Thurso East Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for Thurso East.

Right off the bat, the next week and a half is a bit of a write-off, I’m not gonna lie. We’re looking at a long stretch of poor conditions from Thursday the 23rd right through to the end of July. The wind is just relentless, mostly cross-onshore from the west, and the swell is all over the place. The combined energy of all swells directed here is moderate but tuned poorly (values between 282 and 980), and it’s just lumpy, messy, and not worth your time. Saturday the 25th sees a big 13ft WNW swell, but with a strong onshore breeze and a combined energy of 3008, it’s wild and dangerous – definitely for experts only if anyone’s silly enough to try. That one’s a pass.

The gap in good surf here is a real long one. We’re talking about a solid week of nothing to write home about.

The Best of a Bad Bunch

The first real glimmer of hope comes on Friday, 31st July. The morning is tiny, with a 2ft west swell and a period of 8 seconds, but the wind is glassy, and the combined energy is weak (73). It’s surfable but very ordinary. The afternoon, however, is where it gets interesting. The wind swings offshore from the SE at 12 mph, and that same west swell pushes up to 5ft. The combined energy hits 274 (moderate), and the conditions are clean. For Thurso East, a clean 5ft is a solid little session. It’s not pumping, but it’s the best we’ve got in this window. The crowd factor is listed as “sometimes” so you might have a few locals out, but it’s nothing crazy.

The other standout to keep an eye on is Sunday, 2nd August. The morning session looks promising with a gentle offshore breeze from the SSE at 9 mph and a 4ft NW swell with a period of 9 seconds. The combined energy is 249 (moderate), and the description says “expect good surf conditions.” The water temp is about average for the time of year, so no worries there. The period is decent, in that 9-10 second range, so the waves will have a bit of shape to them. This is a genuine, clean option. The afternoon on Sunday, though, the wind shifts to cross-shore and the swell goes weak and short-period, so make the most of the morning.

One Last Look

The very end of the forecast, into the second week of August, is flat. The swell drops to 1ft, the energy is weak (values between 22 and 58), and while the wind is offshore or glassy, there’s just no wave.

So, for the whole 16-day run, the only two windows worth paddling for are Friday afternoon the 31st of July, and Sunday morning the 2nd of August. The rest is a long wait. Don’t stress, it tends not to stay this poor for long up here.

Rusty.

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