Guernsey Weather Fox

Sunday

Weather

The consistent feature will be the chilly force 3-4 NW’ly breeze which, since Saturday night’s cold front heralded it’s arrival with a minor sprinkling. Skies will often be cloudy but generally bright and occasionally (briefly) properly sunny. The odd shower is possible during the daytime but will most likely be reserved for the overnight period. Temperatures will most likely peak at 11-12°C, then only fall to 9 or 10°C during the night time, due to thickening cloud and increasing wind.

Surf and the Water

Sloppy choppy 1 foot gutless waves… unsurfable. Swimmers will find smoother water on the south and east coast. High tide will be 9.7m at 7am. Low tide will be at 1:30pm.

Monday

Weather

After such a long spell without any significant bouts of rain, this day’s 10-20mm will be very noticeable indeed. Coming down (occasionally across rather than down, due to the force 5-6 W’ly winds) in occasional heavy bursts, punctuated by lighter drizzly episodes. The air will be mild compared to all other days this week though… sitting comfortably around 12°C throughout, despite total lack of sunshine.

Surf and the Water

The surf will be 3-4 feet and very choppy. Swimmers will have to go to the east coast to find any smooth water. High tide will be 9.5m at 7:45am. Low tide will be at 2:15pm.

Tuesday to Friday

Weather

The first really wintry feeling episode... much of Britain waking up to quite a lot of snow on Tuesday morning, then being topped up in a few locations by isolated flurries through the rest of the week. That weather will be brought to the British Isles by a generally NNW’ly airflow… fairly strong so feeling very cold, even during the periods of sunshine (of which there will be plenty). Here in the Channel Islands, we may see a few flakes of snow, mixed in with the odd heavy shower, but hail is far more likely. Inbetween the showers, the visibility will be dazzling but the sunny spells will still be very chilly. Temperatures generally peaking between 8 and 10°C by day, and falling to minimums of between 4 and 6°C overnight.

Surf and the Water

These cold winds will only be consistently escaped on the south coast, so that is where any keen swimmers should think of heading first. Most days will be good for windsurfing and kitesurfing. For surfers, the west coast will have choppy surf of a decent rideable size every day… 2 feet at the smallest, 5 feet at the biggest (probably Tuesday). High tides will be in the morning, shrink day by day from… 9.2m on Monday (potentially very splashy on both the east and the west coast) to just 7.3m by Friday. Low tides will be in the afternoons.

Next Weekend

Weather

It will probably (still very uncertain) be like going back to Monday, with cold air being replaced by mild air in a very brutal fashion… gale force SW’ly winds and horizontal rain on Saturday. Even more uncertain (but something to hope for) is the current expectation of Sunday being a very calm and settled day of recovery. Keep an eye on the forecast updates to see how that story evolves.

Surf and the Water

Tiny tides, only around 7m on the lunchtime highs. The surf forecast is obviously no more certain than the wind forecast, but Saturday’s expected gales will certainly whip up some big waves if they come to pass, meaning that Sunday’s glass-off could be briefly fantastic (an early estimate of 8 feet at dawn, shrinking to 4 feet by dusk.