Thurso Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what the next couple of weeks are shaping up like for our local stretch. Honestly, it’s a bit of a tough watch for most of the forecast. We’ve got a long, drawn-out period of poor conditions to sit through before a couple of brief windows open up that are actually worth talking about. But don't get too excited too early.

We start off with nothing on offer immediately. From the 16th right through until the 24th of August, it's one messy, blown-out session after another at Thurso Beach. The wind is mostly cross or onshore, and the quality of the surf is just poor. There's a bit of swell around midweek, on the 19th, with a WNW swell pushing 5ft and a period of 11 seconds, giving us a strong combined energy of 474, but that NE wind is just ruining it, turning it into a choppy mess. Same story on the 23rd and 24th – some decent sized swell, but a 25 mph cross-wind and then a 22 mph cross-onshore just kills any hope of a clean wave. For a beginner-friendly beach like this, when the swell gets over 5ft and the wind is up, it’s not really a paddle session; this setup would actually be more interesting for kite surfing than surfing.

There’s a real gap of poor surf from the 16th right up to the 24th. We have to wait until the 25th of August for any glimmer of hope. Tuesday the 25th of August is your standout, no two ways about it. Morning brings a light offshoring SSW breeze at just 3 mph, with a clean 5ft swell rolling in from the west. The period is a solid 8 seconds, and the combined energy is a strong 388. The water temp is sitting at 57°, which is about average for the time of year. This is the window to get out. The afternoon holds up too, with a cross-offshore WSW wind at 6 mph and the same 5ft west swell, but now with a better 9-second period and even more energy at 416. It’s going to be clean, and for a spot that can get crowded, it’s going to be worth dealing with the occasional crowd to get a piece of this.

After that little highlight, it's back to a run of poor surf. The 26th and 27th are messy again, with cross-shore winds and choppy conditions. Then on the 29th of August, we get another look. It’s a Saturday, and the morning shows a moderate offshoring SSE wind at 16 mph with a solid 6ft WNW swell. The period is 10 seconds and the energy is a very punchy 552. It's a bit on the bigger side, getting up over 5ft, so this one is for the experienced crew only. The afternoon sees the swell back down to 4ft with a 9-second period, but still with that clean offshore wind. Both sessions are rated as marginal, so keep your expectations in check, but it’s the best of the second week.

So, to keep it simple: sit tight through the long flat and windy spell. Tuesday the 25th of August is your best bet for clean, fun waves. The 29th is a promising but less certain option for the more advanced surfers. After that, into the 30th and 31st, it’s back to onshore junk with a bit more size but no quality.

Rusty.

Read more