Thurso East Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Gday, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the waves on the horizon for Thurso East.

The honest truth is, the next week and a half is going to test your patience. We’ve got a run of poor, wind-blown conditions with the odd tease of a clean moment, but nothing that’ll have you rushing for your wetsuit. The swell is there, but the wind is going to be all over it. The real light at the end of the tunnel is the 18th, and then again on the 22nd. That’s where the focus should be.

Looking at the coming days, Wednesday the 9th and Thursday the 10th are basically write-offs. The surf is small and the wind is onshore, making for messy, poor conditions. The combined energy is weak to moderate (406 on Wednesday morning), but it’s not going to matter. Friday the 11th sees a bit more size, up around 7ft to 7ft in the morning and afternoon, but it’s a short-period, wind-blown mess with fresh onshore winds. Not worth it.

The weekend is looking properly blown out. Saturday the 12th is the biggest of the lot – 12ft of WNW swell – but it’s a churning, cross-onshore shambles with strong winds. The combined energy is massive (4147 and 3727), but it’s going to be a stormy, lumpy mess. If you’ve got a kite, you’ll be laughing, but for a paddle board, it’s not even a consideration. Sunday settles slightly with 7ft but still cross-onshore and lumpy.

Monday the 14th and Tuesday the 15th are still poor. The swell drops but the wind stays on it. It’s not until Wednesday the 16th that we get a taste of something clean. The morning has some cross-offshore wind with surf around 5ft from the WNW. It’s small but it looks clean. That said, it’s not a standout by any means.

The first real standout is Friday the 18th at Thurso East, Scotland. The afternoon session is where it’s at. We’ve got SSW winds at just 3 mph, basically glassy, with 8ft of WNW groundswell. The combined swell energy is strong (2167). This is the one that will have your heart beating faster. It’s an expert wave on a point break, and with that swell direction, it should be lining up well. This is one to clear your schedule for. The morning before it is decent too, at 8ft but with a bit more cross-shore wind.

The 19th has some clean options with light offshore winds in the afternoon, but the swell is smaller at 5ft.

Then we’ve got a bit of a lull again. Sunday the 20th and Monday the 21st are poor again with onshore winds. But Tuesday the 22nd is the second standout. The morning looks excellent – S winds at 6 mph, cross-offshore, with 8ft of west swell. The energy is strong (1212). It’s a slightly different direction, straight out of the west, but there’s enough size and it’s clean. Another great day for the experienced crew.

After that, Wednesday the 23rd gets messy again with strong winds. But Thursday the 24th has a big finale on the forecast. The morning has 8ft with gentle cross-offshore breezes, and the afternoon is packing a punch: 13ft of west swell with moderate cross-offshore wind. The combined energy is very strong (4919). That’s a serious amount of water moving. It’s definitely only for the experts, and with that long period, it’ll be grinding. It’s a promising end to the window, though a while out, so you have to take it with a grain of salt.

The water temps are around 56°, which is a touch above the norm for this time of year.

Rusty.

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