
Surf Forecasts:
Tolcarne surf forecast from 16 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 23 Sep, 1AM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 15s period, WNW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 23 Sep, 1AM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 15s period, WNW swell with 1,421 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 20 Sep, 1AM (local time) - 5.5ft (1.7m), 10s period with W swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Tolcarne this week:
The surf forecast for Tolcarne over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Sunday (Sep 20) at 1AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.7m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 14s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Tolcarne in the next 16 days are 1.8m 15s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Sep 23) at 1AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 1AM (Sun 20th Sep) | 5.5ft (1.7m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 1AM (Wed 23rd Sep) | 6ft (1.8m) 15s |
| Most Powerful | 1AM (Wed 23rd Sep) | 6ft (1.8m) 15s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Tolcarne over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, let’s get this out there. Things are looking pretty ordinary for Tolcarne over the next couple of weeks, to be honest. There’s a real lack of quality on offer for a good stretch, and when the waves do show up, the wind is going to be messing things up. It’s one of those spells where you might be better off checking the tide charts and doing something else.
The first decent window doesn’t even open until Tuesday the 22nd. That’s a solid gap with no real recommendations from Wednesday the 16th all the way through Monday the 21st. During that stretch, we’ve got small, messy surf with onshore and cross-shore winds chopping everything up. Wave heights might look okay on paper at times, like that 7ft on Thursday morning, but with an 8-second period and fresh cross-onshore wind, it’s going to be lumpy and horrible.
Finally, on the morning of Tuesday the 22nd, things start to clean up. We’ve got a light ESE breeze swinging cross-off, and the surf is around 3ft. It’s small, but the clean conditions make it more interesting.
Then the standout arrives on Tuesday afternoon. The swell starts to build a bit, hitting 4ft with a very long 16-second period. The energy jumps right up, with the combined swell energy hitting 1044, which is strong. That’s some proper groundswell. The wind stays light and cross-off, so the surface is going to be glassy. This is easily the best surf of the whole run. However, that long period swell, over 15 seconds, can be a bit tricky. At a beach break, it can tend to close out and break too straight. It won’t be perfect, but it’ll be the best we get.
Wednesday the 23rd still has some promise. The swell is a touch bigger, 5ft in the morning, with that same 13-second period and clean cross-off winds. It’s a solid option, but the guidance suggests the conditions are a bit more questionable, so maybe the tide will be a factor.
After that, it’s a slow fade. Thursday the 24th drops right off to under 3ft and stays tiny for days. The winds to start with, a fresh E/ESE breeze, are cross-off, keeping things clean looking, but there’s just no energy in the water.
The next time things get interesting is over a week away, on Tuesday the 29th of September. The swell suddenly jumps back up, with the afternoon seeing 8ft of WSW swell. That’s a chunky size, over 8ft, so it’s firmly in the experts-only category. The wind is a cross-off E/ESE breeze, so it might be clean, but that size on a beach break with a 10-second period could be heavy and challenging. That energy is also very strong, with a reading of 1245.
The water temperature is 64°, which is a touch warmer than average for this time of year. Not a huge deal, but you might not need the thickest suit just yet.
So, your standout is Tuesday afternoon the 22nd. It’s the pick of the bunch for sure. Get on it if you can. The big day on the 29th is for the brave, but it’s a long way out, so don’t count on it.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Wed night. Very mild (max 18°C on Fri night, min 14°C on Wed morning). Mainly fresh winds. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 19°C on Mon afternoon, min 16°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 16 | Thursday 17 | Friday 18 | Saturday 19 | Sunday 20 | Monday 21 | Tuesday 22 | |||||||||||||||
AM | 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) | W 11 | W 11 | W 10 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 13 | W 12 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 10 | W 10 | W 11 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | WNW 10 | W 12 | WNW 16 | WNW 15 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
917 | 669 | 586 | 528 | 588 | 555 | 980 | 933 | 477 | 388 | 466 | 598 | 360 | 326 | 210 | 120 | 127 | 131 | 289 | 714 | 1421 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | cross | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 9:13PM5.69m | 9:30AM5.49m | 9:51PM5.16m | 10:10AM5.00m | 10:36PM4.66m | 11:04AM4.55m | 11:45PM4.25m | 12:32PM4.27m | 1:32AM4.14m | 2:18PM4.38m | 3:01AM4.42m | 3:27PM4.79m | 3:54AM4.87m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 3:07PM1.01m | 3:22AM1.30m | 3:42PM1.48m | 3:59AM1.78m | 4:26PM1.95m | 4:48AM2.22m | 5:31PM2.37m | 6:09AM2.55m | 7:16PM2.54m | 8:00AM2.53m | 8:53PM2.31m | 9:19AM2.19m | 9:52PM1.88m | ||||||||
6:56 | — | — | 6:56 | — | — | 6:58 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | |
— | 7:32 | — | — | 7:30 | — | — | 7:28 | — | — | 7:25 | — | — | 7:23 | — | — | 7:22 | — | — | 7:19 | — | |
mm | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 19 |
Feels °C | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 19 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 11 | W 11 | N 5 | — | — | W 13 | W 12 | N 5 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | — | W 10 | W 10 | W 11 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | WNW 10 | W 12 | WNW 16 | WNW 15 |
917 | 669 | 5 | — | — | 3 | 3 | 2 | 82 | 93 | — | 598 | 360 | 326 | 210 | 120 | 127 | 131 | 289 | 714 | 1421 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | N 5 | — | — | — | — | W 18 | W 12 | SW 16 | SW 16 | — | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | WNW 12 | SW 13 | SW 13 | WNW 18 | W 12 | — |
— | 27 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 3 | 10 | 10 | — | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 54 | 7 | 7 | 260 | 330 | — | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SW 13 | — | — | SW 12 | — | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | — | — | 6 | — | — | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 5 | — | W 10 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 13 | W 12 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
25 | — | 586 | 528 | 588 | 555 | 980 | 933 | 477 | 388 | 466 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 43 | 232 | 218 | 218 | 232 | 141 | 218 | 241 | 218 | 214 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in North Cornwall | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Tolcarne Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Tolcarne provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Tolcarne can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Tolcarne 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 (Tolcarne) 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 Tolcarne 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 North Cornwall? If you are looking for accommodation near Tolcarne, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in North Cornwall, consider staying in Newquay which is 2 km (1 miles) away. Other places in and around North Cornwall where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Padstow which is 17 km (11 miles) away, Truro, Saint Austell and Bodmin.










