Surf Forecasts:
Cobden Breakwater surf forecast from 28 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 1 Sep, 9AM (local time) - 16ft (5.0m), 12s period, WSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Monday 31 Aug, 9AM (local time) - 15ft (4.5m), 14s period, W swell with 7,457 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 30 Aug, 3AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 17s 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 (Aug 30) at 3AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 17s period with a secondary swell of 1.3m and 9s. Another secondary swell of 0.9m and 13s is also forecast. 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 4.5m 14s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Aug 31) at 9AM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.6m 5s period and expected on Friday (Sep 04) at 12PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 3AM (Sun 30th Aug) | 3ft (0.9m) 17s |
| Best Surf | 9AM (Tue 1st Sep) | 16ft (5.0m) 12s |
| Most Powerful | 9AM (Mon 31st Aug) | 15ft (4.5m) 14s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Cobden Breakwater over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Righto, let’s look at Cobden Breakwater. It’s a breakwater spot that faces west, so it needs the right direction. Water temp is about 54°F, which is pretty much normal for this time of year.
First, a big gap in good surf. Friday the 28th kicks off with a massive 13ft swell from the NNW – way too big for this break – and a cross-shore wind ruins it. Saturday the 29th is a write-off: a short 1.3m swell with onshore wind. Sunday and Monday are even worse, with onshore gales and swell up to 15ft. Nothing worth paddling out for until the 1st of September.
Tuesday morning the 1st is clear, with a light ESE cross-off breeze and clean 16ft west swell. That’s only for experts though – too big. Combined energy is 6304 (moderate to strong).
Wednesday the 2nd is the real standout. Glassy conditions, not a breath of wind, and the swell drops to a much nicer 7ft from the west, with a 14-second groundswell. That’s clean, powerful, and you’ll have long lulls between sets – perfect for a crew of experienced surfers. Best wave of the whole forecast.
Thursday the 3rd keeps it going: light north winds, clean both morning and afternoon, with 7ft west swell and the same 14-second period. Another solid day for the confident surfer.
After that, Friday the 4th through the 6th is mostly windy and big. Sunday the 6th has 12ft west swell with clean cross-off wind – too big for most.
Second week: Monday the 7th afternoon has a cleaner 5ft west swell, light north breeze – that’s a decent session. But then Tuesday the 8th is blown out and huge at 15ft. Wednesday the 9th is the biggest: 21ft west swell with a 16-second period – absolute monsto, but only if you’re a big-wave charger and the wind is junk.
Thursday the 10th morning is glassy again, 10ft west swell – clean but big. Then it’s back to windy, messy slop through to the 12th.
The standout is Wednesday morning, September 2nd: glassy, 7ft west swell, 14-second period – clean and powerful. Thursday the 3rd morning is also a cracker with clean 7ft. Crowds are rare here, so you’ll normally have it to yourself.
Not a window for beginners – everything is either too big or too windy.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 36mm), heaviest during Fri morning. Very mild (max 13°C on Fri morning, min 9°C on Sat night). Winds increasing (light winds from the W on Sat morning, strong winds from the WSW by Sun night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 23mm), heaviest during Wed afternoon. Very mild (max 13°C on Wed afternoon, min 8°C on Mon morning). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the WSW on Mon night, calm by Tue morning). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | Tuesday 1 | Wednesday 2 | Thursday 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) | NNW 10 | NNW 10 | NW 9 | WSW 9 | W 20 | W 18 | W 13 | W 9 | WSW 12 | W 14 | W 14 | W 10 | WSW 12 | W 11 | W 13 | W 14 | W 14 | W 8 | W 14 | W 14 | W 15 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 2883 | 1833 | 835 | 221 | 276 | 399 | 2190 | 2857 | 6713 | 7457 | 5448 | 4606 | 6304 | 2966 | 933 | 1483 | 1411 | 482 | 1887 | 1972 | 1712 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | on | on | on | on | on | cross-on | on | cross-off | on | glassy | glassy | cross-on | on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 10:50AM3.20m | 11:02PM3.31m | 11:23AM3.26m | 11:35PM3.37m | 11:57AM3.29m | 00:09AM3.38m | 12:31PM3.27m | 00:45AM3.33m | 1:07PM3.21m | 1:25AM3.23m | 1:48PM3.10m | 2:10AM3.09m | 2:36PM2.97m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 4:56PM0.78m | 5:14AM0.69m | 5:29PM0.69m | 5:47AM0.62m | 6:02PM0.65m | 6:22AM0.61m | 6:36PM0.67m | 6:59AM0.65m | 7:15PM0.73m | 7:40AM0.75m | 7:58PM0.84m | 8:26AM0.90m | 8:50PM0.99m | ||||||||
 | |  |  | |  | | | | | | |  | |  | |  | | |  | | |
 | 7:07 | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:00 | — | — | 6:58 | — | — |
 | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:06 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:08 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:10 | — |
mm | 15 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | 1 | 8 | 5 | 2 | — | 4 |
Temp °C | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
Feels °C | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | -1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 13 | NNW 10 | NW 9 | NNW 8 | NNW 8 | W 18 | W 16 | — | N 9 | — | — | — | — | W 11 | W 9 | W 14 | — | W 8 | W 14 | W 14 | W 15 |
| kJ | 141 | 1833 | 835 | 221 | 116 | 399 | 427 | — | 6 | — | — | — | — | 2966 | 670 | 1483 | — | 482 | 1887 | 1972 | 1712 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | WSW 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 9 | W 20 | NNW 8 | NNW 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 13 | — | — | WSW 14 | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | 137 | 263 | 218 | 276 | 45 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 933 | — | — | 341 | — | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | W 23 | W 22 | WNW 8 | W 12 | WSW 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | 10 | 38 | 86 | 72 | 123 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNW 10 | — | — | — | W 8 | W 8 | W 13 | W 9 | WSW 12 | W 14 | W 14 | W 10 | WSW 12 | — | — | — | W 14 | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 2883 | — | — | — | 176 | 221 | 2190 | 2857 | 6713 | 7457 | 5448 | 4606 | 6304 | — | — | — | 1411 | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 156 | 153 | 85 | 85 | 48 | 48 | 190 | 210 | 153 | 153 | 190 | 591 | 0 | 405 | 0 | 0 | 122 | 156 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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