Monday
Weather
A force 4 NW’ly wind will bring a mix of cloud and sunshine, with the best of the sunshine being around lunchtime, when the temperature will peak at 11°C. Heading towards evening, the wind will drop off to light force 3 and the cloud will thicken and lower, until things turn misty and perhaps even a little drizzly overnight.
Surf and the Water
Choppy and sloppy surf all day, except for a slightly cleaner sundown session (3-4 feet). Head to either the south coast or the east coast for the smoothest swimming conditions. High tide is going to be a another splashy one along the west coast at breakfast time, and low tide will be in the early afternoon.
Tuesday
Weather
Monday evening’s murky conditions will spill into Tuesday, but probably not as late as lunchtime. The afternoon should then see some pleasant sunny spells, as the NW’ly wind increases to force 4 and starts to draw slightly cooler air over the islands. Before that cool air arrives, the temperature should climb to another pleasant max of 11°C, but then it’s going to fall away to an overnight min 6-7°C.
Surf and the Water
The wind should be light enough that the surf should be reasonably clean (1-3 feet). However, it will be very weak, so don’t fret if you miss it. Swimming conditions will be nicest on the south and east coasts again, with Moulin Huet probably claiming the number one spot, when the tide is low in the mid-afternoon.
Wednesday to Friday
Weather
A high pressure system will build over the UK, causing the wind to veer to a fresh NNE’ly direction. I can confidently say that this is going to lead to lower temperatures, but unfortunately the weather is much less certain, due to the constant presence of cloud and showers at the eastern end of the Channel, which might also drift over the islands at times. Whether or not we stay entirely dry, we are bound to see some sunny spells, but they won’t be sufficient to take the temperature any higher than 7-8°C.
Surf and the Water
The tidal range will continue to shrink, until the Friday high is less than 8m. As for the waves; they will be 2-4 feet and their quality will depend on the strength of the cross-shore wind. Most of the time, the wind will make them too messy to be worth a lot of effort, but there will undoubtedly be a few glassy moments for keen-eyed surfers to take advantage of.
The Weekend
Weather
As that high pressure system slips into the North Sea and low pressure develops over France, the NE’ly wind is going to strengthen to force 5-6 and it’s going to feel even colder. Furthermore, the showers will become more frequent and they might even turn to sleet at times (pretty ironic for the weekend of the Vernal Equinox).
Surf and the Water
Unfortunately, the strengthening NE’ly wind will ruin the west-coast surf, but the onshore surf at Pembroke can sometimes be fun under such conditions. And, of course the south coast will offer some smooth water for swimmers, especially at Saints Bay in the late mornings, when the tide is high.
The next forecast update will be on Tuesday or Wednesday…
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Swim Conditions
Ormering
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