Thursday
Weather
Very little variety from day to day in this forecast, given that we aren’t expecting to be compromised by any rain, strong wind or poor visibility whatsoever. So the subtle differences will be in terms of cloud, temperature and the direction of the breeze. For Thursday the NNW’ly breeze will be force 3-4 through the morning and lunchtime and there will be quite a lot of cloud in the sky through this time. Then, in the afternoon and evening, the sky will become cloudless and the breeze will ease light force 2 to 3, allowing the temperature to climb to a max of 20°C in most parts of the islands and perhaps 21°C in Town (that’s about 1 degree lower than it was on Wednesday).
Surf and the Water
Flat surf but good swimming and paddle-boarding conditions, especially down on the south coast in the first half of the day, then pretty much everywhere in the second. High water will be about 7.2m just shy of 1pm. Low water will be around breakfast time and dinner time.
Friday
Weather
A virtually cloudless day, followed by a slightly cloudier evening. However, that evening cloud will generally be high, so it will tend to make the sunset more colourful rather than blocking it out altogether. As for the wind and temperature, just a light force 2-3 N’ly, meaning that everywhere feels lovely and summery, but the hottest places will be down on the south coast… Max temps generally around 22°C, but probably 23°C in those hot spots.
Surf and the Water
Flat surf but good swimming and paddle-boarding conditions all around the island, but most especially down on the south coast. High water will be about 7.2m just shy of 2pm. Low water will be around breakfast time and dinner time.
The Weekend
Weather
Two days of wall to wall sunshine, with the breeze gradually shifting from a N’ly direction to a NE’ly, but still only light force 2-3 for the most part, perhaps just briefly increasing moderate force 4 around the beginning of Saturday and towards the end of Sunday. The south coast will always be the warmest area by about a degree, with max temps generally 22-23°C on Saturday, then 23-24°C on Sunday.
Surf and the Water
Maybe some 1 foot waves for children to surf, but even that is perhaps a little too optimistic. The main events will continue to be the swimming and the paddle-boarding, especially down on the south coast. And of-course the Sark to Jersey rowing race will be helped by the lack of swell, the tail-wind and the relatively weak tidal currents. Low tides will be around 9am on Saturday and around 10am on Sunday. High tides will be around 3pm on Saturday and 4:15pm on Sunday (roughly 7.3m a7.6m respectively).
Next Week
Weather
Just a gradual turning up of the heat through the week. The breeze will remain force 2 to 4 NE’ly for the first half and then it will shift to a force 1-3 E’ly on Thursday and become variable or even SE’ly on Friday. This wind-shift will probably nudge temperatures from the mid-twenties to the high twenties and there is even a chance of hitting 30°C by Friday. As is always the case when temperatures reach those dizzy heights, there is a chance that sea fog will form in the Channel and perhaps blow in to cool us down significantly. There is also a chance that thundery showers could develop over France and drift in our direction. However, right now, it doesn’t look likely that either of those things will happen before the weekend or possibly even the following week!
Surf and the Water
Apart from a continuation of the glorious conditions for general swimming and coasteering, we will probably see an improvement in the west-coast surf… picking up from near-flat to around 2-3 feet and cleanish by Wednesday, then possibly 3-4 feet and really clean on Thursday and Friday. It’s a long way off though, so best not to set your heart on it. However you choose to take to the water, it will definitely be warm enough to go without a wetsuit or at least to wear a very short one. However, sun-protection will still be very important, so a full length 1-2mm suit would probably be the best choice (preferably with a sun-hat tied to your zip cord). Big tides will come with the full moon, with highs in the early mornings and in the evenings… those highs increasing each time from about 7.8m early Monday to about 9.5m late Friday.
The next forecast update will be on Saturday morning…
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