Thursday
Weather
We replace the average/relatively cool North-Atlantic air, with milder Azorean air. Skies will become increasingly cloudy though, such that any extra heat from the morning sunshine will level off through the afternoon greyness and evening dampness (around 12°C). Winds will be SSW’ly, gradually increasing from moderate force 4 to strong force 6, before a very wet cold front sweeps through around midnight, and returns the flow to a W’ly direction.
Surf and the Water
Clean 4-6 foot surf on the west coast, and increasingly good conditions for windsurfing and kitesurfing too. Tides will be high around 11:40am (only a teeny 6.3m), then low around 6pm.
Friday
Weather
Moderate force for W’ly winds will bring a mixture of cloud and sunshine. Some of the clouds producing a brief heavy shower. The vast majority of the day is bound to be dry and reasonably bright, but it’s worth noting that these showers will be heavy enough to produce hail, so they will give us a thorough soaking when they catch us, even if they only last for a couple of minutes. With cooler air over the islands (max temperature only 9-10°C), it will definitely feel much more pleasant if you seek shelter in the streets of St Peter Port or maybe down at Fermain.
Surf and the Water
Choppy 6-8 foot surf on the west coast. Reasonable swimming conditions on the east. Tides will be low around 7:30am, then high around 1:45pm (only a teeny 6.1m).
The Weekend
Weather
No particularly leaning forwards to spring or leaning backwards to winter. All a bit middle of the road. Saturday probably the most pleasant day, with a light force 3 NW’ly breeze bringing mostly sunny skies. Definitely a lovely day, but with inherently cool air floating over the area, we can’t expect the mercury to climb any higher than 10-11°C. Sunday will move upward in terms of temperature… nudging up to 12°C, but it will move downward in terms of weather quality… in this case a moderate force 4 SW’ly bringing grey sky and patchy light drizzle. For the very best of Saturday, I would head down to the south coast. But to avoid the worst of Sunday, I would stay away from the south coast.
Surf and the Water
Sticking with the tiny tidal movements, the relative lows will be mid-morning and the relative highs late afternoon. Saturday’s west-coast surf should be pretty chunky (6 feet) but not especially choppy, given that the onshore wind will be very light. For absolute cleanliness the south-coast could be worth a look, but it always requires a heavy dose of luck for the wave-quality to be any good down there. Sunday’s surf will be smaller, but it should be slightly cleaner and more dependable on the west coast.
Next Week
Weather
Mild and dry on Monday and Tuesday, with sunshine eventually triumphing over cloudy skies, but taking a very long time to get there. From Wednesday onward, however, we are simply talking about warm sunshine (at least warm by March standards). The breeze being a force 3-4 SW’ly on Monday, S’ly on Tuesday, and then E’ly through the rest of the week. Likely max temps of 12-13°C at the start of the week, rising to 15-16°C by the end.
Surf and the Water
Clean surf every day (providing the E’ly wind that dominates the second half of the week, will lean more towards a SE’ly aspect than a NE’ly). Swimming conditions should be lovely every day, providing you pick the right spot for the breeze and the tide. As for those tidal movements, they will become very large again, with highs of around 7.8m on Monday (pre-dawn and pre-dusk) increasing incrementally day by day, until we have a high of around 9.6m at breakfast time on Friday.
The next forecast update will be on Saturday or Sunday…
Previous Weather Fox ForecastsTide Tables
Swim Conditions
Ormering
Lihou Causeway