Surf Forecasts:
Charleston surf forecast from 27 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Saturday 1 Aug, 12AM (local time) - 15ft (4.5m), 13s period, W swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 31 Jul, 6PM (local time) - 16ft (5.0m), 13s period, W swell with 8,331 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 28 Jul, 12PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 11s period with WSW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Charleston this week:
The surf forecast for Charleston over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Jul 28) at 12PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.3m and 11s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 9s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Charleston in the next 16 days are 5.0m 13s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 31) at 6PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.5m 3s period and expected on Thursday (Jul 30) at 3AM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 12PM (Tue 28th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 11s |
| Best Surf | 12AM (Sat 1st Aug) | 15ft (4.5m) 13s |
| Most Powerful | 6PM (Fri 31st Jul) | 16ft (5.0m) 13s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Charleston over the next 16 days.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 33mm), heaviest during Thu night. Very mild (max 13°C on Thu afternoon, min 9°C on Tue morning). Winds increasing (calm on Tue morning, fresh winds from the WNW by Thu night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 10mm), heaviest on Fri morning. Very mild (max 12°C on Sat afternoon, min 6°C on Sat night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the WNW on Fri morning, calm by Sat afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 28 | Wednesday 29 | Thursday 30 | Friday 31 | Saturday 1 | Sunday 2 | Monday 3 | |||||||||||||||
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) | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 10 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | NW 8 | NW 10 | W 11 | W 11 | W 13 | W 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 9 | WSW 9 | WSW 20 | WSW 18 | WSW 17 | WSW 16 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 415 | 469 | 385 | 1303 | 1286 | 1161 | 989 | 515 | 1541 | 2039 | 4043 | 6568 | 4620 | 2644 | 972 | 624 | 446 | 1648 | 2818 | 2251 | 1310 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-on | on | on | cross-off | off | glassy | off | off | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 9:52AM2.46m | 10:10PM2.59m | 10:31AM2.56m | 10:47PM2.69m | 11:08AM2.63m | 11:23PM2.76m | 11:43AM2.68m | 11:58PM2.80m | 12:19PM2.70m | 00:33AM2.81m | 12:54PM2.69m | 1:09AM2.78m | 1:32PM2.65m | 1:49AM2.72m | |||||||
Low Tide | 4:00PM0.56m | 4:23AM0.46m | 4:38PM0.45m | 5:01AM0.36m | 5:14PM0.37m | 5:37AM0.28m | 5:49PM0.31m | 6:12AM0.24m | 6:25PM0.29m | 6:48AM0.23m | 7:01PM0.31m | 7:25AM0.25m | 7:40PM0.35m | ||||||||
 |  |  | | | |  |  |  |  | |  | | |  | | | | | |  | |
 | 7:48 | — | — | 7:47 | — | — | 7:46 | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | 7:43 | — | — | 7:41 | — | — | 7:41 | — | — |
 | — | 5:32 | — | — | 5:34 | — | — | 5:35 | — | — | 5:36 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:38 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 8 | 24 | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 8 |
Feels °C | 10 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 10 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | NW 10 | NW 9 | W 15 | W 13 | W 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 9 | WSW 9 | WSW 20 | WSW 18 | WSW 17 | WSW 16 |
| kJ | 415 | 469 | 385 | 1303 | 1286 | 1161 | 989 | 384 | 1541 | 788 | 835 | 6568 | 4620 | 2644 | 972 | 624 | 446 | 1648 | 2818 | 2251 | 1310 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 10 | W 10 | WSW 16 | W 10 | — | WSW 18 | W 24 | WSW 16 | WSW 14 | W 16 | — | — | — | W 22 | WSW 20 | WSW 19 | WSW 23 | WSW 8 | — | — | — |
| kJ | 52 | 16 | 51 | 146 | — | 65 | 11 | 344 | 649 | 334 | — | — | — | 9 | 39 | 71 | 301 | 176 | — | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 16 | WSW 16 | — | — | — | — | W 24 | WSW 20 | WSW 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 26 | WSW 18 | WSW 11 | — | — | — |
| kJ | 26 | 26 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 133 | 528 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | 60 | 107 | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | N 4 | N 3 | — | NW 8 | — | W 11 | W 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | — | 515 | — | 2039 | 4043 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 166 | 158 | 166 | 180 | 51 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in West Coast South Island | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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 16 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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