- Forecast
- Maps
- Live
- Weather State
- Spot Information
Desperation Point Surf Forecast
/ Taranaki (31 surf breaks) /
Surf Forecasts:
Desperation Point surfForecast / Taranaki / New Zealand
48hr Weather and Surf, issued 11 pm Wednesday 20 May 2026 NZSTForecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Desperation Point surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.
Today's Desperation Point sea temperature is
16.4° C
(Which is normal for this time of year)How big are the waves at Desperation Point today?
The current surf forecast for Desperation Point at 2AM is: 0.7m 13s primary swell from a West-southwest direction and 0.1m 19s secondary swell from a West direction (forecast issued at 11:00pm May 20). An open ocean swell of 0.9m 5s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore.
| Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (21 May) | 2ft (0.6m) | 12s |
| Afternoon (21 May) | 1.5ft (0.4m) | 12s |
| Evening (21 May) | 1.5ft (0.4m) | 12s |
Table - waves today at Desperation Point. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 16°C on Thu morning, min 12°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 21 | Friday 22 | Saturday 23 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
9 PM | 12 AM | 3 AM | 6 AM | 9 AM | 12 PM | 3 PM | 6 PM | 9 PM | 12 AM | 3 AM | 6 AM | 9 AM | 12 PM | 3 PM | 6 PM | 9 PM | 12 AM | 3 AM | 6 AM | 9 AM | 12 PM | 3 PM | 6 PM | |
Swell Height Map |  |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | SW 12 | W 14 | W 13 | W 12 | W 12 | W 11 | W 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 10 | WSW 10 | WSW 10 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 13 | SW 13 | |
192 | 189 | 145 | 140 | 99 | 83 | 56 | 56 | 35 | 148 | 225 | 305 | 347 | 364 | 403 | 392 | 320 | 331 | 269 | 595 | 429 | 436 | 689 | 679 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | |
High Tide | 00:37AM3.27m | 1:09PM2.99m | 1:36AM3.10m | 2:12PM2.83m | 2:40AM2.94m | 3:15PM2.71m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 6:23PM0.39m | 7:00AM0.51m | 7:19PM0.58m | 8:00AM0.66m | 8:18PM0.74m | 9:02AM0.77m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | | |  |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | |
 | — | — | — | 7:26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:28 | — | — | — | — |
 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:14 | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 |
11 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | NNW 6 | NNW 6 | W 13 | W 12 | W 12 | W 11 | W 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 10 | WSW 10 | WSW 10 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 13 | SW 13 |
 kJ | 192 | 189 | 145 | 140 | 99 | 83 | 56 | 56 | 93 | 72 | 225 | 305 | 347 | 364 | 403 | 392 | 320 | 331 | 269 | 595 | 429 | 436 | 689 | 679 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 20 | W 20 | W 19 | SW 18 | WSW 19 | WSW 18 | W 15 | WNW 14 | SW 12 | W 14 | WNW 11 | NNW 6 | NNW 6 | NNW 6 | NNW 6 | NW 10 | NW 9 | NW 9 | NW 9 | NW 9 | SW 15 | WSW 14 | NNW 11 | NNW 11 |
| kJ | 8 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 34 | 34 | 17 | 19 | 35 | 148 | 23 | 52 | 52 | 41 | 42 | 137 | 123 | 84 | 83 | 39 | 217 | 268 | 66 | 44 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 9 | — | — | — | W 16 | W 15 | SW 18 | WSW 18 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WSW 17 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | NW 10 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | WSW 14 | NNW 6 | NNW 9 | NNW 9 | NW 11 | — |
| kJ | 2 | — | — | — | 5 | 5 | 13 | 31 | 15 | 26 | 29 | 44 | 41 | 67 | 79 | 66 | 62 | 56 | 138 | 12 | 53 | 44 | 5 | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 4 | N 4 | N 5 | N 6 | NNW 6 | NNW 6 | NNW 6 | NNW 6 | — | — | NNW 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 9 | 17 | 62 | 101 | 139 | 165 | 139 | 123 | — | — | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Taranaki | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Desperation Point 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.
Nearest