Surf Forecasts:
Houghton Bay surf forecast from 7 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 11 Aug, 9AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 12s period, SSE swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 8 Aug, 3AM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 12s period, S swell with 699 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 8 Aug, 6PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 10s period with S swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Houghton Bay this week:
The surf forecast for Houghton Bay over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 08) at 6PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.3m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 20s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Houghton Bay in the next 16 days are 1.6m 12s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 08) at 3AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 3.5m 8s period and expected on Sunday (Aug 09) at 12PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 6PM (Sat 8th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 9AM (Tue 11th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 12s |
| Most Powerful | 3AM (Sat 8th Aug) | 5ft (1.6m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Houghton Bay over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here, let’s talk about what’s cooking at Houghton Bay.
Alright, straight up – the next couple of days are a bit of a write-off. We’ve got some solid swell on the way, but the wind is just not playing ball. The first real chance to get wet looks like it’ll be on Tuesday morning, August 11th. That’s when the stars might just align.
The pattern is a slow start, a brief window of decent waves, and then a long, messy, blown-out finish. For the first week, we’re mostly dealing with onshore and cross-off winds that are gonna chop things up. There’s a long gap from the 9th to the 10th where it’s just not worth paddling out.
The standout for the whole period is Tuesday morning, August 11th. Houghton Bay will be seeing a 5 ft swell from the SSE (moderate wave energy at 502), and the wind is forecast to be glassy. That’s a major positive. The period is 12 seconds, a nice groundswell that’ll bring some shape. It’s a beach and reef setup, so with that long period, it might be a bit too straight for the beach, but the reef could handle it nicely. This is the one to try and get on. The water temp is 55°, which is about normal for this time of year.
Now, the second week gets a bit wild. There’s a massive amount of energy coming in around the 17th to 20th of August, but it’s all onshore wind. We’re talking 10 ft to 15 ft of swell from the S and SSW, with very strong wave energy (over 5000 in some cases). That’s expert-only territory, and with the wind howling onshore, it’s going to be a washing machine. A quick look at the 20th of August, Thursday morning, shows a 15 ft S swell with a moderate offshore wind – that’s a massive, powerful wave, but only for the brave. By the 21st of August, the swell drops to 6 ft from the SSE with a moderate offshore, which could be a fun, clean session if you’re an experienced surfer.
The 11th of August remains the best bet. It’s not a huge swell, but the glassy conditions will make it clean and fun. Crowds are sometimes an issue here, so getting in early is a good call. There’s a long stretch of nothing after that, so make the most of that Tuesday morning.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastSome drizzle, heaviest during Sun morning. Very mild (max 13°C on Sun afternoon, min 10°C on Fri afternoon). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the NNW on Sun morning, light winds from the W by Sun night). | Days 5-7 Weather SummarySome drizzle, heaviest during Wed afternoon. Very mild (max 15°C on Thu morning, min 9°C on Tue morning). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Fri 7 | Saturday 8 | Sunday 9 | Monday 10 | Tuesday 11 | Wednesday 12 | Thursday 13 | ||||||||||||||
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) | S 13 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSW 7 | S 8 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 7 | SE 10 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SE 9 | SE 12 | SE 12 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 1127 | 711 | 474 | 442 | 296 | 200 | 167 | 106 | 125 | 147 | 331 | 488 | 325 | 48 | 25 | 39 | 33 | 22 | 24 | 34 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | on | on | on | glassy | off | off | off | off | off | off | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 11:54PM1.62m | 12:17PM1.73m | 00:46AM1.62m | 1:12PM1.76m | 1:42AM1.62m | 2:07PM1.78m | 2:41AM1.61m | 3:04PM1.79m | 3:41AM1.60m | 4:02PM1.77m | 4:39AM1.60m | 5:01PM1.75m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 5:48PM0.58m | 6:09AM0.57m | 6:39PM0.54m | 6:57AM0.54m | 7:30PM0.52m | 7:49AM0.51m | 8:24PM0.50m | 8:45AM0.49m | 9:22PM0.50m | 9:45AM0.47m | 10:24PM0.51m | 10:46AM0.45m | 11:28PM0.53m | |||||||
 |  | | |  |  |  | | | | |  | | | |  | | | | | |
 | — | — | 7:20 | — | — | 7:20 | — | — | 7:18 | — | — | 7:16 | — | — | 7:16 | — | — | 7:13 | — | — |
 | 5:30 | — | — | 5:31 | — | — | 5:32 | — | — | 5:34 | — | — | 5:35 | — | — | 5:36 | — | — | 5:37 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 13 |
Feels °C | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 13 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | S 7 | SE 12 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 7 | SE 7 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SE 9 | SE 12 | SE 12 |
| kJ | 1127 | 711 | 474 | 442 | 296 | 200 | 167 | 106 | 125 | 57 | 152 | 488 | 325 | 48 | 23 | 39 | 33 | 22 | 24 | 34 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 12 | SE 11 | S 15 | ESE 12 | S 18 | S 13 | E 13 | S 16 | NW 9 | SSE 9 | NNW 8 | S 13 | S 13 | SSE 11 | SE 10 | SE 7 | ESE 8 | E 8 | SSE 9 | ESE 7 |
| kJ | 175 | 60 | 109 | 15 | 6 | 130 | 4 | 5 | 49 | 86 | 6 | 14 | 3 | 44 | 25 | 7 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 11 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | SE 10 | S 16 | SSW 18 | — | E 13 | E 13 | SSW 15 | NW 8 | SSW 14 | NW 8 | N 7 | S 14 | S 13 | ESE 7 | SE 14 | S 18 | ESE 8 | SSW 15 |
| kJ | — | — | 15 | 5 | 31 | — | 3 | 3 | 23 | 18 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 21 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NW 5 | NW 5 | NW 5 | NNW 5 | NNW 4 | NNW 6 | NW 7 | NW 5 | — | SSW 7 | S 8 | — | NW 7 | NNW 2 | NNW 4 | NNW 4 | NNW 5 | NNW 5 | NNW 5 | N 3 |
| kJ | 115 | 102 | 47 | 63 | 23 | 165 | 487 | 84 | — | 147 | 331 | — | 2 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 52 | 98 | 35 | 5 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 54 | 62 | 60 | 54 | 0 | 65 | 114 | 62 | 16 | 27 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 38 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Wellington | ||||||||||||||||||||
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)
Latest Updates
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 Houghton Bay 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 Houghton Bay Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Houghton Bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Houghton Bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Houghton Bay 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 (Houghton Bay) 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 Houghton Bay 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.
Houghton Bay is 7 km (4 miles) from the city of Wellington. If you plan a holiday in Wellington, look for hotels and other accommodation in Wellington. Wellington has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest