
Surf Forecasts:
Broken Head surf forecast from 15 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 21 Jul, 4PM (local time) - 7.5ft (2.3m), 10s period, E swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 19 Jul, 7AM (local time) - 15ft (4.5m), 10s period, SE swell with 3,838 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 21 Jul, 4PM (local time) - 7.5ft (2.3m), 10s period with E swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Broken Head this week:
The surf forecast for Broken Head over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Jul 21) at 4PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 2.3m and 10s period. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Broken Head in the next 16 days are 4.5m 10s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Jul 19) at 7AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 3.0m 8s period and expected on Thursday (Jul 16) at 1AM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 4PM (Tue 21st Jul) | 7.5ft (2.3m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 4PM (Tue 21st Jul) | 7.5ft (2.3m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 7AM (Sun 19th Jul) | 15ft (4.5m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Broken Head over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it—this forecast for Broken Head is a long, frustrating wait for the good stuff. The first week is a write-off for any decent surf, with a massive pulse of stormy, wind-whipped swell that’s more about survival than style. We’ve got a real gap from the start right through to the middle of the month, with nothing worth paddling out for.
The troubles begin Wednesday 15 July and just keep hammering. A risk of thunderstorms, southerly winds at 19 mph, and a tiny 0.7 ft easterly swell with 9-second period—that’s barely a ripple. The combined energy is a weak 11, so forget it. Then Thursday 16 July morning, things get wild but ugly: a 12 ft SSE swell, period 9 seconds, but still cross-off winds at 19 mph. The energy jumps to 1751 (moderate wave energy), but the wind is a mess. By Thursday afternoon, it’s 13 ft SSE swell, 9 seconds, with 22 mph winds and rain showers—energy at 2314 (strong wave energy). This is noisy, lumpy, and way too big for beginners. It doesn’t ease up through Friday and into the weekend; Saturday 18 July has 13 ft to 15 ft swell with 25 mph southerly winds, energy peaking at 3564 (very strong wave energy). This is kite-surfing territory, not paddle surfing. The whole first week from the 15th to the 20th is a proper stormy mess, with energy levels staying in the thousands, strong cross-off winds, and a constant “marginal” or “poor” tag. The water temp is a normal 69°F for this time of year, so at least that’s not a shock.
Finally, the light appears. By Tuesday 21 July afternoon, the wind drops to a light breeze from the SSE at 6 mph, the swell drops to 8 ft from the east, still 10-second period, and the energy settles to 1037 (moderate). The comments say “excellent surf conditions for experienced surfers”—and that’s the standout. The swell is 8 ft, which is big enough for strong paddlers, and the cross-off wind will keep it reasonably clean. This is the best session on offer: a solid east swell, decent period, and manageable wind. Wednesday 22 July is even cleaner: morning glassy conditions with a southwest wind at 3 mph, swell 6 ft from the east, period 10 seconds, energy 564 (moderate wave energy). The afternoon stays clean with a light offshore southwest breeze at 6 mph and 5 ft east swell. That’s a mellow, fun day for a punt.
From the 23rd onward, it slowly fades. Thursday 23 July morning has 5 ft ENE swell, 9 seconds, and light southerly winds—okay but ordinary. By Friday 24 July, we get a few tidy windows with glassy northeast winds in the afternoon and 4 ft ENE swell, 9 seconds, energy 243 (weak wave energy). That’s a small, clean wave for a longboard or a fish. The weekend of 25-26 July is tiny, with 3 ft swell and light offshore winds, energy around 100-190 (weak), surfable but nothing to set the alarm for. The end of the month sees a tiny spike on Wednesday 29 July afternoon with 6 ft SSE swell, 9 seconds, energy 526 (moderate), but the wind is cross-off at 12 mph and the day has rain showers—marginal at best. Thursday 30 July morning has 5 ft SSE swell, 8 seconds, with light offshore winds, energy 418 (moderate wave energy), and tagged as “good,” but it’s short and small.
So, the honest call: the standout is Tuesday 21 July afternoon and Wednesday 22 July. That’s the cleanest, most manageable window with a real east swell, decent period, and light winds. Tuesday 21 July is the pick for experienced surfers wanting a bit of size; Wednesday 22 July is for everyone else. The rest is either a stormy mess or too small to care about. A proper blank run in the first week, but the forecast can always change.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 56mm), heaviest during Thu afternoon. Very mild (max 18°C on Fri morning, min 15°C on Wed night). Mainly strong winds. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 36mm), heaviest during Sat night. Very mild (max 19°C on Sun night, min 17°C on Sun morning). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the SSE on Sun morning, light winds from the SE by Tue morning). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wed 15 | Thursday 16 | Friday 17 | Saturday 18 | Sunday 19 | Monday 20 | Tuesday 21 | |||||||||||||||
PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | |
Swell Height Map | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 9 | E 11 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 11 | E 11 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
7 | 2 | 1751 | 2314 | 1064 | 714 | 759 | 1008 | 2748 | 3564 | 3433 | 3653 | 3354 | 2902 | 2621 | 2770 | 2077 | 1387 | 1037 | 755 | 529 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | glassy | glassy |
High Tide | 8:55PM1.96m | 9:16AM1.13m | 9:40PM1.89m | 10:03AM1.16m | 10:23PM1.77m | 10:51AM1.18m | 11:04PM1.60m | 11:42AM1.19m | 11:44PM1.42m | 12:36PM1.20m | 00:25AM1.23m | 1:35PM1.20m | 1:11AM1.07m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 3:39AM-0.00m | 2:59PM-0.03m | 4:21AM0.02m | 3:46PM0.05m | 5:00AM0.06m | 4:35PM0.16m | 5:38AM0.11m | 5:26PM0.30m | 6:16AM0.16m | 6:22PM0.44m | 6:55AM0.22m | 7:31PM0.56m | 7:39AM0.28m | ||||||||
— | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:33 | |
5:05 | — | — | 5:06 | — | — | 5:06 | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:07 | — | 5:08 | |
mm | 3 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 4 | — | 3 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 7 | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | 1 |
Temp °C | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
Feels °C | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 9 | E 11 | — | — | NE 8 | NE 8 | SSE 18 | S 15 | S 21 | S 21 | S 20 | SSE 19 | SSE 18 | SSE 17 | SSE 14 | SSE 13 | E 11 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 |
7 | 2 | — | — | 11 | 10 | 31 | 18 | 35 | 36 | 73 | 37 | 63 | 57 | 40 | 57 | 2077 | 1387 | 1037 | 755 | 529 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 10 | — | — | — | S 19 | SSE 18 | S 12 | — | — | — | — | S 24 | S 24 | S 22 | — | — | SSE 12 | S 12 | S 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 |
4 | — | — | — | 7 | 33 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 11 | 9 | — | — | 49 | 72 | 63 | 39 | 35 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | S 16 | S 15 | S 14 | S 15 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 17 | 16 | 4 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 11 | — | — | — | — | — |
502 | 1029 | 1751 | 2314 | 1064 | 714 | 759 | 1008 | 2748 | 3564 | 3433 | 3653 | 3354 | 2902 | 2621 | 2770 | — | — | — | — | — | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 20 | 60 | 221 | 381 | 264 | 264 | 590 | 60 | 596 | 685 | 590 | 612 | 612 | 266 | 84 | 84 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in North Coast - New South Wales | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Broken Head Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Broken Head provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Broken Head can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Broken Head 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 (Broken Head) 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 Broken Head 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.
Broken Head is 19 km (12 miles) from Ballina. If you plan a holiday in North Coast - New South Wales, look for hotels and other accommodation in Ballina. Ballina has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.











