Thurso Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right. It’s going to be a bit of a slow start for Thurso Reef over the next 16 days, but there’s a couple of moments where it absolutely turns on. The water temperature is sitting right around average for this time of year at 56°F, so nothing unusual there.

The first call isn’t until Monday the 24th of August. The morning has a clean 7ft swell from the WNW with an 11-second period, but the wind is cross-off from the SE at 12 mph, so it’ll be workable but nothing to write home about. The combined energy of all swells is moderate at 973, which gives it a bit of push, but it’s rated as marginal. The afternoon drops to 6ft with the same direction and period, energy down to 685, still clean but still only marginal.

Tuesday the 25th is a write-off. 4ft with a moderate breeze and poor conditions in the morning, then 3ft and choppy in the afternoon. Wednesday the 26th is tiny—knee-high at best with poor surf across the board. Thursday the 27th isn’t much better; the morning is choppy with a cross-onshore wind, but the afternoon gets interesting: only 2ft but the wind swings to SE at 3 mph, cross-off and glassy, making it clean. Surfable, but small.

Friday the 28th and Saturday the 29th are no good. Saturday has a 5ft swell in the morning but with a short 6-second period and a moderate breeze, it’s just lumpy and weak. Sunday the 30th is similar, with a bit of swell but poor conditions.

There is a gap from the 31st of August through to the 3rd of September that is almost entirely poor or too small, with only the morning of the 3rd showing a bit of promise: 3ft from the N with an 11-second period, clean and light offshore wind from the SSE at 6 mph. It’s a good-looking window but only scores moderately.

Now, the standout—and I mean standout—is Saturday the 5th of September. The morning brings a massive 13ft swell from the WNW with a solid 10-second period. The combined energy is enormous at 3115, and it’s offshore wind from the WSW at 19 mph with clean conditions. That said, this is strictly for the experts—13ft is huge, and the break is a reef setup so it’s going to be thick and powerful. There is a high tide consideration too, but for the skilled crew, this is the best on offer. The afternoon holds 10ft from the NW, still clean, still big, but again only for those with serious experience.

Sunday the 6th of September morning is still solid: 5ft from the W at 12 seconds, offshore wind from the SW at 16 mph, clean and with moderate energy of 1102. It’s rated excellent for experienced surfers, so a good second option for those who found Saturday too big.

After that, the 7th and 8th of September see the swell drop right back until Tuesday the 8th, when it goes absolutely mental again: 25ft in the morning and 28ft in the afternoon, both from the W with very long periods of 18 and 15 seconds respectively. The combined energy hits 37183 and 32678—astronomical. The wind is light and offshore, so it’s clean, but this is way too big for any paddler. It’s more of a big-wave tow session or a spectator day.

So, the one to circle is Saturday the 5th of September for the experts, with Sunday the 6th as a more manageable fallback. The rest of the window is quiet or marginal.

Rusty

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