Surf forecast · United Kingdom · Cornwall
Surf forecast Porthtowan today
Waves, swell and wind at Porthtowan (Cornwall, United Kingdom) today and for the next 3 days, every 3 hours of daylight, with a plain verdict per day — flat, small, fun, good or big, offshore or onshore — and the best window to paddle out.
These numbers are more than 7 hours old, so they are hidden. Open the live waves map for the current sea. Open the waves map centred on Porthtowan
Right now
Big onshore.
Porthtowan surf forecast, next 3 days
- Flat
- Small
- Fun
- Good
- Big
Saturday 24 October
No daylight hours left today: see tomorrow.
Sunday 25 October
Big Best window 16:00–17:00: big, onshore.
| Time | Waves | Swell | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 5.1 m · 11 s ↑WNW | 2.5 m · 11 s ↑WNW | 43–73 km/h ↑WNW onshore |
| 12:00 | 4.7 m · 10 s ↑WNW | 2.7 m · 11 s ↑W | 40–67 km/h ↑WNW onshore |
| 15:00 | 4.2 m · 10 s ↑WNW | 3.7 m · 9 s ↑WNW | 34–57 km/h ↑WNW onshore |
Monday 26 October
Good Best window 07:00–10:00: good, cross-shore.
| Time | Waves | Swell | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 2.3 m · 8 s ↑WSW | 1.5 m · 9 s ↑W | 36–61 km/h ↑SW cross-shore |
| 12:00 | 2.6 m · 8 s ↑WSW | 1.6 m · 9 s ↑W | 35–58 km/h ↑SW cross-shore |
| 15:00 | 2.6 m · 8 s ↑W | 1.7 m · 9 s ↑W | 40–68 km/h ↑SSW cross-shore |
Tuesday 27 October
Big Best window 16:00–17:00: big, cross-shore.
| Time | Waves | Swell | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 4.1 m · 10 s ↑W | 2.7 m · 11 s ↑W | 40–62 km/h ↑WSW cross-shore |
| 12:00 | 4.3 m · 11 s ↑W | 2.9 m · 11 s ↑W | 46–72 km/h ↑W cross-shore |
| 15:00 | 4.2 m · 11 s ↑W | 3.3 m · 10 s ↑W | 40–62 km/h ↑W onshore |
Every 3 hours of daylight, local time. Waves = significant height of the whole sea, with the peak period; swell = the long-period part. Arrows point where the waves and the wind are going.
Forecast for Sat 20:00 local time · updated 2026-10-24 19:11 UTC
Waves map around Porthtowan
Open the waves map centred on Porthtowan
Live significant wave height from NOAA WaveWatch III, averaged over 2° cells: coarser than the forecast above, so near the coast it can differ from it.
More about Porthtowan
Water temperature in Perranporth · Tides in St Ives · Swell map · Wind map
LayEarth Pro
Pro adds GPS jamming, winds aloft, turbulence, 20 aurora cities and the evening-before pollen alerts for Europe — 9 USD/month.
Questions
- Is there surf at Porthtowan today?
- Big: waves 4.3 m at 10 s from W, swell 1.9 m · 11 s W (Sat 20:00).
- Is the wind offshore at Porthtowan?
- Wind 48 km/h from W: onshore for a beach facing NW.
- When is the best time to surf Porthtowan today?
- No daylight hours are left today; the table shows the next days.
- How warm is the water at Porthtowan?
- 14.9 °C
- Where do the numbers come from?
- The Open-Meteo Marine API (wave models of Météo-France, ECMWF and NOAA) for a point just off the beach, and the Open-Meteo forecast for the wind. A model at sea, not a surf report: sandbanks, reefs and tide shape the waves you actually get.
Nearby surf spots
Perranporth 8 km · Gwithian 13 km · Fistral Beach (Newquay) 17 km · Watergate Bay 21 km · Praa Sands 26 km · Porthleven 27 km
How it is computed
Hourly Open-Meteo Marine forecast (wave height, peak period and direction, swell) at a point just off Porthtowan, and the Open-Meteo wind at 10 m. Size: flat under 0.3 m, small under 0.8 m, fun under 1.5 m, good under 2.5 m (with a period of 8 s or more), big above. Wind: under 8 km/h light; otherwise offshore, cross-shore or onshore from its angle to the direction the beach faces. The best window is the 3 daylight hours with the best mix of size, period and wind. Rebuilt every 3 hours. Live map.