Surf Forecasts:
Burleigh Heads surf forecast from 12 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 13 Aug, 10PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 8s period, SSE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Monday 17 Aug, 4AM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 8s period, SE swell with 676 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 13 Aug, 10AM (local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 9s period with E swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Burleigh Heads this week:
The surf forecast for Burleigh Heads over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 13) at 10AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.6m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.5m and 10s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Burleigh Heads in the next 16 days are 2.5m 8s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Aug 17) at 4AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.6m 6s period and expected on Saturday (Aug 15) at 10PM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 10AM (Thu 13th Aug) | 2ft (0.6m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 10PM (Thu 13th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 8s |
| Most Powerful | 4AM (Mon 17th Aug) | 8ft (2.5m) 8s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Burleigh Heads over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the menu for the next couple of weeks.
We’ve got a bit of a slow start, then a solid run of cleaner, more powerful surf building towards the end. The standout window is definitely the last few days of the forecast period, with a real gem of a session shaping up for the 28th.
The first real action hits on Friday the 14th for the morning session at Burleigh Heads. The swell is a clean 4.6 ft from the SSE, with a period of 8 seconds. The wind is a cross-offshore breeze, so the waves will be tidy. The combined energy is moderate (327). The water temp is 68.5°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year. It’s a good, solid Friday morning worth getting out of bed for.
Saturday the 15th is a write-off, with a dropping swell and rain. Then Sunday the 16th and Monday the 17th get a bit chunky, with swell hitting 5.9 ft to 7.9 ft, but the wind is cross or cross-off and the quality is marginal to poor. Tuesday the 18th through to Saturday the 22nd is a mixed bag of moderate swells but with lighter winds, keeping things clean but not epic. The combined energy dips and rises, but it’s all in the “marginal” category.
Now, hold on to your board. The real standout is Friday the 28th of August, morning session. This is the pick of the entire forecast. Burleigh Heads is going to see a 5.9 ft SSE swell with a solid 9-second period, combining for very strong energy (798). The wind? It’s glassy. Absolutely dead calm. That means the point will be a smooth, peeling machine. The water is about average for the time of year. This is an expert-level break, and with that size and quality, it’s going to be firing. Just be aware it can get crowded here, so get there early.
The rest of the run after that drops off again into smaller, less organised surf through to the 27th, with the 28th being the clear highlight.
Short Range ForecastSome drizzle, heaviest during Sat afternoon. Very mild (max 19°C on Thu morning, min 14°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 25mm), heaviest during Mon night. Very mild (max 19°C on Sun morning, 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 | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 9 | SSE 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | S 7 | ENE 9 | SSE 6 | SSE 7 | SSE 7 | SE 7 | SE 8 | SE 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SSE 8 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 61 | 71 | 277 | 277 | 432 | 238 | 155 | 29 | 212 | 306 | 248 | 398 | 657 | 516 | 587 | 622 | 314 | 213 | 169 | 169 | 224 |
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 | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 8:30PM1.89m | 8:50AM1.31m | 9:09PM1.79m | 9:33AM1.35m | 9:46PM1.65m | 10:16AM1.36m | 10:21PM1.48m | 11:00AM1.34m | 10:57PM1.30m | 11:47AM1.30m | 11:34PM1.13m | 12:41PM1.25m | 00:21AM0.99m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 1:57PM-0.06m | 3:03AM-0.01m | 2:42PM-0.02m | 3:37AM0.00m | 3:26PM0.07m | 4:10AM0.04m | 4:10PM0.20m | 4:43AM0.10m | 4:56PM0.33m | 5:16AM0.17m | 5:47PM0.46m | 5:53AM0.26m | 6:51PM0.57m | ||||||||
 | |  | | | | |  | | | |  | | | | |  | | | | | |
 | 6:20 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:15 | — | — | 6:13 | — | — |
 | — | 5:22 | — | — | 5:22 | — | — | 5:22 | — | — | 5:23 | — | — | 5:23 | — | — | 5:24 | — | — | 5:24 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 3 | — | 2 | — | — | 2 |
Temp °C | 19 | 18 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 15 |
Feels °C | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 13 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 10 | ENE 10 | ENE 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 9 | E 13 | — | E 8 | E 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 |
| kJ | 61 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 18 | 16 | 26 | 3 | — | 233 | 186 | 143 | 117 | 94 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 10 | S 9 | NE 10 | NE 9 | NE 9 | NE 9 | NE 8 | NE 8 | S 19 | SE 10 | SE 18 | SE 17 | SE 18 | E 13 | S 14 | — | — | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 10 | ENE 7 |
| kJ | 44 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 4 | 4 | — | — | 23 | 56 | 47 | 94 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | — | S 19 | N 9 | S 19 | S 16 | S 15 | E 16 | SE 18 | S 18 | E 14 | S 18 | E 13 | E 13 | — | — | ESE 12 | S 11 | S 11 | — |
| kJ | 5 | 5 | — | 7 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 25 | 3 | 3 | — | — | 29 | 2 | 9 | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 5 | SSE 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | S 7 | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | SSE 7 | SSE 7 | SE 7 | SE 8 | SE 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SSE 8 |
| kJ | 15 | 71 | 277 | 277 | 432 | 238 | 155 | 110 | 212 | 306 | 248 | 398 | 657 | 516 | 587 | 622 | 314 | 213 | 169 | 169 | 224 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 605 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 271 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Gold Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Burleigh Heads 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 Burleigh Heads Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Burleigh Heads provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Burleigh Heads can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Burleigh Heads 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 (Burleigh Heads) 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 Burleigh Heads 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.
Burleigh Heads is 10 km (6 miles) from the city of Surfers Paradise. If you plan a holiday in Gold Coast, look for hotels and other accommodation in Surfers Paradise. Surfers Paradise has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest