Monday
Weather
Cloudy and misty first thing, becoming super-sunny by late morning. Skies then staying beautifully clear for the rest of the day and the night. Max temperature roughly 15°C, the wind a moderate S’ly backing to a gentle SE’ly.
Surf and the Water
The surf will be about 5 feet and gorgeously clean; from the high tide spots at dawn and dusk, to whichever low-tide reefs might be breaking in the early afternoon. The smoothest spots for swimmers will probably be along the west and north coasts. For more precise tidal details, click across to the tides page on this site.
Tuesday and Wednesday
Weather
The SE’ly breeze will continue to waft warm, dry air over the Channel. Smouldering the islands in sunshine (with a UV index of 5, so don’t forget to moisturise that fresh winter skin). Wednesday’s sunshine might be a tad more hazy and muted than Tuesday’s, but it’s unlikely to stop the temperature from peaking in the very high teens on both days.
Surf and the Water
The surf will stay pristine, but the wave heights will slip away slowly; 4 feet by the end of Tuesday and then 3 feet by the end of Wednesday. The west coast will generally be best for swimming on both days. As for the tides, Tuesday’s, like Monday’s, will be about 9.7m high at breakfast time (some of the largest tides of the year) and Wednesday’s high will peak at about 9.4m.
Thursday and Friday
Weather
The wind will back to a moderate to fresh ENE’ly on Thursday and a fresh to strong NE’ly on Friday. This is not only going to make it feel much chillier than the previous days, but it’s actually going to start drawing cold air down from northern parts, such that the max temps reduce by about 4 degrees per day, only just scraping 10°C on Friday if we are lucky. As for the weather, that will gradually become cloudier but it’s almost certain to stay dry.
Surf and the Water
The tidal range will be reducing significantly, with highs in the late mornings (roughly 8.9m high on Thursday and 8.3m high on Friday). The surf will also fall off a cliff, reducing to 2 feet by Thursday evening and pretty much flat by the end of Friday. If you’re going for a swim, then you will find the best conditions along the west coast on Thursday and the south coast on Friday.
The Weekend
Weather
Staying dry, with a mixed bag of cloud and sunshine, but the nagging NE’ly wind will continue to plunge cold Arctic air toward the Channel. Scotland likely to see a good dose of snow by Sunday evening, and this bizarrely late wintriness likely to come all the way to Southwest England in subsequent days. However, the development of that story, and how the Channel Islands will be affected, will have to wait for the next few updates.
Surf and the Water
The trends of the previous days will continue; shrinking tides, flat surf and the smoothest swimming conditions down south.
The next forecast update will be on Wednesday evening…
Previous Weather Fox ForecastsTide Tables
Swim Conditions
Ormering
Lihou Causeway