Broken Head Surf Break

Lat Long: 28.71° S 153.62° E

Broken Head Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 9 pm 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: Wednesday 19 Aug, 4AM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 8s period, SE swell with cross-offshore winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Tuesday 18 Aug, 10AM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 8s period, ESE swell with 746 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 14 Aug, 7AM (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 Friday (Aug 14) at 7AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.5m and 9s period. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Broken Head in the next 16 days are 2.5m 8s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 18) 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+) 7AM (Fri 14th Aug)1.5ft (0.5m) 9s
Best Surf 4AM (Wed 19th Aug)5ft (1.5m) 8s
Most Powerful10AM (Tue 18th Aug)8ft (2.5m) 8s

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


The Lowdown

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m gonna level with you—this stretch of August is a real mixed bag for us at Broken Head. We’ve got a long run of pretty ordinary conditions before we finally see a flicker of something worthwhile. Patience is the name of the game.

The water temp is sitting around 68.4°, pretty much what you’d expect for this time of year, nothing wild there.

We kick off with the first real chance on Thursday the 13th of August. The afternoon’s got clean 1.6 ft easterly swell but the wind’s a cross-off from the SSE at 12 mph. It’s small and the energy is weak (52), so it’s really just a knee-high dribbler with not much push.

That theme carries on through Friday the 14th morning—some clean 1.6 ft stuff with a nice offshore SW breeze at 12 mph, but again, it’s tiny and the energy’s low (46). The afternoon drops even smaller to 1.3 ft. Saturday the 15th is similar, small and messy, with a bump in wind to 16 mph on the arvo making it pretty ordinary.

Now Sunday the 16th, we get a bit of a kick. The morning sees 5.9 ft southerly swell, but it’s short-period at 7 seconds and the wind is cross-off. The energy jumps to moderate (382), but the quality is only marginal. This is more of a choppy power-wash than a clean wave. Sunday arvo is similar at 5.6 ft.

Monday the 17th and Tuesday the 18th are bigger again—6.9 ft of SE swell, still short period (8 sec), with strong energy numbers (over 500). But the wind is cross-shore and there’s a cross-chop, making it pretty messy. For the experienced crew, there’s some grunt there, but for the average surfer, it’s gonna be tough. This is more of a kite-surfing setup, honestly.

Then we finally get a little window. Wednesday the 19th of August morning, the swell drops to 3.6 ft from the ENE, period stays short at 7 seconds, but the wind eases to a light SSE cross-off at 6 mph. Conditions are clean and the energy is moderate (269). It’s not epic, but it’s surfable and a step up from the junk we’ve been dealing with.

The real standout is Friday the 21st of August morning. We’ve got 4.6 ft of ENE swell, 8-second period, and *glassy* conditions—a light SSW breeze at just 3 mph. The energy is moderate (293) and the wind is dead calm. This is the cleanest, most inviting surf in the whole outlook. The swell direction is also right on the money for Broken Head’s optimum ENE. It’s a point break that’s fairly consistent and can get crowded, so expect company. This is the morning to be out there.

Things go downhill again on the arvo and into the weekend, with onshore winds and choppy conditions. We get another small pulse on Sunday the 23rd morning with 3.6 ft ENE swell and a gentle offshore SW breeze at 9 mph. It’s clean but unremarkable.

The last week dries up quickly. From Monday the 24th onward, the swell drops below 3 ft, energy fades to weak numbers, and we’re back to tiny, poor conditions. There’s a slight bump on Friday the 28th afternoon—5.2 ft SSE swell with a long 12-second period (groundswell), energy spikes up to 690, but the wind is a cross-onshore from the east, making it choppy and poor. The long period means it’ll be a bit wonky at the beach, but here at the point, it might have some shape—shame about the wind.

Overall, don’t hold your breath for the first week. Your best bet is that glassy Friday the 21st morning. After that, it’s a long slow fade into smaller stuff. Keep your eyes on the charts, because it tends not to stay poor for long around here.

Short Range Forecast

Heavy rain (total 23mm), heaviest during Sat afternoon. Very mild (max 18°C on Sun morning, min 12°C on Thu night). Mainly fresh winds.

Days 5-7 Weather Summary

Moderate rain (total 12mm), heaviest on Tue night. Very mild (max 18°C on Sun night, min 16°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light.

Friday
14
Saturday
15
Sunday
16
Monday
17
Tuesday
18
Wednesday
19
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
1
0
0
2
1
0
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
2
1
2
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.5
E
9
0.4
ENE
9
0.4
ENE
9
1.5
SSE
8
1.5
SSE
7
1.4
SSE
6
2
SSE
7
1.7
SSE
7
2.1
SSE
7
2.3
SE
7
2.3
SE
8
2.1
SE
8
2.2
ESE
8
2.5
ESE
8
2.3
ESE
8
2.1
ESE
8
1.5
SE
8
1.3
SE
8
1.3
SE
8
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
43
28
28
259
181
149
372
281
406
589
580
507
587
746
687
541
284
232
221
Wind (km/h)
15
SSW
20
SW
20
S
20
SSW
20
S
25
SSE
20
S
15
SSW
25
SE
25
SE
20
SE
25
SE
20
SE
25
SE
20
SE
10
SE
10
SE
15
SE
10
SSW
Wind State
off
off
cross-off
off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross
cross
cross
cross
cross
cross
cross
cross
cross
cross
cross-off
High Tide
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
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
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
light rain
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
part cloud
clear
clear
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
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
5:22
5:22
5:22
5:22
5:23
 mm
2
3
8
4
1
5
2
2
2
2
3
1
4
Temp °C
16
17
17
17
17
17
16
18
17
18
18
17
18
18
18
17
18
18
16
Feels °C
13
13
14
15
14
13
12
14
13
12
13
12
13
13
14
15
16
15
15
  • 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