Surf Forecasts:
Napier - Hardings Road surf forecast from 18 Aug 2026:
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 26 Aug, 12AM (local time) - 0.5ft (0.2m), 12s period, E swell with 12 kJ wave energy.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Napier - Hardings Road this week:
The most powerful waves expected at Napier - Hardings Road in the next 16 days are 0.2m 12s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 12AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 3.0m 11s period and expected on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 12PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | - | - |
| Best Surf | - | - |
| Most Powerful | 12AM (Wed 26th Aug) | 0.5ft (0.2m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Napier - Hardings Road over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Righto, grab a coffee. I'm lookin' at the charts for our little corner, Napier's Hardings Road, and to be honest, mate, it's a pretty quiet stretch ahead. This is a sheltered point break, and the sea gods just aren't sending any real love our way for the next couple of weeks. We're staring down a long, flat spell.
Now, Hardings Road is inconsistent on its best day, so a blank run like this isn't out of the ordinary. The good news is, it's a beginner-friendly wave when it does show, and the water temp is just about average for this time of year.
So, from Wednesday the 19th right through to the end of August, the ocean is basically asleep. We've got days of glassy conditions and light offshores, which is beautiful to look at, but there's no swell. The combined energy is a flat zero. A few tiny pulses pop up on the 23rd and 24th of August—we're talking ankle-snappers of 0.7 ft or 0.9 ft—but with periods of 4 to 11 seconds, they've got no grunt. The combined energy barely hits 10 (10), just not worth wetting a wetsuit.
Even when the swell tries to lift a little around the 27th and 28th, it's accompanied by onshore or cross-onshore winds, and the quality is "poor". That little bump on the 28th of August hits 5 ft from the NE, with a combined energy of 228 (228)—sounds like something? But the onshore wind will chop it to pieces. For a sheltered spot like this, you need the wind to stay offshore, and it's just not playing ball. That setup would be more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer.
The whole 16-day window is pretty much a write-off. There are zero standout sessions in this run. The last few days, from the 1st of September, are more of the same: tiny, weak energy, and clean conditions with no power. Honestly, if you want to paddle out, you'd be better off checking the Alpine Lakes or the river mouth after a big rain, because this break is offering nothing but a nice view for the next fortnight.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Tue night. Very mild (max 14°C on Fri afternoon, min 6°C on Tue night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the SSW on Tue night, calm by Thu night). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 19°C on Sat afternoon, min 9°C on Fri night). Mainly fresh winds. | ||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | Sunday 23 | Monday 24 | ||||||||||||||
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) | SE 12 | ESE 10 | S 11 | ESE 9 | S 13 | S 8 | ESE 9 | S 16 | ESE 10 | ENE 3 | ESE 9 | SSE 11 | N 2 | NNE 4 | NE 4 | NNW 2 | E 11 | ESE 13 | NNW 2 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 1 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross | glassy | cross-off |
High Tide | 10:05PM1.69m | 10:28AM1.70m | 10:54PM1.65m | 11:17AM1.65m | 11:43PM1.60m | 12:09PM1.60m | 00:30AM1.55m | 1:01PM1.56m | 1:17AM1.49m | 1:51PM1.52m | 2:05AM1.43m | 2:38PM1.50m | 2:53AM1.38m | ||||||
Low Tide | 4:22AM0.28m | 4:46PM0.32m | 5:10AM0.34m | 5:36PM0.38m | 5:58AM0.39m | 6:25PM0.42m | 6:44AM0.43m | 7:15PM0.45m | 7:30AM0.44m | 8:05PM0.46m | 8:18AM0.44m | 8:52PM0.45m | |||||||
 |  |  |  |  | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | 6:54 | — | — | 6:52 | — | — | 6:52 | — | — | 6:50 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — |
 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:38 | — | — | 5:39 | — | — | 5:40 | — | — | 5:42 | — |
mm | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 8 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 14 |
Feels °C | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 16 | 12 | 16 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 11 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 12 | ESE 10 | SE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | ESE 10 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | ESE 12 | E 11 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 |
| kJ | 440 | 246 | 335 | 255 | 123 | 129 | 94 | 73 | 88 | 36 | 17 | 9 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 17 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SSE 10 | SSE 16 | SSE 15 | S 14 | SE 13 | SE 12 | SSE 17 | SSE 17 | ENE 3 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SE 10 | NE 4 | S 9 | SE 13 | S 19 | S 19 |
| kJ | — | 103 | 51 | 21 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 30 | 27 | 1 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SSE 15 | SSE 10 | — | S 13 | S 12 | S 18 | S 16 | — | SSE 16 | — | — | SE 9 | — | SE 10 | — | S 9 | S 8 | — |
| kJ | — | 43 | 61 | — | 163 | 78 | 6 | 258 | — | 25 | — | — | 3 | — | 4 | — | 2 | 1 | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 4 | SSW 4 | S 11 | — | — | S 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | N 2 | NNE 4 | — | NNW 2 | — | — | NNW 2 |
| kJ | 19 | 9 | 1401 | — | — | 439 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 3 | — | 1 | — | — | 1 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 230 | 2 | 225 | 1 | 1 | 97 | 1 | 1 | 89 | 3 | 23 | 20 | 23 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 42 | 23 | 23 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Hawkes Bay | |||||||||||||||||||
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 Napier - Hardings Road 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 Napier - Hardings Road Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Napier - Hardings Road provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Napier - Hardings Road can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Napier - Hardings Road 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 (Napier - Hardings Road) 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 Napier - Hardings Road 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.
Napier - Hardings Road is 6 km (4 miles) from the city of Napier. If you plan a holiday in Hawkes Bay, look for hotels and other accommodation in Napier. Napier has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest