Lighthouse Reef 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

Lat Long: 44.44° S 171.26° E

Issued: 11 am 18 Sep 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's Lighthouse Reef sea temperature is

10.9°C

Lighthouse Reef surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.

Surf Forecasts:

How big are the waves at Lighthouse Reef today (18 Sep):

Morning surf: Morning surf (18 Sep, local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 13s period with ESE swell.
Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (18 Sep, local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 12s period with ESE swell.
Evening surf: Evening surf (18 Sep, local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 16s period with SSE swell.

The current surf forecast for Lighthouse Reef at 3PM is: 0.5m 12s primary swell from a East-southeast direction and 0.3m 15s secondary swell from a South-southeast direction, 0.2m 4s secondary swell from a East direction (forecast issued at 11:00am September 18). The wind direction is predicted to be onshore.

Time (NZST) & Date	Wave Height	Wave Period
Morning (18 Sep)	1.5ft (0.5m)	13s
Afternoon (18 Sep)	1.5ft (0.5m)	12s
Evening (18 Sep)	1.5ft (0.4m)	16s

Table - waves today at Lighthouse Reef. (Swell directed towards the surf break)

	Short Range Forecast Some drizzle, heaviest during Sat night. Very mild (max 17°C on Sat morning, min 5°C on Sun night). Winds increasing (calm on Fri morning, strong winds from the WSW by Sun morning).
	Fri 18					Saturday 19								Sunday 20
	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	9 PM
Rating (10 max)	1	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s)	ESE 13	ESE 12	ESE 12	SSE 15	SSE 16	SSE 16	SSE 15	SSE 15	SE 15	SE 15	SE 15	SE 15	SE 11	ESE 11	SSE 16	SE 15	SSE 10	SSE 16	SSE 16	SSE 15	SSE 12
Wave Graph
kJ	95	86	83	88	103	100	89	89	57	56	55	59	31	24	47	72	135	1180	1179	962	504
Wind (km/h)	SW	SSE	E	NNE	N	N	N	NW	NW	NW	NW	NW	NW	SW	WSW	WSW	WSW	SSW	S	S	NNW
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy	glassy	cross-on	on	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	off	cross-off	cross-off	off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross	cross	cross-on	cross-off
High Tide	8:38AM2.04m					9:26PM2.05m				9:38AM2.05m				10:28PM2.07m				10:31AM2.08m
Low Tide			2:33PM0.78m					3:17AM0.89m				3:39PM0.82m				4:17AM0.92m				4:55PM0.80m


	6:31	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:30	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:28	—	—	—	—	—
	—	—	—	6:25	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:27	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:28	—
mm	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Temp °C	9	11	11	10	8	7	8	10	12	17	17	14	12	9	8	8	10	12	12	10	8
Feels °C	6	6	8	7	4	2	3	6	9	13	12	10	7	1	-2	0	0	3	4	4	5
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	ESE 13	ESE 12	ESE 12	ESE 12	SSE 16	SSE 16	ESE 12	ESE 12	ESE 12	ESE 12	ESE 11	ESE 11	SE 11	ESE 11	S 6	SSE 8	SSE 10	ESE 11	ESE 11	ESE 11	SSE 12
kJ	95	86	83	82	103	100	58	57	56	55	50	48	31	24	34	72	135	12	13	12	504
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SSE 16	SSE 15	SSE 15	SSE 15	ESE 11	ESE 11	SSE 15	SSE 15	SE 15	SE 15	SE 15	SE 15	SSE 16	SSE 11	ESE 11	SE 15	SE 15	—	—	—	ESE 11
kJ	48	45	45	88	51	47	89	89	57	56	55	59	24	11	25	60	60	—	—	—	11
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	ENE 4	ENE 4	SSW 9	ENE 4	ESE 13	ESE 13	NE 4	NE 4	ENE 5	ENE 5	ENE 5	ENE 5	SSE 11	SSE 16	SSE 16	ESE 11	ESE 11	—	—	—	E 11
kJ	1	1	15	2	35	35	4	4	4	5	4	2	11	24	47	25	24	—	—	—	2
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s)	—	—	E 4	—	NE 3	NE 4	NE 4	NE 4	NE 5	—	NW 2	—	—	WSW 2	SSW 6	SSW 8	S 9	SSE 16	SSE 16	SSE 15	S 10
kJ	—	—	1	—	2	8	14	16	30	—	1	—	—	1	201	482	731	1180	1179	962	1703
Nearest Offshore or Glassy	Lighthouse Reef Canterbury	Crossroads Otago	Moeraki Otago	Lighthouse Reef Canterbury	Lighthouse Reef Canterbury	Lighthouse Reef Canterbury	Jacks Point Canterbury	Smithfield Canterbury	Lighthouse Reef Canterbury	Lighthouse Reef Canterbury	Patiti Point Canterbury	Patiti Point Canterbury	Lighthouse Reef Canterbury	Banks Peninsula - Te Oka Bay Canterbury	Mangamaunu Kaikoura and Marlborough	Jacks Point Canterbury	Lone Pine Brighton Canterbury	Whites Bay Kaikoura and Marlborough	Peka Peka Wanganui-Manawatu	Scarborough Canterbury	Lighthouse Reef Canterbury
Rating (10 max)	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	3	2	1	1	2	2	2	3
Distance (km)	0	87	108	0	0	0	1	7	0	0	2	2	0	136	311	1	157	408	507	155	0
Best forecast wave conditions in Canterbury	Fields	Banks Peninsula - Hickory Bay	Port Robinson	Banks Peninsula - Stony Bay	Banks Peninsula - Hickory Bay	Banks Peninsula - Hickory Bay	Banks Peninsula - Hickory Bay	Banks Peninsula - Hickory Bay	Banks Peninsula - Hickory Bay	Banks Peninsula - Hickory Bay	Banks Peninsula - Gough Bay	Banks Peninsula - Magnet Bay	Banks Peninsula - Hickory Bay	Banks Peninsula - Gough Bay		Smithfield	Gore Bay			Fields	Port Robinson
Rating (10 max)	2	3	2	3	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	2	3		3	3			9	5
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand	Raglan-Indicators Raglan and West Waikato	Raglan-Manu Bay Raglan and West Waikato	Papatowai Catlins	Otago Peninsula - Allans Beach Otago	Little Wanganui West Coast South Island	Waiwakaiho Taranaki	Shingles West Coast South Island	Little Wanganui West Coast South Island	Little Wanganui West Coast South Island	White Rock - The Spit Wairarapa	Shingles West Coast South Island	Otago Peninsula - Papanui Beach Otago	Makorori Centre Gisborne and Mahia	Banks Peninsula - Gough Bay Canterbury	Makorori Centre Gisborne and Mahia	Smithfield Canterbury	Mangamaunu Kaikoura and Marlborough	Propellers Wellington	Waimarama Hawkes Bay	Fields Canterbury	Papatowai Catlins
Rating (10 max)	5	4	9	5	4	4	5	4	4	4	5	4	2	3	2	3	4	3	3	9	9
Header Global	Fox River New Zealand	Guns Namibia	Papatowai New Zealand	Otago Peninsula - Allans Beach New Zealand	Afife Portugal	Weld Road New Zealand	Weld Road New Zealand	El Huerto Spain	El Huerto Spain	Cathedral Rock Australia	Praia do Norte Portugal	Afife Portugal	Kaifu Rivermouth Japan	Trial Harbour Australia	Trial Harbour Australia	Jimmys Indonesia	Asu Indonesia	Asu Indonesia	Asu Indonesia	Gas Bay Australia	Papatowai New Zealand
Rating (10 max)	5	5	9	5	4	6	6	5	5	5	5	4	5	8	7	5	4	4	4	5	9

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

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Lighthouse Reef 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

How big are the waves at Lighthouse Reef today (18 Sep):

Short Range Forecast

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