Thurso Beach Surf Break

Lat Long: 58.60° N 3.52° W

Thurso Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 6 am 20 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Thurso Beach sea temperature is
13.8° C
0.4° 

Thurso Beach surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


Thurso Beach surf forecast from 20 Aug 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Monday 24 Aug, 4AM (local time) - 6ft (1.9m), 10s period, WNW swell with cross-offshore winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Monday 24 Aug, 10AM (local time) - 7ft (2.2m), 11s period, WNW swell with 1,142 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 23 Aug, 10PM (local time) - 5.5ft (1.7m), 9s period with WNW swell.

Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Thurso Beach this week:

The surf forecast for Thurso Beach over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Sunday (Aug 23) at 10PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.7m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 8s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Thurso Beach in the next 16 days are 2.2m 11s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Aug 24) at 10AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.0m 4s period and expected on Tuesday (Aug 25) at 10AM.

Wave TypeTime (BST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+)10PM (Sun 23rd Aug)5.5ft (1.7m) 9s
Best Surf 4AM (Mon 24th Aug)6ft (1.9m) 10s
Most Powerful10AM (Mon 24th Aug)7ft (2.2m) 11s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Thurso Beach over the next 16 days.


The Lowdown

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you. The next couple of weeks are looking like a real mixed bag for Thurso Beach. We've got a lot of onshore junk and lumpy conditions to wade through before we see anything worth getting excited about. It's going to be a test of patience, but there are a couple of windows that could fire.

The start of this stretch is pretty grim. Through the 20th and into the 21st, we've got rain and a fresh onshore breeze, with surf in the 5 to 6 ft range, but the period is a short, crumbly 6-7 seconds. The energy is weak to moderate (304 down to 119), and it's just going to be a mess. Saturday the 22nd is no better, with the swell dropping right off and the wind swinging cross-shore, making it choppy and uninviting. The water temp is sitting at 57°, which is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

We'll see a bit of a bump in energy on Sunday the 23rd, with the surf picking up slightly to 4-5 ft and the period lengthening a touch to 8 seconds (241 energy). But it’s still cross-shore, so the surf will be lumpy and hard to ride. It’s a case of 'almost, but not quite.'

Now, here’s where things get interesting. Monday the 24th is the standout in this first week. The wind swings offshore and drops to a light 6 mph, and that makes all the difference. We're looking at a clean 7 ft of WNW groundswell with an 11-second period and the energy jumps right up to a strong 1142. This is the one day where it’s going to be properly good. It’s still on the bigger side, so it might be a bit much for true beginners, but for everyone else, this is the session to circle. The morning is definitely the pick, with the wind cleaner than the afternoon. The afternoon stays clean but the swell drops to 7 ft and the energy backs off a bit (865).

After that, we fall back into a poor stretch. From the 25th to the 30th, we’ve got a few days of small, weak swell, mostly under 4 ft, with the wind going onshore or cross-shore again. It’s a real flat spell. The energy drops down to the 100-400 range, and it's just not worth paddling out for. This lull runs pretty much all the way to the end of the month.

But hold on, there’s another glimmer. Monday the 31st of August sees a bit of a pulse. It’s not as clean as the 24th, but we get a NW swell at 5 ft with an 8-second period and a light offshore breeze in the morning. The energy is a moderate 418. It’s a proper surfable morning, though the shorter period means it won't have the same punch as the bigger groundswell.

Looking further out into the first week of September, the models are hinting at something much bigger. On Wednesday the 2nd of September, there’s a big WNW swell forecast to arrive, with heights pushing 15 ft and the energy going through the roof at 3979. This is serious, powerful stuff. However, and this is a big however, this is almost certainly too big for this break to handle. It will be a washing machine out there, and one for the experts only, and even then, it’ll be sketchy. The wind is light and from the NNW, which could make it interesting, but the size is just overwhelming.

The days around that big swell are much more manageable. The 3rd of September looks like it could clean up nicely with a 6 ft W swell and a light offshore wind in the morning, but by the afternoon the wind turns and it gets messy. The 4th looks like a write-off with a strong, onshore NW wind blowing 22-25 mph. That’s no good for surfing, and that big, stormy swell will just be blown to pieces. That setup, with that much wind and swell, looks more like a kite-surfing day than a paddle-surfing day.

So, to sum it up: two clear standouts. The 24th of August is the pick of the bunch for clean, powerful surf. And the 31st of August is the runner-up, a bit smaller but still clean. Everything between and after those dates is a grind. The long-range promise of the 2nd is real, but the size is just too much for a beginner-friendly spot like this.

Stay patient, check the forecasts, and be ready to move when those windows open up.

Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Light rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Thu morning. Very mild (max 15°C on Sat afternoon, min 11°C on Thu afternoon). Mainly fresh winds.

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Mostly dry. Very mild (max 17°C on Mon afternoon, min 12°C on Tue night). Winds increasing (light winds from the S on Sun night, fresh winds from the SE by Tue morning).

Thursday
20
Friday
21
Saturday
22
Sunday
23
Monday
24
Tuesday
25
Wednesday
26
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
3
2
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
1.6
N
7
1.7
N
6
1.6
N
8
1.5
NNW
6
1.4
NNW
5
1.2
NNW
5
1
WNW
5
0.5
N
8
1.1
WNW
6
1.3
WNW
6
1.4
WNW
8
1.7
WNW
10
2.2
WNW
11
2
WNW
11
1.4
WNW
11
1.2
WNW
10
0.8
WNW
10
0.7
NNW
10
0.7
NNW
10
0.8
N
10
0.9
N
10
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
233
228
308
160
117
75
49
32
77
132
231
563
1142
850
452
312
125
110
104
125
167
Wind (km/h)
30
N
30
NNW
25
NNW
30
NW
30
NW
25
WNW
25
WNW
30
W
20
WNW
20
W
25
W
10
SW
10
SE
20
ESE
10
ESE
30
SSE
30
SE
20
ESE
25
ESE
25
ESE
25
ESE
Wind State
on
on
on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross
cross
cross
cross
cross
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
High Tide
2:44PM3.95m
3:10AM3.88m
3:54PM3.84m
4:38AM3.72m
5:18PM3.86m
6:14AM3.76m
6:34PM4.01m
7:22AM3.94m
7:29PM4.24m
8:08AM4.17m
8:10PM4.48m
8:43AM4.38m
8:45PM4.70m
Low Tide
8:51PM2.49m
9:29AM2.54m
10:25PM2.60m
11:03AM2.65m
00:01AM2.49m
12:23PM2.55m
1:05AM2.25m
1:18PM2.35m
1:49AM1.97m
1:59PM2.11m
2:26AM1.71m
2:35PM1.88m
2:59AM1.48m
rain showers
rain showers
cloud
cloud
part cloud
part cloud
cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
5:43
5:46
5:48
5:50
5:52
5:54
5:56
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
8:49
8:45
8:43
8:40
8:37
8:35
8:31
 mm
2
2
Temp °C
12
12
11
11
12
12
14
15
14
15
16
14
16
17
14
16
15
13
15
16
14
Feels °C
6
6
5
5
6
7
9
10
11
11
11
11
14
14
12
10
9
9
11
12
11
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for Thurso Beach:

join our community of surf reporters

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 Thurso Beach 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 Thurso Beach Surf forecast

The above surf forecast table for Thurso Beach provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Thurso Beach can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Thurso Beach 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 (Thurso Beach) 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 Thurso Beach 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 Thurso Beach, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Scotland - North Coast, consider staying in Scrabster which is 2 km (1 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 31 km (19 miles) away, Kirkwall and Lossiemouth.

Nearest locationNearest