Guernsey Weather Fox

Thursday

Weather

With all previous hopes of snow now being focussed on Brittany, I can’t really offer Guernsey any more than cloudy skies and the risk of a few showers. Those showers consisting of very cold rain or sleet but nothing more exciting than that I’m afraid. By lunchtime, the shower risk should be over, but it won’t be until late afternoon that the clouds begin to break apart and drift away. The temperature will be a little higher than the previous days, peaking this time at 5-6°C, but winds will be a bit stronger (force 4-5 NE’ly) so I’m afraid that it will still feel very cold.

Surf and the Water

The cross-shore wind will spoil what little swell there is for surfers (1-3 feet). As for our hardy swimmers, the south coast will be best for that, during the morning when the water will be nice and close to the cliffs (high water 7.3m around 10:30am).

Friday

The sunniest day of the week, and it will be totally dry, and the winds will be light (NE’ly force 3-4 gradually reducing to force 2). The max temperature (6-7°C) will only be a degree higher than the previous day, but the improvement in the general conditions will mean that it feels significantly more pleasant.

Surf and the Water

The surf will be pretty much flat. We might just have some rideable knee-high waves for longboarders. If so then those waves will at least be nice and clean. As for the swimmers, the light winds (particularly so in the afternoon) will mean that all coasts should have something to offer. High water will be 7.1m around 11:20am.

The Weekend

Weather

Saturday will be mostly cloudy but it should be dry after any early morning showers have celared northwards. The cloud will generally be thin and high though, so this means that plenty of brightness should sneak through. Temperatures will continue to rise, relative to previous days, with a max of 7-8°C and the wind will now be blowing from a new direction (moderate force 4 SSE’ly). By Sunday, the SSE’ly will have strengthened to force 6 and it may even increase to force 7 later. Temperatures will be on the rise (picking right up to 12°C by the end of the day), but everything else will be plummeting in a very definite downhill direction, with rain becoming persistent and near-horizontal as the wind increases, plus the cloud being low enough to make it rather misty and murky in the highest parts of the island.

Surf and the Water

Flat surf on Saturday, but maybe a new swell on Sunday (time will tell). If we do get any waves then they should be clean along the west coast thanks to the new wind direction, and that coast (as well as the north coast) will also be best for our rock-hard winter swimmers, especially around lunchtime when the tide is high (7.0m on Saturday, 7.2m on Sunday).

Next Week

Weather

The cold snap will be over good and proper, with temperatures climbing to double figures very day. It won’t all be wet and windy though, that will just be Monday and perhaps Friday. The in-between days will be mostly dry (probably the odd shower here and there) with light W’ly or SW’ly breezes and plenty of sunny spells. Some of the nights could still be quite cold though, if skies are clear and winds are light for prolonged periods. Currently Tuesday night looks the most likely for a ground frost.

Surf and the Water

Great surf on Monday, clean all day, picking up from 2-3 feet to 4-5 feet. Then on Tuesday it will be 6-7 feet but not so clean (still not too bad though as the onshore wind will only be light). As for the rest of the week, it’s still looking really good actually, more modest in size…3-4 feet but pretty clean at all the favourite west-coast spots. Tides will be low in the mornings and high in the afternoons.