Lighthouse Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Canterbury, New Zealand)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
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Weather State
Spot Information

Lighthouse Reef Surf Guide

Lighthouse Reef in S Canterbury is an exposed beach and reef break that does not work very often with no particular seasonal pattern. Offshore winds blow from the west northwest. Groundswells and windswells are equally likely and the optimum swell angle is from the east northeast. Both left and right reef breaks. When it's working here, it can get crowded. Take care of rips, rocks, locals and sharks.

Lighthouse Reef Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach and reef	3	inconsistent	13.4°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Lighthouse Reef:

The best conditions reported for surf at Lighthouse Reef occur when a East-northeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the West-northwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Lighthouse Reef (for consistent clean waves)?

augustBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Lighthouse Reef with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of August. Clean surfable waves are typically found 21% of the time in August while 25% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 54% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

21%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

25%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

54%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Lighthouse Reef Location Map

Interactive Lighthouse Reef surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Lighthouse Reef is Timaru Airport (TIU) in New Zealand, 15 km (9 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Lighthouse Reef is Oamaru Airport (OAM), also in New Zealand, 61 km (38 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Lighthouse Reef Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 23:19 Local Time

m, °C	Tue	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	9PM	0AM	3AM	6AM
Wave (m)	SSE	SSE	SSE	SSE
Period (s)	17	16	15	15
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- off	cross- off	off	off

Tides at Lighthouse Reef

Current tide and informaton

For Timaru Harbour, New Zealand, 4 km from Lighthouse Reef.

Next High Water: 05:41am | 2.29m

Next Low Water: 11:59pm | 0.87m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Lighthouse Reef Sea Temperature

The water temperature (13.4 °C) at Lighthouse Reef is quite cool. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good sealed spring wetsuit. Some surfers would prefer to wear gloves and boots too. Effective windchill factor of (11.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit, neoprene gloves and boots.