Surf Forecasts:
Blacks Reef surf forecast from 9 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 9 Aug, 3PM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 13s period, S swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 15 Aug, 9PM (local time) - 8ft (2.4m), 8s period, SSW swell with 785 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 9 Aug, 3PM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 13s 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 Sunday (Aug 09) at 3PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 13s period with a secondary swell of 1.1m and 10s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Blacks Reef in the next 16 days are 2.4m 8s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 15) at 9PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.7m 7s period and expected on Thursday (Aug 13) at 6PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 3PM (Sun 9th Aug) | 3ft (0.9m) 13s |
| Best Surf | 3PM (Sun 9th Aug) | 3ft (0.9m) 13s |
| Most Powerful | 9PM (Sat 15th Aug) | 8ft (2.4m) 8s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Blacks Reef over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here. Let’s break down what’s coming up over the next couple of weeks.
We start off slow, with a big quiet stretch before the real action shows up. The best session is a long way out, but it looks like it will be well worth the wait.
The first decent chance is this Sunday, August 9th, at Blacks Reef. It’s a consistent reef break that’s exposed to the swell. You’ve got a 4ft south swell with an 11-second period. Wind is light offshore out of the north-northeast, keeping it clean. The water’s at 54°, which is about 3° cooler than usual for this time of year, so you’ll want a thick wetsuit. The combined energy is moderate at 666. This is the best of the early period. Sunday afternoon drops to 3ft but stays offshore, still worth a session.
Monday and Tuesday are weak or messy. Monday morning has a tiny 3ft SSE swell with a clean cross-offshore breeze, but the period is only 10 seconds and the energy falls to 178 – just no power. Tuesday is a total loss with a 6ft SSW swell at a short 8 seconds, strong cross-onshore wind, and blown-out, choppy conditions. Wednesday and Thursday have small, clean waves but they’re weak and not worth paddling out for.
From Friday August 14th through Tuesday the 18th, it’s all poor. The swell builds to 16ft by the 19th, but the wind is onshore and howling, making it a complete mess. That’s a full week of nothing for paddle surfers. If you’re into kite surfing, there’s plenty of wind and wave power during that stretch.
Now, here’s the real gem. Saturday morning, August 22nd. A 6ft southeast groundswell with a very long 13-second period. The energy is strong at 1057. And the wind? Glassy. Dead calm. That’s a rare combination. That long period can make a reef break like Blacks Reef really shine, though it might be a bit straight for some. This one is for experienced surfers only – over 5ft with that power is no joke for beginners. Crowds are likely, but for conditions that good, it’s worth it.
After that, Sunday the 23rd drops to a 5ft SE swell, still a long period, but the wind is light cross-onshore, so it’s not as clean. Monday the 24th is back to poor, onshore slop. That Saturday morning is the one to plan for.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 3mm), mostly falling on Sun night. Very mild (max 15°C on Mon afternoon, min 9°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 31mm), heaviest during Fri afternoon. Very mild (max 15°C on Fri morning, min 9°C on Wed night). Mainly fresh winds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 9 | Monday 10 | Tuesday 11 | Wednesday 12 | Thursday 13 | Friday 14 | Saturday 15 | |||||||||||||||
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 13 | S 12 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 12 | SSW 8 | SSW 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 10 | SE 10 | SE 9 | SE 8 | SSE 9 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | E 8 | E 10 | E 11 | E 10 | S 8 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 388 | 289 | 341 | 173 | 163 | 131 | 408 | 263 | 192 | 402 | 376 | 216 | 69 | 45 | 58 | 120 | 193 | 533 | 639 | 386 | 576 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | off | cross-off | cross-off | on | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross-off | off | cross-off | off | off | off | off | off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross | on |
High Tide | 2:00PM1.77m | 2:29AM1.68m | 2:59PM1.81m | 3:29AM1.69m | 3:57PM1.84m | 4:28AM1.70m | 4:56PM1.86m | 5:26AM1.71m | 5:54PM1.87m | 6:24AM1.72m | 6:49PM1.87m | 7:19AM1.73m | 7:41PM1.84m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 8:22PM0.24m | 8:41AM0.22m | 9:21PM0.19m | 9:43AM0.16m | 10:20PM0.15m | 10:43AM0.10m | 11:18PM0.11m | 11:39AM0.06m | 00:16AM0.09m | 12:32PM0.05m | 1:11AM0.09m | 1:24PM0.08m | 2:02AM0.11m | ||||||||
 | |  |  |  |  | | |  | | | |  | | | |  | | | | | |
 | 7:03 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:00 | — | — | 6:58 | — | — | 6:56 | — | — | 6:56 | — | — |
 | — | 5:24 | — | — | 5:25 | — | — | 5:27 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:29 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — |
mm | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | 1 | 19 | 7 | — | 2 | — |
Temp °C | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 9 |
Feels °C | 8 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 1 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 11 | S 10 | S 12 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | S 8 | SSW 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 10 | SE 10 | SE 9 | SE 8 | SSE 9 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | E 8 | E 10 | E 11 | E 10 | E 9 |
| kJ | 388 | 265 | 341 | 173 | 163 | 88 | 396 | 207 | 192 | 402 | 376 | 216 | 69 | 45 | 58 | 120 | 193 | 533 | 639 | 386 | 175 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 14 | S 13 | NE 6 | NE 5 | NE 5 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | S 18 | S 16 | SSE 10 | S 9 | SE 8 | ESE 14 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | S 15 | S 16 | ESE 8 | S 17 |
| kJ | 265 | 289 | 31 | 5 | 4 | 131 | 158 | 234 | 112 | 6 | 5 | 34 | 64 | 31 | 18 | 20 | 8 | 17 | 5 | 37 | 22 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 13 | E 12 | NE 12 | S 17 | S 16 | NE 6 | S 16 | S 17 | NE 6 | S 18 | SW 16 | SE 14 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | S 16 | ESE 14 | ESE 14 | SSE 9 | S 20 | S 18 | S 13 |
| kJ | 13 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 21 | 51 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 17 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNE 3 | NE 4 | NNE 6 | — | — | SSW 5 | SSW 8 | SSW 8 | — | ENE 4 | NE 4 | NE 5 | NE 6 | NE 6 | ENE 7 | ENE 6 | NE 6 | W 3 | SSW 6 | SSW 7 | S 8 |
| kJ | 4 | 15 | 66 | — | — | 17 | 408 | 263 | — | 8 | 36 | 48 | 138 | 201 | 154 | 71 | 103 | 4 | 87 | 298 | 576 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 53 | 0 | 33 | 3 | 82 |
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