Thurso Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Scotland – North Coast, UK)

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- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
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Weather State
Spot Information

Thurso Reef Surf Guide

Thurso Reef on the North Coast is an exposed reef break that has quite reliable surf and can work at any time of the year. The best wind direction is from the south southwest. Waves just as likely from local windswells as from distant groundswells and the best swell direction is from the northwest. There is no beach break and in addition there are both left and right reef breaks.. Sometimes crowded. Hazards include rocks and pollution.

Thurso Reef Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	5	fairly consistent	9.0°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Thurso Reef:

The best conditions reported for surf at Thurso Reef occur when a Northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the South-southwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Thurso Reef (for consistent clean waves)?

februaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Thurso Reef with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of February. Clean surfable waves are typically found 52% of the time in February while 40% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 8% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

52%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

40%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Thurso Reef Location Map

Interactive Thurso Reef surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Thurso Reef is Wick Airport (WIC) in U.k., 29 km (18 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Thurso Reef is Kirkwall Airport (KOI) in Scotland, 53 km (33 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Thurso Reef Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Monday, 4 May 2026, 14:21 Local Time

m, °C	Monday 04
ft, °F	10AM	1PM	4PM	7PM
Wave (m)	WNW	WNW	WNW	W
Period (s)	8	8	8	8
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- off	cross	on	on

Tides at Thurso Reef

Current tide and informaton

For Scrabster, Scotland, 3 km from Thurso Reef.

Next High Water: 10:59pm | 4.69m

Next Low Water: 04:55pm | 1.72m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Thurso Reef Sea Temperature

The water temperature (9.0 °C) at Thurso Reef is very cold. You will need a quality steamer wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots. Cloudy, with an effective air temperature of (5.0 °C), so feeling about the same in the water or out of it.

Today, many surfers would wear a winter wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots.