Surf Forecasts:
Blacks Reef surf forecast from 14 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 21 Aug, 12AM (local time) - 7ft (2.2m), 12s period, S swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 19 Aug, 6PM (local time) - 13ft (4.0m), 15s period, S swell with 7,318 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 21 Aug, 12AM (local time) - 7ft (2.2m), 12s 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 21) at 12AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 2.2m and 12s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 14s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Blacks Reef in the next 16 days are 4.0m 15s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 6PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.3m 8s period and expected on Sunday (Aug 16) at 6AM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 12AM (Fri 21st Aug) | 7ft (2.2m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 12AM (Fri 21st Aug) | 7ft (2.2m) 12s |
| Most Powerful | 6PM (Wed 19th Aug) | 13ft (4.0m) 15s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Blacks Reef over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Right, Rusty here. Let’s break this down. Just one spot in the mix for this 16-day stretch: Blacks Reef. There’s a big dead patch to start, so don’t get your hopes up early.
The forecast starts off rough. From Friday the 14th, through the weekend, and into the middle of next week, it’s all junk. Strong, messy cross-onshore winds and even when the swell bumps up—4ft on Sunday the 16th through Tuesday the 18th—it’s just wind-chop and chaos. That’s heavy, short-period, nasty stuff; definitely not for beginners, and not fun for most experts either. The wave energy numbers are huge (over 3500 at times), but it’s all wasted. For a beach-and-reef setup, this is more of a kite-surfing scene than paddle surfing. There’s nearly a full week with no good recommendations.
The real standout arrives on Friday the 21st of August. That morning is your window. Clean 6ft S swell with glassy conditions—NNW wind at just 3 mph—perfect light offshore. The water is 54°, which is about 3° colder than the long-term average, so it’s notably chilly for the season. Layer up. That morning session is the best bet: chest-to-head-high waves, glassy, consistent exposure to the S swell. The period is 12 seconds, a proper groundswell that’ll hold on this reef. This is for experienced surfers only; 6ft on a reef with that energy is no joke. It’s likely going to be busy, but it’s the best you’re gonna get.
The afternoon of the 21st stays clean: 5ft S swell, glassy, barely any breeze. Saturday the 22nd keeps that same quality with glassy mornings and clean afternoons. By Sunday the 23rd, the swell drops quick, falling under 3ft. After that, the last few days fade into weak, small waves through the 24th to the 29th. There’s a flicker on the 27th and 28th with glassy conditions and a very long-period S groundswell—20 seconds on the 28th afternoon—but the wave height is tiny: 2ft to 4ft. Not worth the effort. The energy is weak (combined energy around 200-700), so just small, clean leftovers.
Bottom line: if you want the one day to circle, it’s the morning of Friday the 21st. Blacks Reef will be clean, solid, and lined up. The rest is either blown out or too small.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 64mm), heaviest during Sun afternoon. Very mild (max 13°C on Sat morning, min 7°C on Mon night). Winds increasing (light winds from the S on Sat afternoon, strong winds from the SW by Sun afternoon). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 11mm), heaviest on Tue night. Very mild (max 10°C on Wed afternoon, min 7°C on Thu night). Winds decreasing (near gales from the SSW on Tue night, calm by Thu night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 15 | Sunday 16 | Monday 17 | Tuesday 18 | Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | |||||||||||||||
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) | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | SSW 17 | SSW 7 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | S 8 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 14 | S 10 | S 10 | S 12 | S 12 | S 16 | S 14 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 785 | 798 | 663 | 601 | 661 | 3653 | 3769 | 3233 | 1807 | 993 | 1406 | 6006 | 4640 | 4389 | 5359 | 1708 | 1700 | 1280 | 988 | 2008 | 928 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | on | cross-on | on | on | on | on | on | cross-on | on | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 7:41PM1.84m | 8:11AM1.75m | 8:31PM1.81m | 9:00AM1.76m | 9:21PM1.76m | 9:46AM1.75m | 10:10PM1.71m | 10:33AM1.72m | 10:59PM1.67m | 11:22AM1.67m | 11:48PM1.62m | 12:14PM1.62m | 00:35AM1.57m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 1:24PM0.08m | 2:02AM0.11m | 2:17PM0.13m | 2:51AM0.16m | 3:09PM0.20m | 3:39AM0.22m | 4:01PM0.28m | 4:27AM0.30m | 4:51PM0.34m | 5:15AM0.36m | 5:41PM0.40m | 6:03AM0.41m | 6:30PM0.44m | ||||||||
 |  |  | |  |  | | |  |  |  | | | | |  |  |  | | | | |
 | 6:56 | — | — | 6:54 | — | — | 6:52 | — | — | 6:52 | — | — | 6:50 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — |
 | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:31 | — | — | 5:32 | — | — | 5:34 | — | — | 5:35 | — | — | 5:36 | — |
mm | 3 | 6 | 19 | 5 | 16 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | — | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 13 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 10 |
Feels °C | 10 | 10 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | -3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 7 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 13 | E 9 | E 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 9 | ESE 15 | E 10 | E 10 | SSW 14 | ESE 9 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | SE 14 | SE 13 | — | SE 16 | S 10 | S 12 | S 12 | S 16 | S 14 |
| kJ | 7 | 798 | 663 | 333 | 328 | 22 | 100 | 125 | 215 | 393 | 363 | 171 | 29 | 28 | — | 38 | 1275 | 1280 | 988 | 2008 | 928 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 16 | S 18 | SSW 18 | ENE 8 | SSW 16 | SSW 19 | SSW 16 | E 10 | SSW 14 | SSE 8 | — | — | E 10 | — | — | SE 9 | SE 14 | SE 14 | S 16 | ESE 12 | SE 12 |
| kJ | 21 | 25 | 104 | 147 | 266 | 277 | 385 | 133 | 361 | 202 | — | — | 8 | — | — | 81 | 32 | 31 | 521 | 15 | 6 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SE 14 | — | SSW 17 | NE 8 | — | E 10 | — | — | SSW 13 | — | — | — | — | — | SE 13 | E 9 | SE 8 | ESE 13 | — | — |
| kJ | — | 7 | — | 601 | 51 | — | 102 | — | — | 242 | — | — | — | — | — | 46 | 1 | 17 | 16 | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 9 | — | — | SSW 6 | SSW 7 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | S 8 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 14 | S 10 | S 10 | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 785 | — | — | 336 | 661 | 3653 | 3769 | 3233 | 1807 | 993 | 1406 | 6006 | 4640 | 4389 | 5359 | 1708 | 1700 | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 127 | 97 | 41 | 9 | 114 | 143 | 157 | 162 | 162 | 89 | 91 | 91 | 169 | 91 | 91 | 75 | 75 | 169 | 3 | 0 | 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)
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