Charleston Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(West Coast South Island, New Zealand)

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Photo by: Rob Davies

Charleston Surf Guide

Charleston on the West Coast is a reasonably exposed beach/River Bar break that has fairly consistent surf and can work at any time of the year. The best wind direction is from the east southeast. Windswells and groundswells in equal measure and the ideal swell angle is from the west southwest. The beach breaks are all lefts. Good surf at all stages of the tide. Unlikely to be too crowded, even when the surf is up. Take care of the strong rips here.

Charleston Spot Info

Type:	Rating:
Beach/river bar	3.8
Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
fairly consistent	15.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Charleston:

The best conditions reported for surf at Charleston occur when a West-southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the East-southeast.

Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

7 Day Forecast

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

juneBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Charleston with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of June. Clean surfable waves are typically found 35% of the time in June while 48% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 17% 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

48%

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

too small

17%

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

Explore Charleston Location Map

Interactive Charleston 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 closest passenger airport to Charleston is Westport Airport (WSZ) in New Zealand, 21 km (13 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Charleston is Hokitika Airport (HKK), also in New Zealand, 98 km (61 miles) away.

Break

Live Wave Height (m)

Live 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.

Charleston Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

7 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Monday, 10 May 2021, 07:16 Local Time

m, °C	Monday 10
ft, °F	3AM	6AM	9AM	12PM
Wave (m)	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW
Period (s)	14	13	13	13
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	glass	glass	cross- off	cross

What does Charleston look like?

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

Credit: Peter Crowley
Credit: Peter Crowley
Credit: Alex Casey
Credit: Alex Casey
Credit: Rob Davies

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Tides at Charleston

Current tide and informaton

For Charleston, 21.0 km from Charleston.

Next High Water: 09:45am | 2.66m

Next Low Water: 03:56pm | 0.35m

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

Charleston Sea Temperature

The water temperature (15.8 °C) at Charleston is quite cool. If the sun shines as we have forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good spring wetsuit. Effective windchill factor of (17.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 15.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite