Cape Northumberland Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(South Australia – East Coast)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
Maps
Live
Weather State
Spot Information

Cape Northumberland Surf Guide

Cape Northumberland on the East Coast is an exposed reef break that has unreliable waves. Winter is the optimum time of year for surfing here. Offshore winds blow from the east northeast. Clean groundswells prevail and the ideal swell direction is from the southwest. A choice of left and right reefs. It's sometimes crowded here. Hazards include rips, rocks and sharks.

Cape Northumberland Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	3	inconsistent	16.9°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Cape Northumberland:

The best conditions reported for surf at Cape Northumberland occur when a Southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the East-northeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Cape Northumberland (for consistent clean waves)?

aprilBest Season: autumn

The best time of year for surfing Cape Northumberland with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Autumn and most often the month of April. Clean surfable waves are typically found 35% of the time in April while 65% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 0% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

35%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

65%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Cape Northumberland Location Map

Interactive Cape Northumberland surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The nearest passenger airport to Cape Northumberland is Avalon Airport (AVV) in Australia, which is 333 km (207 miles) away (directly). The second closest airport to Cape Northumberland is Melbourne International Airport (MEL), also in Australia, 369 km (229 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Cape Northumberland Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Thursday, 7 May 2026, 11:40 Local Time

m, °C	Thursday 07
ft, °F	12:30PM	3:30PM	6:30PM	9:30PM
Wave (m)	SSW	SW	SW	SW
Period (s)	15	16	16	15
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	on	on	on	on

What does Cape Northumberland look like?

Latest photos from Cape Northumberland. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: jason

Tides at Cape Northumberland

Current tide and informaton

For Port Macdonnell, Australia, 3 km from Cape Northumberland.

Next High Water: 03:19pm | 1.12m

Next Low Water: 07:38am | 0.37m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Cape Northumberland Sea Temperature

The water temperature (16.9 °C) at Cape Northumberland is fairly cool. Despite the sun, a windchill factor of (9.0 °C) means that surfers will need a good quality spring wetsuit, a neoprene hood. Some surfers would wear gloves and boots.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots.