Thurso East Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, gather round, let’s talk about what’s coming up on the north coast of Scotland. This is a classic Thurso East story, and it’s a bit of a slow burn, so don’t rush down just yet.

The first half of the 16-day window is pretty grim to be honest. Plenty of wind and messy, weak waves. We’ve got some small swell on Thursday the 30th, but it’s just not worth the effort. Then a big blow up from Friday the 31st, with strong onshore winds ruining any chance of clean surf. That messy, lumpy windswell sticks around right through the weekend and into the start of the week. It’s a real fight to get anything decent.

The first real glimmer of hope comes later on Monday the 3rd of August. The wind drops right out, and we get a proper pulse of groundswell hitting the coast. The guidance is saying Thurso East (a world-class, expert-only point break) will see a 6 ft swell from the north, with a long period of 11 seconds. The combined energy is strong at 792, so there’s proper power behind it. The catch is the wind is a light cross-onshore, so it’s not perfect, but it’s the most surfable we’ve seen. The water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing to write home about. It’s a marginal call, but it’s the pick of the bunch for that first week.

Then we hit a real dead zone. From Tuesday the 4th right through to Tuesday the 11th of August, it’s almost all flat and poor. There are a few glassy mornings with no swell to speak of, and the wave energy readings are tiny. It’s a proper lull.

The standout moment, and I mean the one to circle on the calendar, arrives on Wednesday the 12th of August. The sky is clear, the wind is light and cross-off from the SSE, and the waves are clean. Thurso East will be running with a solid 7 ft swell from the west. The combined energy is a solid 454, which is decent. The period is 8 seconds, so it’s a windswell, but it’s got some push. The wind conditions are the key here – that light, clean air will make the wave face proper. This is a serious option for the experts. After that, the quality drops off a touch on Thursday the 13th, but it’s still a possibility.

The final hint of something bigger is on Friday the 14th of August. A massive 8 ft swell from the west, with a very long period of 11 seconds, and the combined energy hits 1669 – that’s a serious lump of water. The wind is a gentle cross-shore, which is promising. This is for experts only, and it’s a long way out, so keep an eye on it. The wave will be powerful and clean if the wind holds.

So, the best on offer is that window around Wednesday the 12th of August and Thursday the 13th of August, with the cleanest conditions being the Wednesday morning. The rest of the 16 days is mostly a write-off for proper surfing. If you’re a kiter, that big windy period in the first week might be your thing, but for a paddle surfer, it’s a waiting game.

Rusty.

Read more