Charleston Surf Forecast

/ West Coast South Island (21 surf breaks) /

New Zealand (466 surf breaks) / Lat Long: (41.90° S 171.44° E)

Surf Forecasts:

Charleston surfForecast / West Coast South Island / New Zealand

12 Day Weather and Surf, issued 6 pm Saturday 08 Nov 2025 NZDT

Forecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent

Charleston surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.

Today's Charleston sea temperature is 14.8° C
(Which is slightly warmer than usual)

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 Sunday (Nov 09) at 1AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.8m and 13s period. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Charleston in the next 12 days are 4.0m 12s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Nov 14) at 10PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 2.4m 8s period and expected on Saturday (Nov 15) at 1AM.

Wave Type	Time (NZDT) & Date	Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+)	1AM (Sun 9th Nov)	6ft (1.8m) 13s
Best Surf	10AM (Tue 11th Nov)	13ft (4.0m) 11s
Most Powerful	10PM (Fri 14th Nov)	13ft (4.0m) 12s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Charleston over the next 12 days.

Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent

12 Days Hourly

Print Table

	Short Range Forecast Heavy rain (total 29mm), heaviest during Mon afternoon. Very mild (max 16°C on Sun morning, min 12°C on Sat night). Winds increasing (calm on Sun afternoon, fresh winds from the NNE by Mon afternoon).											Days 3-6 Weather Summary Moderate rain (total 17mm), heaviest on Fri morning. Very mild (max 16°C on Fri morning, min 11°C on Thu night). Winds increasing (calm on Tue night, fresh winds from the NNW by Fri morning).
	Sat 08		Sunday 09			Monday 10			Tuesday 11			Wednesday 12			Thursday 13			Friday 14
	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM
Rating (10 max)	1	3	2	1	3	0	0	2	!	2	2	2	1	2	2	0	3	0	0	0	2
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) & direction (?)	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	NNW	NW	W	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	W
Period(s) (?)	14	13	13	13	13	13	8	10	11	10	12	12	12	12	12	11	12	14	13	12	12
Wave Graph (?)
kJ (?)	1526	1060	1137	983	721	361	532	1486	3510	1255	222	483	438	317	288	247	405	789	943	1643	1731
Wind (km/h)	SW	S	SW	W	ENE	NE	NNE	N	WSW	SW	S	NE	N	ENE	NNW	SW	ESE	NNW	NNW	W	WSW
Wind State (?) onshore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore offshore glassy	cross- on	cross- off	cross- on	cross- on	cross- off	cross- off	cross	cross	cross- on	cross	cross- off	glass	cross	glass	glass	cross- on	glass	cross- on	cross- on	on	cross- on
High Tide / height (m)		1:43AM 2.92		2:05PM 2.92	2:38AM 2.73		3:02PM 2.75	3:38AM 2.53		4:05PM 2.58		4:45AM 2.38	5:14PM 2.45		5:57AM 2.29	6:25PM 2.39		7:05AM 2.29		7:29PM 2.39	8:04AM 2.34
Low Tide / height (m)			7:54AM 0.18		8:25PM 0.16	8:49AM 0.36		9:24PM 0.34	9:48AM 0.52		10:28PM 0.50	10:54AM 0.65		11:37PM 0.60	12:04PM 0.72		12:45AM 0.63		1:10PM 0.71	1:46AM 0.61

	Sat 08		Sunday 09			Monday 10			Tuesday 11			Wednesday 12			Thursday 13			Friday 14
Sunrise	-	-	6:11	-	-	6:09	-	-	6:09	-	-	6:07	-	-	6:05	-	-	6:05	-	-	6:03
Sunset	8:23	-	-	8:24	-	-	8:25	-	-	8:27	-	-	8:29	-	-	8:30	-	-	8:30	-	-

Rain (mm)	-	-	-	-	-	4	14	10	1	-	-	-	3	5	2	-	2	5	3	30	3
Temp. °C	15	13	16	16	14	16	16	15	16	15	14	15	15	14	15	15	13	16	16	16	14
Feels °C (?)	11	11	13	14	11	12	12	11	15	11	11	14	14	14	13	10	11	12	12	10	10

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

Quick surf report for Charleston:

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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.