is 1358 (strong), wind is light SSE cross-off, clean, and it’s touted as “excellent surf conditions for experienced surfers.” That’s a real standout, but remember it’s nearly two weeks out, so call it promising. Saturday arvo stays clean at 6 ft with a 15-second period, and by Sunday the 27th the swell pumps to 10 ft at 14 seconds, but the wind picks up strongly—that morning has a fresh cross-off at 22 mph, clean but a handful, and by arvo it’s a complete mess with 25 mph cross-shore wind. That 10 ft is only for experts, if anyone.
Bottom line: the real sweet spots are Sunday the 13th morning for a small clean wave, then Monday the 21st and Tuesday the 22nd for the best combo of size, period, and glassy conditions. Way out at Saturday the 26th morning, there’s a potentially epic long-period swell if the forecast holds. The crowd at the Peak can be around sometimes, so Monday or Tuesday might be quieter mid-week. Don’t bother with the blown-out middle days unless you’ve got a kite—this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.
Stay frothy,
Rusty
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Mon night. Very mild (max 19°C on Sun afternoon, min 13°C on Sat night). Mainly fresh winds. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 12mm), heaviest on Tue afternoon. Very mild (max 15°C on Wed afternoon, min 12°C on Tue night). Winds increasing (light winds from the WNW on Wed morning, fresh winds from the W by Thu morning). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | Tuesday 15 | Wednesday 16 | Thursday 17 | Friday 18 | |||||||||||||||
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 11 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | WNW 9 | W 8 | W 11 | W 11 | W 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 12 | W 10 | W 10 | W 9 | W 11 | WNW 12 | WNW 14 | WNW 13 | W 12 | W 11 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
1126 | 995 | 559 | 260 | 137 | 73 | 28 | 184 | 317 | 392 | 523 | 953 | 551 | 431 | 635 | 1603 | 2511 | 2780 | 1697 | 1194 | 1246 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross-on | glassy | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-on | on | on | on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 7:24PM3.84m | 7:46AM3.40m | 7:59PM3.68m | 8:19AM3.34m | 8:34PM3.45m | 8:52AM3.22m | 9:08PM3.16m | 9:26AM3.05m | 9:43PM2.85m | 10:02AM2.83m | 10:23PM2.54m | 10:49AM2.60m | 11:17PM2.27m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 1:03PM-0.00m | 1:33AM-0.10m | 1:39PM0.04m | 2:05AM0.04m | 2:14PM0.17m | 2:36AM0.25m | 2:49PM0.38m | 3:07AM0.51m | 3:26PM0.64m | 3:39AM0.79m | 4:07PM0.93m | 4:17AM1.07m | 4:59PM1.22m | ||||||||
6:58 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | 7:07 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | |
— | 7:58 | — | — | 7:55 | — | — | 7:52 | — | — | 7:51 | — | — | 7:47 | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | 7:43 | — | |
mm | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | 1 | — | — | — | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | — | — | 3 |
Temp °C | 17 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 14 |
Feels °C | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 10 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | WNW 9 | W 8 | W 11 | W 11 | NW 11 | — | — | W 10 | — | — | — | — | — | WNW 13 | W 12 | — |
— | 995 | 559 | 260 | 137 | 73 | 23 | 184 | 317 | 5 | — | — | 551 | — | — | — | — | — | 1697 | 1194 | — | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | WSW 10 | W 10 | WSW 9 | WNW 8 | NW 13 | NW 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
— | — | — | 20 | 49 | 27 | 28 | 7 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | NW 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 11 | — | — | — | — | S 3 | SSW 3 | SSW 3 | — | W 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 12 | — | W 10 | W 9 | W 11 | WNW 12 | WNW 14 | — | — | W 11 |
1126 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | 4 | — | 392 | 523 | 953 | — | 431 | 635 | 1603 | 2511 | 2780 | — | — | 1246 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 131 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 89 | 67 | 395 | 421 | 421 | 115 | 135 | 439 | 491 | 726 | 275 | 115 | 115 | 115 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Donegal | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the The Peak Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for The Peak provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at The Peak can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our The Peak 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 Peak) 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 Peak 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.
The Peak is 20 km (12 miles) from Killybegs. If you plan a holiday in Donegal, look for hotels and other accommodation in Killybegs. Killybegs has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.










