Monday
Weather
Cloudy from before dawn, but probably not raining until around 8am. After that, we shall probably keep the rain until around midday, and then we will only see the odd brief shower during the afternoon and evening, punctuated by a few sunny or clear spells (max temp 11°C). As for the winds, force 5 SW’ly in the morning, force 6 WNW’ly in the afternoon and evening, gradually falling light overnight, before a force 6 S’ly kicks in towards dawn.
Surf and the Water
Clean 3-4 foot surf along the west coast in the morning, but it will turn into a right old mess in the afternoon. However, once again, the whole day will be fabulous if you’re a hardcore windsurfer. High water will be about 9.7m at 7:40am and 9.4m at 8pm (the latter, although smaller, is likely to be the messiest along the west-coast roads).
Tuesday
Weather
The deep low-pressure system that I’ve talked about in the last few forecasts has now been officially named. Storm Barra will really pack some damaging punches to Ireland and southwest Britain. For us, it won’t be quite so severe, but the force 7-8 SSE’ly wind will still feel pretty brutal through the morning, and the force 6-7 SW’ly won’t feel much gentler in the afternoon and evening. Whilst that hooley is blowing, it’s also going to be very wet, with persistent heavy rain through the middle of the day and then squally showers coming and going through the late afternoon and overnight.
Surf and the Water
Clean 4-6 foot surf along the west coast until mid-afternoon, then turning proper messy by the end of the day. Once again, the whole day will be pretty hardcore for windsurfing. High water will be about 9.5m at 8:20am and 9.1m at 8:50pm (the morning tide could be pretty messy on the east-coast roads, but the evening tide will certainly be the messiest along the west-coast roads).
Wednesday
Weather
A full day of force 6 W’ly winds, bright intervals and frequent blustery showers of rain or hail. The gusts around those showers could be as strong as 40-45mph, so it’s still going to feel pretty nasty, even though Storm Barra (having moved from Ireland to Scotland) will be significantly relaxed compared to Tuesday.
Surf and the Water
A huge swell will batter the west coast and much of it thump into many of the bays along the north and south coasts too. Fortunately the tides are a little bit smaller but there will still be some very big splashes and overtopping of the west-coast walls. High water will be about 9.2m at 9:10am and 8.6m at 9:40pm.
Thursday and Friday
Weather
We will probably hang on to the showers and the force 5-6 W’ly winds on Thursday morning. However, things should become significantly more settled in the afternoon, with the showers dying out and the wind dropping off to moderate force 4. Blink and you’ll miss it though, because a cold front will bring heavy rain overnight, followed by force 6 NW’ly winds and occasional squally showers on Friday. Max temps 11°C on Thursday, then 10°C on Friday.
Surf and the Water
It’s very uncertain I’m afraid, but winds might be light enough for pleasant surfing/swimming conditions on Thursday afternoon and on Friday morning. However, it’s most likely going to be another couple of days that are best suited to windsurfing. The tides will get significantly smaller though, with highs of 8.5m on Thursday morning and just 8m on Friday morning.
The weekend
Weather
The details are uncertain but I can confidently say that it will remain wet and windy. However, with those winds coming from the southwest on both days, we can expect to the air to be quite a bit milder and more comfortable (max temps 12-13°C).
Surf and the Water
The uncertainty continues, but it does look as though the winds will back S’ly on one or perhaps both days, so there should certainly be some big clean waves for surfers to enjoy at some point. Smaller tides again, with highs of around 7.5m at lunchtime.
The next forecast update will be on Tuesday or Wednesday…
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