Thurso East Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, let’s talk about what’s coming up for Thurso East.

Right off the bat, the first few days are a bit of a write-off. We’ve got some swell on Monday morning, but it’s only 3ft from the NNW with a long 12-second period, and the wind is a cross-off S breeze. The combined energy is weak (356), so it’s small and a bit tricky. Monday afternoon sees a bit more size, 4ft from the west, but still nothing special. Honestly, Monday is a pass.

Tuesday through to Thursday is pretty grim. The wind turns onshore or cross-onshore, and the swell gets lumpy and messy. Tuesday morning has 5ft from the WNW but it’s cross-on and choppy. Wednesday gets up to 7ft from the NNW, but the period drops to 8 seconds, and the wind is onshore. Thursday sees a 10ft west swell with a decent 12-second period, but the wind is howling at 35 km/h from the WSW, creating a lumpy cross-chop. It’s just not surfable.

Now, Friday the 18th is where things start to look interesting. The swell is pumping – Friday morning sees 15ft from the WNW with a 13-second period, and the combined energy is massive (6642). The wind is a cross-off from the SSW by the afternoon, and the wave comment says “clean.” This is a big, powerful groundswell, but at this size, it’s only for experts. The long period will make it line up beautifully at this point break, and that offshore wind will keep it glassy. Friday afternoon is the standout of the whole run – 11ft, 12 seconds, cross-off wind, clean conditions. If you can handle it, this is the session to circle.

Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th are still big, with 10ft to 13ft swells, but the wind swings back onshore and lumpy, so it’s messy again. The energy is still high, but the quality drops off.

Monday the 21st sees the swell drop back to 7ft, but the wind is cross-shore and the conditions are marginal. Tuesday the 22nd morning has a clean 6ft west swell with a light cross-off breeze, so that could be a nice, manageable session if you want something smaller.

The rest of the second week is a mixed bag. Wednesday the 23rd afternoon has a 10ft west swell with light cross-on wind, but it’s not clean. Thursday the 24th is blown out again. Friday the 25th is small and messy.

Then on Saturday the 26th, we get a nice little window – 5ft from the NW with a light cross-off breeze from the NE and clean conditions. It’s not huge, but it’ll be fun and tidy. After that, the run fizzles out into small, weak swell with low energy through to the end of the month.

The water temp is around 56°F, which is about 2° warmer than usual for this time of year – nothing crazy, just a touch warmer than normal.

Overall, if you’re an expert, Friday the 18th is the one. That big, clean groundswell with offshore wind at Thurso East is a proper session. The rest is either too windy, too messy, or too small.

Rusty.

Read more