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Charleston Surf Forecast
/ West Coast South Island (21 surf breaks) /
Surf Forecasts:
Charleston surfForecast / West Coast South Island / New Zealand
12 Day Weather and Surf, issued 5 am Friday 29 Aug 2025 NZST
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Charleston this week:
The surf forecast for Charleston over the next 12 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 30) at 3AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 3.5m and 12s period. The wind is predicted to be cross-onshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Charleston in the next 12 days are 4.5m 13s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Sep 02) at 6PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 3AM (Sat 30th Aug) | 11ft (3.5m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 3AM (Sat 30th Aug) | 11ft (3.5m) 12s |
| Most Powerful | 6PM (Tue 2nd Sep) | 15ft (4.5m) 13s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Charleston over the next 12 days.
Short Range Forecast Heavy rain (total 46mm), heaviest during Fri morning. Very mild (max 12°C on Sat afternoon, min 9°C on Sun afternoon). Winds increasing (calm on Sat night, strong winds from the SW by Sun night). | Days 3-6 Weather Summary Heavy rain (total 22mm), heaviest during Mon afternoon. Very mild (max 12°C on Mon morning, min 8°C on Wed night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the WSW on Tue morning, calm by Wed afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 29 | Saturday 30 | Sunday 31 | Monday 01 | Tuesday 02 | Wednesday 03 | Thursday 04 | |||||||||||||||
| AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Rating (10 max) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
| Wave Height (m) & direction (?) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Period(s) (?) | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 10 |
Wave (?)Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Energy (?) | 3664 | 5110 | 7874 | 3152 | 2482 | 1797 | 1370 | 1276 | 3166 | 4011 | 3720 | 3920 | 4914 | 4833 | 5535 | 4527 | 2986 | 1645 | 1577 | 2530 | 3572 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Wind State (?) onshore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore offshore glassy | cross- on | cross- on | cross- on | glass | cross- on | on | cross | cross- on | cross- on | cross- on | cross- on | cross- on | on | cross- on | cross | glass | cross- on | cross- off | cross | on | cross- on |
High Tide / height (m) | 2:11PM 2.44 | 2:30AM 2.37 | 2:53PM 2.30 | 3:16AM 2.21 | 3:45PM 2.17 | 4:17AM 2.09 | 4:53PM 2.08 | 5:34AM 2.05 | 6:12PM 2.10 | 6:51AM 2.11 | 7:22PM 2.22 | 7:53AM 2.26 | 8:16PM 2.40 | ||||||||
Low Tide / height (m) | 8:23PM 0.64 | 8:44AM 0.71 | 9:08PM 0.80 | 9:33AM 0.87 | 10:04PM 0.93 | 10:35AM 0.98 | 11:15PM 0.99 | 11:50AM 1.00 | 12:32AM 0.95 | 1:03PM 0.91 | 1:37AM 0.80 | 2:01PM 0.75 | 2:30AM 0.59 | ||||||||
Friday 29 | Saturday 30 | Sunday 31 | Monday 01 | Tuesday 02 | Wednesday 03 | Thursday 04 | |||||||||||||||
| Sunrise | 7:05 | - | - | 7:03 | - | - | 7:01 | - | - | 7:00 | - | - | 6:58 | - | - | 6:56 | - | - | 6:54 | - | - |
| Sunset | - | 6:05 | - | - | 6:06 | - | - | 6:07 | - | - | 6:07 | - | - | 6:08 | - | - | 6:09 | - | - | 6:10 | - |
 |  |  |  | |  | | |  | |  | |  | |  | | | | | | | |
Rain (mm) | 10 | 2 | 7 | - | 7 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | - | - | - | 1 | 6 | 14 | 8 |
| Temp. °C | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 11 |
| Feels °C (?) | 5 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 |
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Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
Recent Eyeball Surf Reports for West Coast South Island
The wind is still cross-on at Charleston (fresh winds from the WSW at WestportAeroAws 21 km from Charleston). A 3.3m groundswell from the WNW is too big for here
21 km away, 54 min ago
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 Charleston 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 Charleston Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Charleston provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 12 days. A general guide to surfing at Charleston can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Charleston 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 (Charleston) 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 Charleston 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.
Charleston is 167 km (104 miles) from the city of Nelson. If you plan a holiday in West Coast South Island, look for hotels and other accommodation in Nelson. Nelson has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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