Surf Report | Warm Winds (2024)

FAQs

How to read surf report magicseaweed? ›

Wave height on Magicseaweed tells you the what height wave to expect at the beach. Swell Period tells you how powerful the waves will be and affects the size. Generally surfable conditions are 9 seconds + (for the UK). Look for no wind or light wind on the forecast that's preferably offshore!

5) Wind Strength Lower winds usually indicate the waves will be better. Speeds below 10 knots are ideal whereas winds over 20knots may not be worth even getting your toes wet.

Offshore winds are ideal for surfing because they groom the waves surface and can result in a barreling wave. Ideal conditions for surfing would include absolutely no wind. This is called glassy conditions, and a surfers dream scenario.

Swellmagnet provides some of the best surf reports in the industry, with accurate and verifiable results gathered via an innovative system of surf condition monitors and detectors.

Likewise, the swell is classed as low when it is less than 2.0 metres in height, moderate when it is between 2.0 and 4.0 metres in height, and heavy when it is more than 4.0 metres. Swell may even be moving in a different direction to the prevailing wind.

But generally for surfing, you want light offshore winds under 15mph for clean, groomed waves. Anything more than that (say, a gusty offshore wind over 25mph) will make it harder to paddle into waves and, on weaker swells, harder to generate speed on the waves.

Generally speaking the perfect size for beginners is 1 to 2ft. For intermediates: 2-4ft waves are best as it gives you more face of the wave to progress your skills on. You should keep an eye on the 'Swell Period', because it's a lot more indicative of the actual wave size (see the next point).

8-12 Mph 12-19 kph 7-10 knots Gentle Breeze Leaves and small twigs move, light weight flags extend. Large wavelets, crests start to break, some whitecaps. 13-18 Mph 20-28 kph 11-16 knots Moderate Breeze Small branches move, raises dust, leaves and paper. Small waves develop, becoming longer, whitecaps.

Wave period is measured in seconds and is the gap between one wave and the next. Simply said the wave period is the amount in seconds that pass between each wave. The higher the wave period, the more energy in the swell and so the larger the wave and more often than not this results in better quality waves for surfing.

On shore winds blow from the ocean towards the shore. These types of winds are terrible for surfers because it causes a choppy and bumpy surface which is harder to surf on.

How much is too much wind for surf? ›

As long as the wind doesn't get too strong, say over 20 knots, you'll be fine. Any stronger and it will be hard to take-off. The other winds are either onshore – from the sea to the land, or cross-shore – blowing from either side. If these winds are blowing any stronger than 10 knots it can chop the waves up fast.

By definition, swell period is the time required for one complete wave length to pass a fixed point, and it is given in seconds. Nearly all the swell you're likely to ever see surf from will range from 4 to 22 seconds, but for lots of spots that high end swell never happens.

This happens when different storms in different locations of the ocean are generating swells that will arrive in a particular location. To make it simple: the primary swell is swell with more potential to reach the coast and the secondary swell is swell with the second most potential to reach the coast.

The longer the swell period, the faster and more powerful waves will be. For example the report may say 2ft at 15 seconds. Even though the wave is only 2ft, it has a 15 second period which means the wave is traveling from a longer distance (known as a ground swell) and will result in powerful waves.