Learn to read your forecast - Surf Edition - WestWind Guide

As a surfer, there is probably no worse feeling than missing out on good conditions – especially if you were just lying at home on the sofa and missed it. Therefore, it is essential to be able to read a weather forecast so that you are on point when the good conditions hit. But it can be difficult to navigate the many information and conditions. Fortunately, precisely predicting surf is something that the well-versed surfer Rasmus Fejerskov has been geeking out on for years, and he is happy to share his experience:

"First of all, you must choose a provider that you become familiar with. There are many options like DMI, Windy, Ocean DMI etc. You have to choose one, and then you have to get to know it.

I have chosen Windy because it has good colors and good graphics," says Rasmus Fejerskov. There are also a number of providers who, without a map, list the various conditions and rates with stars, such as e.g. the popular Magicseaweed, but the experienced surfer advises against them: "When you just use an app that writes m/s and gives stars without having a weather map, you don't really get an understanding of the weather. It is better to use a chart where you can see low pressure and how the wind and waves are moving. Then you can better understand what is happening.”

And then he has clear advice when you have to learn to understand the weather forecast yourself: "It is important to read the weather forecast before surfing. But it's just as important after. When you get home from a good day, look at the weather forecast again. What exactly was I surfing? What kind of wave period was it, how windy, where was the wind coming from? That way you become smarter and get to know the different spots under different conditions.”

Learn to find the good waves

When you want to surf big, clean waves, it gets a little harder to hit the spot every time; then there are several factors that need to go up. The sea moves independently of the wind. "When you look at waves for wave surfing, you have to think of the sea as a layer cake with several layers. Those layers are factors that count. I would say there are four decisive layers,” says the surfer.

• Wind waves
• Ground swell
• Current
• Wind

A ground swell is if it's very windy out in the Atlantic, and we don't feel the wind inside us, but that storm still sends waves in. Typical from the NW. The way to spot a ground swell is by looking at the period.

Wave period

The period indicates how many seconds elapse from one wave crest being in one place to the next wave crest being in the same place. The longer the period, the greater the probability that the wave was generated far out in the oceans. A high period typically gives a wall on the wave, i.e. a long wall to surf along. And long lines in the sea. Where a big wave without a high period gives a peak without a wall - it can be big to drop into, but the trip will be short without a wall.

"When the period exceeds 8–9 seconds, it looks like a ground swell. And if it even comes to us without wind, then it's really nice," asserts Rasmus Fejerskov. But a ground swell is no guarantee of a good day on the water. An incorrect wind direction can destroy the best waves: "You can have exactly the same conditions with the same wave period, but with wind from the NW. It means that you have a wind wave on top of the base swell, and it destroys the waves, so it becomes a messy soup.” It is therefore important to examine all four layers.

The wind is decisive

On the west coast of Jutland, it is absolutely essential to have control over where the wind is coming from. "As a surfer, you have to look for spots where the wind is from, but where the wave direction is," explains Rasmus Fejerskov and continues: "You can get that in Denmark because you have bays and piers that allow you to shelter from the wind. Then you have waves that come around the pier or the bay but with an oblique offshore wind.” And then you have to be careful about getting your hopes up during a storm: "The typical mistake is that everyone thinks they have to surf after a storm. When there has been a storm, there are big waves. But the thing about a storm is that it blows right over our heads. So it's chaotic and rebellious. You rarely get a good wave right after a storm," asserts Rasmus Fejerskov.

The four types of weather in Denmark

After several years of studying the weather forecast, Rasmus Fejerskov can see four types of weather that recur here at home:

N-NE
Typically in winter. A low pressure is forming in Skagerrak, which blows down along the west coast of Jutland. If it's windy enough, it can cause some waves to wrap up and run along the shore.

S-SE OR S-SW
The low pressure is forming down around the English Channel and Germany, which runs up along the coast with us. Also forms a wave that can wrap up along the coast.

ISLAND
Pure offshore wind (on the west coast) Days with pure offshore wind only work if there is a ground swell with a period of more than 10 seconds. Otherwise, the water is completely flat.

W-SW
Onshore wind and onshore waves. When you get really hungry, you have to take what comes. Typically in the summer, when there isn't much swell, you have to go out into the wind instead. It is the wind that creates the waves, so the period is low, typically around 5 seconds. The moment it stops blowing, the wave will die out. Throughout the country you can surf wind waves when the wind is directly on the coast.

Keep an eye out in good time

The weather can of course change at short notice, but you can still get an idea of ​​what's in store relatively early: "You can get a sense of low pressure five days before and see if something big is coming. What can be deceiving is how the low pressure hits. It can decrease or increase. But the last two days before you can start to be sure," the surfer asserts.