Guernsey Weather Fox

Saturday

Weather

A cloudy sky, but it’s all going to be high cirrus cloud, so there will be some brightness and soft sunshine managing to penetrate. Winds will be moderate force 4 SE’ly for the most part, occasionally stepping up to fresh force 5, particularly during the late morning. Temperatures will be slow to change, only creeping from 11 to 14°C through the course of the morning and then continuing to 15 or perhaps 16°C by mid-afternoon. The west and north coast will offer the best shelter, so long as you stay close to the sea walls or nestled against the high ground of Pleinmont. The night will be more comfortably mild than the previous one, only falling to a minimum of 13°C rather than plummeting all the way to 11°C.

Surf and the Water

Flat surf, unless we luck into a sneaky 1 foot wave around dusk (I’m not sure I’ve ever stretched the definition of luck quite that far before). Swimming conditions will be best in the west and the north, around the time of high water, because that’s when the shelter will be greatest. Highs will be 8m around 5:30am and pm, roughly 8m and 8.3m respectively. Low will be shortly before midday.

Sunday

Weather

Fresh force 5 SSE’ly winds will bring a morning of persistent and occasionally havy rain. Likewise through lunchtime, but probably becoming dry around mid afternoon. At that point the wind will veer to a moderate force 4 WSW’ly and then we should see some brief sunshine before we head into a night of increasing winds and intermittent showers. Daytime max 15-16°C. Overnight min 14°C.

Surf and the Water

Clean 1-2 feet surf until early afternoon, then choppy 2-3 foot waves thereafter. Swimming conditions will be best around dawn in the west and the north. Then good again from mid-afternoon, so long as you head to the east or the north. Windsurfers and kitesurfers will find their best conditions through the morning and lunchtime. High tides will be 8.6m around 6am and 8.8m around 6:20pm. Low tide will be shortly after midday.

Monday

Weather

Heavy blustery showers, punctuated by spells of sunshine. The wind blowing from the SW in the morning (force 5 and gusty) then from the WSW in the afternoon (force 5 and even more gusty… 45-50mph with the heaviest showers). Very little variation in temperature… max temp 15°C, min temp 13°C. Head to Town or Fermain for the best shelter, and the most comfortable feeling.

Surf and the Water

The surf will increase from around 4-5 feet at dawn to 8-10 feet by dusk, generally on the choppy side… semi-clean in the morning. Great windsurfing and kitesurfing conditions all day. For swimming, Fermain will definitely be your best bet. Tides will be 8.9m high at 6:40am and 9.1m high at 6:50pm. Low water will be at 1pm.

The Rest of Next Week

Weather

Most days will be at least partially wet and windy, but those episodes will be punctuated by calmer clearer spells. By day, those finer moments might allow temperatures to creep slightly higher than the usual 15-16°C (the WSW’ly airflow generally being a mild one). Nightly minima will generally be around 13-14°C, but if things become clearer and calmer at that time, then we could see minima as low as 11°C. Currently the period from afternoon to Wednesday Friday afternoon is threatening to be the wettest and windiest with some heavy showers and some more prolonged spells of rain. Town will aways be the mildest and most comfortable part of the Island.

Surf and the Water

Tuesday’s waves will reverse the trend of Monday, diminishing from a dawn height of 8 feet to a dusk height of 4 feet. It will all be very choppy on that day. Wednesday’s waves will probably be no bigger but they should be much cleaner, and then it looks like an even more massive moment late Thursday and early Friday. Most days will be great for windsurefing and kitesurfing at one point or another. Swimmers will always be hunting for shelter and for the vast majority of the time, Fermain will be the easiest place to achieve this. Tides will be high at breakfast time and after dusk… ranging between 8.7m at the smallest and 9.3m at their largest (Wednesday morning). Low tides will be in the early afternoons.