Arawhata Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Looks like we're in for a bit of a rough patch at Arawhata (Arawhata) before a few windows open up. The water's sitting at 57°F with a temperature anomaly of 0.5°F, so it's pretty much average for this time of year.

The first real chance comes on Thursday morning, 27 August. Arawhata will see a clean 6ft swell from the WSW, with a period of 13 seconds – that's a nice groundswell with plenty of push. The wind is N at 9 mph, blowing cross-offshore, which will keep the surface glassy. The combined energy is moderate (1238), and it's a reef break that's fairly consistent. This is the standout session for the whole outlook: solid, clean, and perfect for experienced surfers. Crowds are sometimes an issue, but it's worth it for that quality.

Thursday afternoon, 27 August, holds up okay with a 6ft WSW swell and N wind at 16 mph, still cross-off, but the breeze is a bit stronger. The energy drops slightly (1078), and conditions are still clean but less crisp.

Then things get hit and miss. Friday morning, 28 August, sees a jump to 12ft from the NW with a short 10-second period, and strong N winds at 28 mph. The energy is strong (2467), but it's messy and too big for most. Friday afternoon is similar. Saturday, 29 August, drops back to around 7ft from the WSW, but the wind swings W and becomes cross-on, making it choppy. Sunday, 30 August, is a write-off with 12ft WSW swell and strong cross-on winds at 19–25 mph, lumpy and poor.

Monday, 31 August, brings a massive 16ft WSW swell with 13-second period, but onshore winds at 22 mph and a huge energy reading (7506) – this is big, dangerous, and messy. The next few days stay poor with big swells and strong winds, mainly cross-on or cross-shore. From 1 to 4 September, it's a blur of 12–13ft swells, fresh winds, and poor surf.

On Wednesday afternoon, 3 September, there's a glimmer: an 12ft W swell with a very long 16-second period, cross winds from the WNW at 16 mph, and moderate energy (5189). It's marginal, but that long-period groundswell could set up nicely at a reef break like Arawhata if the wind holds. By 5 September, the swell drops to 7–8ft from the WSW with 14-second periods, but rain and moderate cross winds keep it from being clean.

The end of the outlook, around 8–10 September, sees huge swells again – 16–21ft from the W and NW, with periods up to 19 seconds and extreme energy readings (well over 10,000). Some of these might be too big even for Arawhata, and the winds are mostly cross-on or cross-shore. There's a brief mention on 10 September afternoon of an 18ft W swell with cross winds and a score of 7, but it's still a massive, heavy swell.

Overall, the only true standout is Thursday morning, 27 August. After that, it's a long stretch of messy, big, or windy conditions. There's a gap of poor surf from 28 August through to 3 September, and then again from 5 September onward. The long-range stuff around 8–10 September looks promising in terms of energy, but it's uncertain and very big – only for the brave.

Rusty.

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