Beach forecast for Scalloway
Today, Wednesday, October 28, 2026 · local time (GMT) · Shetland Islands, United Kingdom Today, Wed, Oct 28 · GMT- Swimming
- Dangerous · 11 ft
- Water
- 53 °F · very cold
- Max UV
- 1 · SPF 15
- Low tide
- 4:04 am and 4:23 pm
Today, Wednesday, October 28, it's not a beach day in Scalloway (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 | Dangerous · 11 ft | 53 °F | 1 |
| Thu 29 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Use care · 6.0 ft | 53 °F | 0 |
| Fri 30 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Use care · 5.2 ft | 53 °F | 1 |
| Sat 31 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Dangerous · 5.0 ft | 53 °F | 0 |
| Sun 1 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Use care · 4.3 ft | 53 °F | 1 |
| Mon 2 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Use care · 4.2 ft | 53 °F | — |
| Tue 3 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Calm · 2.6 ft | 53 °F | — |
Each rating comes from sun, temperature, rain, wind, waves, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide.
Today in detail
- Low tide at 4:23 pm: more sand
- Cloudy (77% cloud cover)
- Feels like 40 °F: chilly for the beach
- Rain (0.04 in)
- Strong onshore wind (24 mph): blowing sand
- Dangerous for swimming: 11 ft waves every 11 s; high rip current risk
Dangerous surf during beach hours. Stay out if the red flag is up, and never swim where there is no lifeguard.
Today, hour by hour
- Swimming Dangerous · 11 ft
11 ft waves every 11 s: dangerous for swimming. Stay out if the red flag is up. High rip current risk. If you're caught in a rip current, don't swim against it: swim parallel to shore and wave for help. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
- Water 53 °F
Very cold: ease in and keep swims short.
- Sun & sunscreen UV 1 · SPF 15
Max UV 1 (low): SPF 15 sunscreen.
- Wind 24 mph
Strong onshore wind (24 mph): blowing sand.
- Tide & sand 4:04 am
Low tide at 4:04 am and 4:23 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide at 10:23 am and 10:54 pm. Coefficient 99 (spring tides): little sand left at high tide.
We don't have data on jellyfish, sargassum or beach closures: ask the lifeguard or check with the local beach authority.
Today, hour by hour
| Time | Rating | Sky | Feels like | Wind | Waves | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00 am | 0 | Partly cloudy | 38 °F | 22 mph | 11 ft | 0 |
| 9:00 am | 0 | Partly cloudy | 38 °F | 23 mph | 10 ft | 0 |
| 10:00 am | 0 | Partly cloudy | 38 °F | 23 mph | 9.9 ft | 0 |
| 11:00 am | 0 | Light showers | 39 °F | 23 mph | 9.6 ft | 0 |
| 12:00 pm | 0 | Partly cloudy | 40 °F | 24 mph | 9.3 ft | 1 |
| 1:00 pm | 0 | Overcast | 40 °F | 22 mph | 9.1 ft | 0 |
| 2:00 pm | 0 | Overcast | 40 °F | 23 mph | 8.9 ft | 0 |
| 3:00 pm | 0 | Partly cloudy | 39 °F | 24 mph | 8.7 ft | 0 |
Beach hours only: from one hour after sunrise to half an hour before sunset.
Beaches near Scalloway
Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Ministers' Beach 0.1 mi · SW
- Restrooms
- Parking
- Meal Beach 3.1 mi · SW
- Restrooms
- Parking
- Bain's Beach 4.8 mi · E
- Restrooms
- Parking
- Reawick beach 5.5 mi · NW
- Banna Minn Beach 6.0 mi · SW
- Parking
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).
Webcams near Scalloway
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 1 of 3, warmth 0 of 4, calm sea 0 of 1, water 0 of 1 and tide 0.3 of 1; minus cold 4, rain 1.5, wind 3, waves 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 Scalloway
Is it a beach day in Scalloway today?
Not a beach day: 0/10. No good beach time today.
What are the swimming conditions in Scalloway today?
11 ft waves every 11 s: dangerous for swimming. Stay out if the red flag is up. High rip current risk. If you're caught in a rip current, don't swim against it: swim parallel to shore and wave for help. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
How warm is the water in Scalloway?
About 53 °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 Scalloway today?
UV reaches 1 (low): SPF 15 sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat.
When is low tide in Scalloway?
Today low tide is at 4:04 am and 4:23 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide is at 10:23 am and 10:54 pm. Coefficient 99 (spring tides): little sand left at high tide.
What about tomorrow? Will it be a beach day in Scalloway?
Tomorrow, Thursday, October 29: not a beach day (0/10).
What beaches are near Scalloway?
Ministers' Beach (0.1 mi), Meal Beach (3.1 mi), Bain's Beach (4.8 mi), Reawick beach (5.5 mi) and Banna Minn Beach (6.0 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, sargassum or closures for each beach. Ask the lifeguard, check the flags or the local beach authority's website.
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 Scalloway 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 FES2022 (AVISO/CNES) and the sun from astronomy-engine. FES2022 Tide was produced by LEGOS, NOVELTIS and CLS, funded by CNES, and distributed by AVISO (https://doi.org/10.24400/527896/a01-2024.004), AVISO licence (https://www.aviso.altimetry.fr/fileadmin/documents/data/License_Aviso.pdf). Modified by TidePlanet: constants interpolated from the nearest model cells offshore; heights above mean sea level.