Roadsurfer exclusive discount
Surf Forecasts:
Thurso East surf forecast from 17 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 19 Aug, 4AM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 11s period, W swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 23 Aug, 7PM (local time) - 7ft (2.2m), 8s period, WNW swell with 600 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 17 Aug, 7AM (local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 7s period with N swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Thurso East this week:
The surf forecast for Thurso East over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Monday (Aug 17) at 7AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.6m and 7s period with a secondary swell of 0.5m and 7s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Thurso East in the next 16 days are 2.2m 8s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Aug 23) at 7PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.9m 4s period and expected on Tuesday (Aug 18) at 4AM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 7AM (Mon 17th Aug) | 2ft (0.6m) 7s |
| Best Surf | 4AM (Wed 19th Aug) | 5ft (1.6m) 11s |
| Most Powerful | 7PM (Sun 23rd Aug) | 7ft (2.2m) 8s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Thurso East over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Hey, Rusty here again, this time in feet and miles.
Right off the bat, there’s nothing doing for Thurso East. The start of this run is a flat spell. The first tiny waves show on Monday the 17th, but you’d struggle to get a ride. Then there’s a real lull until the 19th. That Wednesday morning a WNW swell pushes in at about 5ft, with a period around 11 seconds and moderate energy (466). The wind is cross-off from the east, keeping the surface clean. But it’s still a poor-quality wave. Thursday the 20th sees a bit more size from the north, but heavy north winds make it choppy and a write-off.
Friday the 21st and the whole weekend are just messy with onshore winds. The one true standout comes on Tuesday the 25th of August. Early morning, the wind is light, glassy, and cross-off from the SSW. We’ve got a 5ft WNW swell, period 8 seconds, with strong energy (388). The conditions are clean, and the forecast says expect good surf. The water temp is around 57°F, which is normal for this time of year.
After that, the rest of the outlook is poor. The 29th and 30th have some size but the quality is marginal. The 31st brings a bigger 8ft NW swell, but the period is short at 7 seconds, and the wind is light and side-shore – it’s going to be a messy one. That size is only for experts, and it’s not breaking well. Honestly, for most of this stretch, with the strong onshore winds and junk conditions, it’s looking more like a kite-surfing show than a paddle session.
Stick to Tuesday the 25th. That’s your window. Everything else you can sleep through.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 16mm), heaviest on Mon night. Very mild (max 16°C on Tue morning, min 11°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Wed night. Very mild (max 13°C on Wed afternoon, min 11°C on Wed night). Mainly fresh winds. | |||||||||||||||||||
Sun 16 | Monday 17 | Tuesday 18 | Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | ||||||||||||||
PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | N 7 | W 9 | N 7 | N 7 | W 5 | W 11 | W 11 | W 11 | N 8 | N 7 | N 7 | N 6 | NNW 6 | NNW 6 | NNW 5 | N 6 | NNE 9 | W 4 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 91 | 40 | 38 | 41 | 23 | 14 | 22 | 465 | 457 | 335 | 221 | 222 | 184 | 151 | 130 | 121 | 53 | 30 | 15 | 25 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-on | cross-on | off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | on | on | cross-on |
High Tide | 11:57PM5.10m | 12:32PM4.57m | 00:36AM4.83m | 1:10PM4.35m | 1:17AM4.51m | 1:52PM4.13m | 2:06AM4.17m | 2:44PM3.95m | 3:10AM3.88m | 3:54PM3.84m | 4:38AM3.72m | 5:18PM3.86m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 5:45PM1.53m | 6:16AM1.25m | 6:23PM1.74m | 6:55AM1.57m | 7:03PM1.99m | 7:36AM1.93m | 7:49PM2.25m | 8:23AM2.27m | 8:51PM2.49m | 9:29AM2.54m | 10:25PM2.60m | 11:03AM2.65m | 00:01AM2.49m | |||||||
 |  |  | |  |  |  |  | | |  | | |  | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:39 | — | — | 5:41 | — | — | 5:43 | — | — | 5:46 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — |
 | 8:59 | — | — | 8:57 | — | — | 8:53 | — | — | 8:51 | — | — | 8:49 | — | — | 8:45 | — | — | 8:43 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | 6 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | — | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 |
Temp °C | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 13 |
Feels °C | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | N 7 | N 7 | N 7 | N 7 | N 7 | W 11 | W 11 | W 11 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | W 9 | W 8 | WNW 8 | W 8 | N 6 | N 5 | N 6 |
| kJ | 91 | 36 | 38 | 38 | 23 | 14 | 17 | 465 | 457 | 335 | 159 | 69 | 46 | 26 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 30 | 14 | 6 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 8 | N 7 | WNW 6 | W 9 | W 8 | ESE 5 | W 8 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | — | — | — | ENE 8 | NE 8 | NE 9 | NE 9 | W 9 | W 7 | NNE 9 | NNE 9 |
| kJ | 42 | 40 | 13 | 41 | 22 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 9 | — | — | — | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 8 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | W 12 | W 10 | WNW 6 | NW 6 | W 8 | ESE 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 8 | W 8 | W 9 |
| kJ | — | 3 | 31 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 5 | 6 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | SE 3 | WSW 3 | W 5 | ESE 4 | E 3 | NE 4 | N 8 | N 7 | N 7 | N 6 | NNW 6 | NNW 6 | NNW 5 | NW 5 | W 4 | W 4 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | 22 | 2 | 8 | 18 | 221 | 222 | 184 | 151 | 130 | 121 | 53 | 19 | 9 | 25 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 2 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 42 | 25 | 1114 | 0 | 8 | 30 | 523 | 365 | 1102 | 225 | 780 | 295 | 218 | 218 | 255 | 255 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Scotland - North Coast | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
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 East 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 East Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Thurso East provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Thurso East can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Thurso East 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 East) 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 East 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 East, 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 and Kirkwall, 52 km (32 miles) away.
Nearest