Surf Forecasts:
Cobden Breakwater surf forecast from 19 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Saturday 25 Jul, 6AM (local time) - 15ft (4.5m), 14s period, W swell with cross-onshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 25 Jul, 3PM (local time) - 18ft (5.5m), 16s period, W swell with 13,378 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 19 Jul, 9PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 14s period with W swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Cobden Breakwater this week:
The surf forecast for Cobden Breakwater over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Sunday (Jul 19) at 9PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.6m and 14s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 11s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Cobden Breakwater in the next 16 days are 5.5m 16s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Jul 25) at 3PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.1m 7s period and expected on Friday (Jul 24) at 3AM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 9PM (Sun 19th Jul) | 5ft (1.6m) 14s |
| Best Surf | 6AM (Sat 25th Jul) | 15ft (4.5m) 14s |
| Most Powerful | 3PM (Sat 25th Jul) | 18ft (5.5m) 16s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Cobden Breakwater over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for the next couple of weeks.
We’ve got a solid run of surf coming up, kicking off this Sunday, the 19th of July, and running right through. The early part of the week is looking really clean, but we’ll have to watch out for a couple of wild days towards the end of the week and into the weekend. The standout is definitely going to be this Sunday afternoon at Cobden Breakwater.
Sunday morning kicks things off with a clean 6.2ft swell from the W, with a light cross-off breeze. The energy is strong (1766), but it's a bit of a handful for the average punter. The real magic happens Sunday afternoon though. The wind goes totally glassy, dead calm, and the swell drops to a perfect 4ft from the WSW, with a long 15-second period. That’s the best of the lot right there – clean, lined up, and just the right size.
Monday continues the good form with a very clean 4.6ft swell from the WSW in the morning and a 4.3ft in the afternoon. The wind is light and cross-off, so the waves will be holding their shape nicely. Tuesday morning is glassy again with a 3.3ft W swell, a real cruisy session for the early birds.
We hit a bit of a lull Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning with some smaller, short-period stuff, but Wednesday afternoon picks up again with a glassy 3.6ft from the W. Thursday brings back a cleaner 4.3ft WSW swell with light offshore winds. Good, consistent waves.
Now, Friday the 24th... that’s a write-off. Strong onshore winds and a messy, choppy 7.2ft to 7.9ft swell. Best to give it a miss. Saturday the 25th is a big one. The swell jacks up to a massive 13ft from the W on Saturday morning, but the wind is howling and it’s too big for this break. Saturday afternoon is a total mess with 55 km/h winds and an 18ft swell. Expert only, and even then it’s a maybe.
Sunday the 26th and Monday the 27th are still big and messy with onshore winds, but Monday afternoon shapes up nicely. The wind goes glassy, and the swell settles to a clean 10ft from the W. That’s a proper session, but only for the experienced crew. The energy is pumping (2820), and the waves will be solid.
Tuesday the 28th is another good one. A clean 6.9ft from the W in the morning with offshore winds, easing into a glassy 6.2ft in the afternoon. Real nice. The rest of the week into the start of August sees a mix of small clean swells and a couple of big, windy days. The 1st of August is looking excellent for the experienced surfer, with a clean 10ft W swell and glassy conditions.
A note on the water: it’s sitting at 55.4°, which is about normal for this time of year, so a 4/3 is the way to go.
Overall, if you’re picking your moment, Sunday afternoon is the one. Get on it.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Sun afternoon. Very mild (max 13°C on Sun afternoon, min 9°C on Tue morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 57mm), heaviest during Thu night. Very mild (max 12°C on Wed afternoon, min 7°C on Wed night). Winds increasing (calm on Wed morning, strong winds from the WSW by Fri night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 19 | Monday 20 | Tuesday 21 | Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | Friday 24 | Saturday 25 | |||||||||||||||
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) | W 16 | WSW 15 | W 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | W 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | W 6 | W 10 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | W 13 | NW 7 | W 10 | WNW 9 | W 11 | W 15 | W 16 | WNW 15 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 1766 | 648 | 1048 | 754 | 627 | 507 | 334 | 248 | 142 | 81 | 226 | 679 | 581 | 402 | 605 | 911 | 822 | 6097 | 7996 | 13378 | 6303 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | glassy | off | cross-off | cross-off | off | glassy | on | glassy | cross-off | glassy | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 2:24PM3.11m | 2:46AM3.13m | 3:10PM2.95m | 3:36AM2.95m | 4:01PM2.81m | 4:32AM2.80m | 4:57PM2.70m | 5:33AM2.71m | 6:01PM2.66m | 6:36AM2.69m | 7:06PM2.69m | 7:37AM2.74m | 8:07PM2.77m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 8:31PM0.88m | 9:02AM0.94m | 9:20PM1.06m | 9:50AM1.12m | 10:13PM1.23m | 10:43AM1.29m | 11:14PM1.37m | 11:43AM1.41m | 00:20AM1.44m | 12:49PM1.46m | 1:25AM1.45m | 1:53PM1.45m | 2:22AM1.40m | ||||||||
 |  |  |  | |  |  | | | | | | | |  |  | |  | | | | |
 | 7:58 | — | — | 7:56 | — | — | 7:56 | — | — | 7:54 | — | — | 7:54 | — | — | 7:54 | — | — | 7:52 | — | — |
 | — | 5:24 | — | — | 5:25 | — | — | 5:25 | — | — | 5:27 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:29 | — | — | 5:30 | — |
mm | — | 1 | — | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 31 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 23 | 3 | 5 |
Temp °C | 12 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 7 |
Feels °C | 11 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | -2 | 2 | -4 | -5 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 16 | W 10 | W 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | W 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | W 6 | W 10 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | W 13 | W 13 | NNW 8 | WSW 14 | — | W 15 | — | WNW 15 |
| kJ | 1766 | 301 | 1048 | 754 | 627 | 507 | 334 | 248 | 142 | 81 | 226 | 679 | 581 | 402 | 121 | 230 | 714 | — | 7996 | — | 6303 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 11 | WSW 15 | NNW 11 | N 5 | N 11 | NNW 11 | NNW 11 | NNW 10 | W 4 | WSW 9 | WSW 12 | N 8 | NNE 8 | — | — | WSW 15 | W 18 | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 2 | 648 | 24 | 11 | 61 | 38 | 38 | 37 | 13 | 64 | 123 | 5 | 6 | — | — | 44 | 162 | — | — | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | NNW 12 | — | NNW 11 | — | NNW 4 | NNW 4 | W 18 | NNW 10 | WSW 12 | N 10 | — | — | — | — | WSW 12 | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | 13 | — | 40 | — | 6 | 1 | 24 | 20 | 49 | 7 | — | — | — | — | 29 | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | N 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N 4 | NW 7 | W 10 | WNW 9 | W 11 | — | W 16 | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | 605 | 911 | 822 | 6097 | — | 13378 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 180 | 214 | 212 | 202 | 190 | 210 | 246 |
Best forecast wave conditions in West Coast South Island | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
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 Cobden Breakwater 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 Cobden Breakwater Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Cobden Breakwater provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Cobden Breakwater can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Cobden Breakwater 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 (Cobden Breakwater) 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 Cobden Breakwater 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.
Cobden Breakwater is 172 km (107 miles) from the city of Christchurch. If you plan a holiday in West Coast South Island, look for hotels and other accommodation in Christchurch. Christchurch has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest