Beach forecast for Rathnew
Today, Wednesday, October 28, 2026 · local time (GMT) · Wicklow, Ireland Today, Wed, Oct 28 · GMT- Swimming
- Calm · 2.0 ft
- Water
- 55 °F · very cold
- Max UV
- 1 · SPF 15
- Low tide
- 6:00 am and 6:26 pm
Today, Wednesday, October 28, it's not a beach day in Rathnew (0/10). Today is the best day of the week.
Beach forecast for the next 7 days
| Day | Rating | Best hours | Swimming | Water | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 0Not a beach day | Not today | Calm · 2.0 ft | 55 °F | 1 |
| Thu 29 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Use care · 4.4 ft | 55 °F | 1 |
| Fri 30 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Use care · 4.1 ft | 55 °F | 1 |
| Sat 31 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Calm · 1.8 ft | 55 °F | 1 |
| Sun 1 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Use care · 3.5 ft | 55 °F | 1 |
| Mon 2 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Calm · 2.0 ft | 54 °F | — |
| Tue 3 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Calm · 1.3 ft | 54 °F | — |
Each rating comes from sun, temperature, rain, wind, waves, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide.
Today in detail
- Calm for swimming: 2.0 ft waves
- Cloudy (95% cloud cover)
- Feels like 54 °F: chilly for the beach
- Moderate offshore wind (13 mph): it blows floats and inflatables out to sea
- Water at 55 °F (very cold)
- High tide at 12:39 pm, coefficient 90: little sand left
Today, hour by hour
- Swimming Calm · 2.0 ft
2.0 ft waves: calm for swimming. Low rip current risk. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
- Water 55 °F
Very cold: ease in and keep swims short.
- Sun & sunscreen UV 1 · SPF 15
Max UV 1 (low): SPF 15 sunscreen.
- Wind 13 mph
Moderate offshore wind (13 mph). Skip the inflatables: offshore wind carries them out to sea.
- Tide & sand 6:00 am
Low tide at 6:00 am and 6:26 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide at 12:18 am and 12:39 pm. Coefficient 91 (spring tides): little sand left at high tide.
The EPA Ireland (beaches.ie) issues its bathing notices in season, from 1 June to 15 September; none are in force now. We don't have data on jellyfish or sargassum: ask the lifeguard or check the flags.
Today, hour by hour
| Time | Rating | Sky | Feels like | Wind | Waves | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00 am | 0 | Overcast | 48 °F | 12 mph | 3.2 ft | 0 |
| 9:00 am | 0 | Overcast | 50 °F | 10 mph | 3.0 ft | 0 |
| 10:00 am | 0 | Overcast | 51 °F | 11 mph | 2.9 ft | 1 |
| 11:00 am | 0 | Overcast | 52 °F | 11 mph | 2.7 ft | 1 |
| 12:00 pm | 0 | Overcast | 52 °F | 13 mph | 2.6 ft | 1 |
| 1:00 pm | 0 | Partly cloudy | 53 °F | 13 mph | 2.4 ft | 1 |
| 2:00 pm | 0 | Overcast | 54 °F | 12 mph | 2.3 ft | 1 |
| 3:00 pm | 0 | Overcast | 54 °F | 9 mph | 2.2 ft | 0 |
| 4:00 pm | 0 | Overcast | 54 °F | 8 mph | 2.0 ft | 0 |
Beach hours only: from one hour after sunrise to half an hour before sunset.
Beaches near Rathnew
Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Murrough Beach 1.6 mi · E
- Parking
- Wicklow Harbour Bathing Area 2.0 mi · E
- Parking
- Silver Strand 4.0 mi · SE
- Restrooms
- Dogs on leash
Sufficient water quality 2025 season, EEA
- Kilpoole Beach 4.3 mi · SE
- Magheramore Beach 4.9 mi · SE
- Furzeditch Beach 5.4 mi · SE
Named beaches within 6.2 mi, nearest first. Amenities from OpenStreetMap: some may be missing or out of date. View on OpenStreetMap · Add or fix on OpenStreetMap
Beaches and amenities: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Bathing water quality: European Environment Agency (EEA), with data from the authorities of Ireland.
Webcams near Rathnew
Webcams provided by windy.com — add a webcam
How we rate a beach day
We rate every beach hour from 0 to 10 with simple, fixed rules:
- Adds: sunshine (up to 3 points, fewer with more clouds), warmth (up to 4, from the feels-like temperature; ideal between 81 °F and 91 °F), a calm sea (1), water at 70 °F or warmer (1; from 64 °F, half) and low or mid tide (1: more sand). Anything without data is left out and the rest is scaled to 10.
- Takes away: cold (feels-like below 64 °F, 1 to 4 points), rain (half a point if likely, up to 6 if it rains; thunderstorms, 8), wind from force 4, about 12 mph (1 to 6 points; half a point more if offshore, which blows inflatables out to sea, or onshore, which churns the water), waves (1 to swim with care, 4 if dangerous, 1 more for high rip current risk), very high UV (half a point; extreme, 1), water below 59 °F (1) and spring high tides (1: little sand left).
- Swimming: calm, use care (waves from 2.6 ft, or long swell) or dangerous (from 6.6 ft, or 4.9 ft with a long period), based on how much of the wave reaches this shore given the way it faces. In the U.S., today's and tomorrow's rip current risk comes from the National Weather Service surf zone forecast when it issues one; otherwise we estimate it from the waves.
- Best windows: runs of 2 to 5 hours rated 4 or more and close to the best hour, at least one hour apart.
- Day rating: the average of the best window; a 2-hour window keeps 85% of it and a 3-hour window 95%.
Today, in the best window: sun 0 of 3, warmth 0 of 4, calm sea 1 of 1, water 0 of 1 and tide 1 of 1; minus cold 4, wind 0.5 and cold water 1; short window: the rating keeps 85%.
It's a guide, not a guarantee: weather changes and every beach is different. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
Questions about the beach in Rathnew
Is it a beach day in Rathnew today?
Not a beach day: 0/10. No good beach time today.
What are the swimming conditions in Rathnew today?
2.0 ft waves: calm for swimming. Low rip current risk. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
How warm is the water in Rathnew?
About 55 °F today: very cold. That's the sea surface temperature offshore; it can differ a little at the shoreline.
How much sun protection do I need in Rathnew today?
UV reaches 1 (low): SPF 15 sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat.
When is low tide in Rathnew?
Today low tide is at 6:00 am and 6:26 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide is at 12:18 am and 12:39 pm. Coefficient 91 (spring tides): little sand left at high tide.
What about tomorrow? Will it be a beach day in Rathnew?
Tomorrow, Thursday, October 29: not a beach day (0/10).
What beaches are near Rathnew?
Murrough Beach (1.6 mi), Wicklow Harbour Bathing Area (2.0 mi), Silver Strand (4.0 mi), Kilpoole Beach (4.3 mi) and Magheramore Beach (4.9 mi). See below for amenities and water quality.
Are there jellyfish or sargassum today?
We don't know: there's no open data on jellyfish or sargassum. Ask the lifeguard or check the flags. The EPA Ireland (beaches.ie) issues its bathing notices in season, from 1 June to 15 September; none are in force now.
How is the rating worked out?
From the hourly forecast: sun and clouds, feels-like temperature, rain, wind (and whether it blows onshore or offshore), waves and their period, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide. Each factor adds or takes away a fixed number of points and the rating sums them up out of 10.
More about Rathnew today
Learn more
Our own calculation, using the Open-Meteo forecast (ECMWF, NOAA GFS, Météo-France, Copernicus Marine and CAMS, CC BY 4.0), the tide from Wicklow (Marine Institute) and the sun from astronomy-engine. Marine Institute, Ireland: tide prediction for Wicklow (from the Marine Institute operational hydrodynamic model), https://erddap.marine.ie/erddap/tabledap/imiTidePrediction.html. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Modified: harmonic constants fitted by TidePlanet from the hourly prediction of 2026.