Back Beach surf break

Back Beach surfForecast / Taranaki / New Zealand

information circle48hr Weather and Surf, issued 11 pm Saturday 16 May 2026 NZST
Forecast update in hr  min  s Forecast update imminent
Back Beach surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.
Today's Back Beach sea temperature is
17.0° C
(Which is slightly warmer than usual)

How big are the waves at Back Beach today?

The current surf forecast for Back Beach at 5AM is: 1.1m 18s primary swell from a West-southwest direction and 0.8m 12s secondary swell from a Southwest direction (forecast issued at 11:00pm May 16). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore.

Time (NZST) & DateWave HeightWave Period
Morning (17 May)3.5ft (1.1m)17s
Afternoon (17 May)3.5ft (1.0m)16s
Evening (17 May)4ft (1.2m)16s

Table - waves today at Back Beach. (Swell directed towards the surf break)


Updates in  hr  min  s Forecast update imminent

Short Range Forecast

Mostly dry. Very mild (max 14°C on Mon afternoon, min 9°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light.

Sunday
17
Monday
18
Tuesday
19
9 PM
12 AM
3 AM
6 AM
9 AM
12 PM
3 PM
6 PM
9 PM
12 AM
3 AM
6 AM
9 AM
12 PM
3 PM
6 PM
9 PM
12 AM
3 AM
6 AM
9 AM
12 PM
3 PM
6 PM
Rating
(10 max)
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height MapHeight MapHeight Map
Height MapHeight MapHeight Map
Height MapHeight MapHeight Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.9
WSW
19
0.8
WSW
18
0.9
WSW
18
1.1
WSW
18
1.1
WSW
17
1.3
WSW
16
1
WSW
16
1.2
WSW
16
1.2
WSW
16
1.1
WSW
15
1
WSW
14
1
WSW
14
0.9
WSW
14
0.9
WSW
14
0.8
WSW
14
0.8
WSW
13
0.7
WSW
13
0.6
W
18
0.6
W
17
0.9
WSW
16
0.9
WSW
16
0.9
WSW
16
0.9
WSW
15
0.9
WSW
14
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
627
456
522
790
772
834
547
679
662
566
400
394
316
312
210
198
149
222
200
452
435
344
305
366
Wind (km/h)
20
SE
20
SE
15
SE
15
SE
10
ESE
0
ESE
10
WSW
10
SSW
15
SE
10
SE
10
ESE
10
ESE
5
ESE
0
W
10
WSW
10
SSW
10
SSE
10
ESE
5
SE
5
SE
5
SE
5
NNW
10
W
10
SW
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
glassy
cross-on
cross-on
cross-off
cross-off
off
cross-off
cross-off
glassy
cross-on
cross-on
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
glassy
glassy
on
cross-on
High Tide
9:25PM3.56m
9:42AM3.53m
10:11PM3.66m
10:32AM3.54m
10:58PM3.67m
11:22AM3.47m
Low Tide
3:37AM0.23m
3:59PM0.15m
4:25AM0.22m
4:47PM0.19m
5:15AM0.30m
5:37PM0.31m
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
7:20
7:22
7:22
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:17
5:17
5:16
Temp °C
10
9
9
9
10
12
13
12
12
12
11
10
11
13
14
13
13
12
12
11
12
13
13
12
5
4
5
5
7
11
10
10
9
9
9
7
9
12
12
11
11
10
10
9
11
12
11
10
Swell 1
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.9
WSW
19
0.9
WSW
12
0.9
SW
12
1.1
WSW
18
1.1
WSW
17
1.3
WSW
16
1
WSW
16
1.2
WSW
16
1.2
WSW
16
1.1
WSW
15
1
WSW
14
1
WSW
14
0.9
WSW
14
0.9
WSW
14
0.8
WSW
14
0.8
WSW
13
0.7
WSW
13
0.7
WSW
13
0.7
WSW
13
0.9
WSW
16
0.9
WSW
16
0.9
WSW
16
0.9
WSW
15
0.9
WSW
14
Energy kJ
627
237
252
790
772
834
547
679
662
566
400
394
316
312
210
198
149
149
151
452
435
344
305
366
Swell 2
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.8
WSW
12
0.8
WSW
18
0.9
WSW
18
0.8
SW
12
0.7
SW
12
0.7
WSW
12
0.1
W
22
0.1
W
21
0.2
W
21
0.2
W
20
0.3
W
19
0.4
WSW
19
0.4
WSW
18
0.6
W
18
0.6
W
17
Energy kJ
193
456
522
169
142
119
9
9
35
30
66
120
106
222
200
Swell 3
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
Energy kJ
Wind waves
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.4
S
6
0.4
SSE
3
Energy kJ
11
3
Nearest Offshore or Glassy
Rating
(10 max)
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
Distance (km)
0
0
0
0
0
0
42
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
10
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
104
8
Best forecast wave conditions in Taranaki
Rating
(10 max)
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
3
2
3
3
3
2
3
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand
Rating
(10 max)
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
3
Header Global
Rating
(10 max)
5
5
5
6
5
4
4
4
6
9
9
7
4
4
5
7
5
4
5
5
4
4
4
4
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder

FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website

The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Back Beach surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.


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