Surf Forecasts:
Blacks Reef surf forecast from 5 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 7 Aug, 9AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 17s period, S swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 7 Aug, 6PM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 14s period, S swell with 2,507 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 7 Aug, 9AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 17s period with S swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Blacks Reef this week:
The surf forecast for Blacks Reef over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (Aug 07) at 9AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.3m and 17s period with a secondary swell of 1.9m and 10s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Blacks Reef in the next 16 days are 2.5m 14s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Aug 07) at 6PM. Winds are predicted to be offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.8m 4s period and expected on Wednesday (Aug 12) at 3AM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 9AM (Fri 7th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 17s |
| Best Surf | 9AM (Fri 7th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 17s |
| Most Powerful | 6PM (Fri 7th Aug) | 8ft (2.5m) 14s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Blacks Reef over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Righto, let's have a look at what's on the cards for Blacks Reef.
We've got a bit of a slow burner to start this forecast period. The next few days are a write-off for any decent paddle surfing. Thursday the 6th is a complete mess with a strong onshore wind and a big, lumpy 10-foot swell. That's for the kites, not for us. The combined swell energy is a massive 1922 (strong), but the wind just ruins it. Friday the 7th is where it starts to get interesting.
Friday morning is the standout. We've got a solid 4-foot south groundswell, and the wind goes totally glassy. That's a rare treat. The swell period is a very long 17 seconds, which means proper energy and nice, shaped waves. This is a reef break, so those long-period waves will stand up beautifully. It’s a consistent spot, but remember it's often busy, so get in early. The water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing wild to report there.
Friday afternoon holds in with a 7-foot swell from the south, a 15-second period, and a clean cross-offshore breeze. Saturday the 8th is also excellent. The morning is glassy again with a 7-foot south swell and a 12-second period. The afternoon stays clean with 6-foot surf. The combined energy for Saturday morning is 1289 (strong), telling you there's plenty of power.
Sunday the 9th is still good fun with 4-foot surf and a clean cross-offshore wind in the morning, but smaller. The energy drops to 592 (moderate). Monday the 10th sees the swell drop right off to under 3 feet, and the wind goes onshore in the afternoon. Not worth it.
There’s a big gap of small, weak surf from Monday afternoon all the way through to the middle of the following week. The combined energy readings are all under 300 (weak). It’s just not doing anything.
Then, things get a bit wild again. On Monday the 17th of August, a big south-west wind swell starts to push in, but with a brutal 25 mph onshore wind. The combined energy jumps to 1387 (strong), but the conditions are terrible. It gets even bigger on Tuesday the 18th with a 16-foot swell and a combined energy of 6810 (very strong), but that’s with a near gale onshore wind. This is purely a beast for the experienced in a death wish, or more likely, unsurfable.
Things finally clean up a bit on Thursday the 20th and Friday the 21st. Friday the 21st has a glassy 7-foot east swell. The combined energy is 740 (moderate), and with glassy conditions, that’s the second standout of the period. Get your hopes up, but it's a long way out.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 14°C on Sat afternoon, min 4°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Mon afternoon. Very mild (max 16°C on Sun afternoon, min 11°C on Sun morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 6 | Friday 7 | Saturday 8 | Sunday 9 | Monday 10 | Tuesday 11 | Wednesday 12 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 17 | S 15 | S 13 | S 12 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 12 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | S 9 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 2282 | 1439 | 849 | 941 | 1860 | 1693 | 1218 | 911 | 543 | 381 | 255 | 289 | 139 | 131 | 108 | 90 | 138 | 125 | 86 | 75 | 47 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | on | cross | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-on | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | on | cross-off |
High Tide | 11:10AM1.67m | 11:41PM1.67m | 12:04PM1.70m | 00:33AM1.67m | 1:01PM1.74m | 1:29AM1.67m | 2:00PM1.77m | 2:29AM1.68m | 2:59PM1.81m | 3:29AM1.69m | 3:57PM1.84m | 4:28AM1.70m | 4:56PM1.86m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 5:29PM0.31m | 5:54AM0.28m | 6:23PM0.31m | 6:46AM0.27m | 7:22PM0.29m | 7:41AM0.25m | 8:22PM0.24m | 8:41AM0.22m | 9:21PM0.19m | 9:43AM0.16m | 10:20PM0.15m | 10:43AM0.10m | 11:18PM0.11m | ||||||||
 |  |  | | |  | | | | |  |  | |  | | | | | | | | |
 | 7:05 | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:00 | — | — |
 | — | 5:22 | — | — | 5:22 | — | — | 5:23 | — | — | 5:24 | — | — | 5:25 | — | — | 5:27 | — | — | 5:28 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 9 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 13 |
Feels °C | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 11 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | SSE 10 | S 15 | S 13 | S 12 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 12 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | S 9 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 |
| kJ | 1860 | 1439 | 849 | 754 | 1860 | 1693 | 1218 | 911 | 543 | 381 | 255 | 289 | 139 | 131 | 108 | 90 | 138 | 125 | 86 | 75 | 47 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 15 | NE 17 | SSE 12 | S 17 | SSE 10 | SE 13 | ESE 12 | E 13 | SSE 15 | SSE 14 | S 13 | NE 6 | NE 5 | NE 5 | SE 12 | SSW 9 | S 8 | ENE 4 | ENE 4 | SE 6 | NE 6 |
| kJ | 56 | 12 | 245 | 941 | 370 | 26 | 14 | 4 | 44 | 265 | 229 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 39 | 62 | 29 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 5 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 18 | NE 17 | S 20 | SE 13 | SE 12 | E 14 | SE 12 | S 18 | NE 13 | SSW 18 | E 12 | S 18 | S 17 | S 16 | NE 5 | SSE 9 | S 16 | SSW 6 | NE 6 | NE 6 | ESE 5 |
| kJ | 6 | 12 | 30 | 163 | 158 | 4 | 35 | 6 | 7 | 30 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 45 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 2 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 10 | — | — | — | — | — | NNE 3 | NNE 3 | NNE 4 | NW 3 | — | — | — | — | NE 6 | NE 7 | NNW 2 | — | — |
| kJ | 2282 | 1189 | 616 | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 3 | 13 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 35 | 1 | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 75 | 89 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Gisborne and Mahia | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
Latest Updates
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 Blacks Reef 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.
Information about the Blacks Reef Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Blacks Reef provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Blacks Reef can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Blacks Reef surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Blacks Reef) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Blacks Reef may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Blacks Reef is 50 km (31 miles) from the city of Gisborne. If you plan a holiday in Gisborne and Mahia, look for hotels and other accommodation in Gisborne. Gisborne has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest