Broken Head Surf Break

Lat Long: 28.71° S 153.62° E

Broken Head Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 9 am 13 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Broken Head sea temperature is
20.2° C
0.4° 

Broken Head surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


Broken Head surf forecast from 13 Aug 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Saturday 15 Aug, 1AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 8s period, SSE swell with offshore winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Monday 17 Aug, 10AM (local time) - 7.5ft (2.3m), 7s period, SE swell with 569 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 13 Aug, 7PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 9s 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 Thursday (Aug 13) at 7PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.5m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 7s. 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 2.3m 7s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Aug 17) at 10AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.9m 10s period and expected on Friday (Aug 14) at 10AM.

Wave TypeTime (AEST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+) 7PM (Thu 13th Aug)1.5ft (0.5m) 9s
Best Surf 1AM (Sat 15th Aug)4.5ft (1.3m) 8s
Most Powerful10AM (Mon 17th Aug)7.5ft (2.3m) 7s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Broken Head over the next 16 days.


The Lowdown

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s see what’s shaking for the next couple of weeks.

Gotta be honest, it’s a slow burn. The whole sixteen-day window starts off quiet, and it takes a while before anything really worth paddling out for shows up. The first solid recommendation isn’t until Wednesday the 19th of August. You’re looking at a stretch of nearly a week with nothing good on the menu.

Those first few days, from Thursday the 13th through the weekend, are just flat and messy. Swell is tiny, around 2 to 4 feet, coming from the SSE, with a short period of 6 to 7 seconds. The combined swell energy is weak, reading between 65 and 197. No punch. The wind is mostly cross-off, but the conditions are poor, and the swell direction doesn’t match what the point wants, which is a nice ENE.

We get a bit more size on Monday the 17th and Tuesday the 18th, with swell up to 7 to 8 feet, but the wind is cross or cross-shore out of the SE, period is still short, and you’ve got a cross-chop. The combined swell energy hits moderate levels, 424 to 527, but it’s just not lining up right. Not worth it.

Now, here’s the one time you want to be in the water. Mark Wednesday the 19th of August. The morning brings a clean 3 feet of swell from the SSE, but the real story is the offshore breeze from the SW. That’s going to make it glassy. Combined swell energy sits at 266 (moderate), and the period bumps to 8 seconds. The break is Broken Head (a point break). It’s pretty consistent, good for beginners, and it’s exposed, but you can expect a crew out there often. This is the standout. The water temp is about 68°, which is normal for this time of year, nothing crazy on the anomaly.

Thursday the 20th of August morning is also a good shout. 4 feet of SSE swell, 8-second period, and a light offshore from the SW (234 combined energy). Clean and fun.

After that, it’s back to the struggle. From Friday the 21st, the swell is running 3 to 4 feet, but the wind goes cross-on or onshore from the ENE, and it gets ugly. There’s a tiny blip on Monday the 24th of August morning with a 4-foot east swell and an offshore from the SSW, giving clean conditions (207 combined energy), but it’s small. Then we hit a glassy morning on Wednesday the 26th with just 2 feet – not enough to get wet for.

The very end of the run, around Friday the 28th of August, shows a long-period 14-second swell from the SSE, but it’s howling with a fresh to strong breeze at 22 to 25 miles per hour. The conditions are rated poor. That one’s a dud.

So, the bottom line is this: get on it Wednesday the 19th or Thursday the 20th of August at Broken Head. The rest of the window is a whole lot of nothing.

Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Moderate rain (total 13mm), heaviest on Sat morning. Very mild (max 18°C on Thu morning, min 12°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light.

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Moderate rain (total 16mm), heaviest on Sun night. Very mild (max 18°C on Mon afternoon, min 14°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light.

Thursday
13
Friday
14
Saturday
15
Sunday
16
Monday
17
Tuesday
18
Wednesday
19
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
1
0
1
1
0
2
0
0
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.6
E
9
0.5
E
9
0.5
E
9
0.5
E
9
0.4
ENE
9
1.3
SSE
8
1.3
SSE
6
1.2
SSE
7
1.6
SSE
6
1.9
SSE
7
1.7
SSE
6
2.1
SE
7
2.3
SE
7
2.1
SE
8
2.2
SE
8
2.1
ESE
8
2
ESE
8
1.3
SSE
8
1
SSE
8
1.2
SSE
8
1.2
SE
8
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
61
43
43
43
28
229
147
135
188
326
226
459
569
469
544
493
464
203
133
158
192
Wind (km/h)
15
SW
15
SSE
15
SW
15
SW
20
S
15
SSW
15
S
25
SSE
25
SSE
15
SSW
20
SSE
25
SE
25
SE
25
SE
15
SE
20
SE
20
SE
10
SSE
15
SW
10
SSE
10
SW
Wind State
off
cross-off
off
off
cross-off
off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross
cross
cross
cross
cross
cross
cross-off
off
cross-off
off
High Tide
8:32PM1.88m
8:51AM1.27m
9:11PM1.78m
9:34AM1.31m
9:48PM1.64m
10:16AM1.33m
10:23PM1.46m
11:00AM1.32m
10:58PM1.28m
11:48AM1.28m
11:35PM1.11m
12:42PM1.24m
00:20AM0.96m
Low Tide
1:57PM-0.05m
3:05AM-0.01m
2:42PM-0.02m
3:40AM0.01m
3:26PM0.07m
4:12AM0.05m
4:11PM0.18m
4:44AM0.11m
4:57PM0.32m
5:17AM0.18m
5:49PM0.45m
5:52AM0.26m
6:54PM0.56m
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
clear
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:20
6:18
6:18
6:16
6:16
6:15
6:13
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:21
5:21
5:22
5:22
5:22
5:22
5:23
 mm
2
3
3
5
4
7
2
1
2
1
1
3
Temp °C
18
17
16
17
17
17
17
18
17
17
17
17
17
18
18
18
18
17
17
17
16
Feels °C
14
13
13
13
14
15
14
14
13
13
13
13
12
14
14
14
14
14
15
15
16
  • 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
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for Broken Head:

join our community of surf reporters

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 Broken Head 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 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.

Nearest locationNearest