The Weekend
Weather
Another two days and nights of virtually cloudless sky. Thursday was the warmest day of the year so far, Friday marginally cooler and the weekend will carry on trending in that downward direction. This is because the moderate force 4 (perhaps occasionally fresh force 5) ENE’ly wind will be dragging air all the way from Scandinavia. Saturday should peak at 13-14°C, then Sunday should peak at 12-13°C. The warmest Parishes generally being Torteval, Forest and St Pierre du Bois. Overnight temperatures won’t fall too low, because the wind won’t be any lighter than during the daytime (min temps 8-9°C both nights). The stargazing should be fantastic too, because the moon won’t even rise until well after midnight. Oooh! That reminds me… at 2am Sunday, clocks spring forward by one hour.
Surf and the Water
Let’s face it, our surfing shoulders could probably do with a decent rest, so I’m sure you won’t be too gutted to hear that the surf will only be 1 foot on Saturday, 2 feet on Sunday (both days rather ruined by the cross-shore wind). If you’re swimming then your best bet will be around high tide (lunchtime Saturday and mid-afternoon Sunday), tucked into the northern corners of the west-coast bays.
Monday and Tuesday
Weather
This end of the week will have the same weather that we have recently adjusted to, ie mostly dry, sunny and suitably mild for the start of British Summer Time. It will gradually become more cloudy though, and there will be some heavy (possibly thundery) showers visibly close to the islands, if not over the islands themselves. Winds will continue to blow from an ENE’ly direction, but they will be so light on Monday (force 2) that the temperature should rise to at least 15°C and it will feel really comfortable. Slightly stronger winds on Tuesday (force 3-4), with temperatures only peaking around 13°C.
Surf and the Water
The surf will be 1-2 feet and quite a bit cleaner than at the weekend, so longboarders and paddle-boarders should find some shapely ripples to slide along. Small tides on Monday, increasing to medium-sized on Tuesday, with lows shortly before midday and highs around dinner-time.
The Rest of Next Week
Weather
A steady decline in temperature, such that by Friday computer models are even predicting snow in nearby parts of England and France and probably hail over the Channel Islands. This will be due to a plunge of arctic air that will be borne by a force 4-5 N’ly wind, perhaps increasing to strong force 6 for a time on Thursday and Friday. Whether or not the computer models are correct about the wintry precipitation, it will still be a very noticeable backward step, just after we had been getting used to the forward momentum of spring. So best not to bundle your winter coats and hats into the attic just yet.
Surf and the Water
Tiny scrappy surf on Wednesday, becoming bigger but also much messier surf on Thursday and Friday. The south coast swimming be the most obvious choice of activity in the water, or perhaps a bit of windsurfing/kite-surfing in the west and north. Bigger tides, with highs around breakfast and dinner time (rough 8.7m on Wednesday, 9.2m on Thursday, then 9.5m on Friday).
The next forecast update will be on Sunday evening…
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