Surf Forecasts:
Lighthouse Reef surf forecast from 21 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 24 Aug, 3AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 14s period, SSE swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Monday 24 Aug, 12AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 15s period, SSE swell with 339 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 24 Aug, 3AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 14s period with SSE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Lighthouse Reef this week:
The surf forecast for Lighthouse Reef over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Monday (Aug 24) at 3AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 14s period. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Lighthouse Reef in the next 16 days are 0.9m 15s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Aug 24) at 12AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.2m 4s period and expected on Sunday (Aug 23) at 12PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 3AM (Mon 24th Aug) | 3ft (0.9m) 14s |
| Best Surf | 3AM (Mon 24th Aug) | 3ft (0.9m) 14s |
| Most Powerful | 12AM (Mon 24th Aug) | 3ft (0.9m) 15s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Lighthouse Reef over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G'day, Rusty here. Let’s break down what’s cooking for Lighthouse Reef.
Right off the bat, the next few weeks are mostly quiet. There’s a big gap with hardly any decent surf until Thursday the 3rd of September. Before that, it’s all small and ordinary—don’t get your hopes up.
You’ll see a weak pulse around the 24th of August, Monday morning, with a 2ft SE swell at 11 seconds. Combined energy is 150, so moderate, but nothing exciting. Winds are light and cross-offshore, so it’ll be clean, but the waves are just meh. That pattern hangs around for a few days—clean but tiny.
The real standout is Thursday the 3rd of September. Thursday morning, Lighthouse Reef gets a solid 5ft SE swell with a 13-second period. Combined energy jumps to 841—strong energy. Winds are light and cross-off, making for clean faces. This is the best of the whole run. It’s over 5ft, so it’s not for beginners, but for advanced surfers, this is money. The swell direction lines up with the optimum ENE. This spot is inconsistent, so when it fires like this, it’s a big deal. Crowds are possible, so expect some company.
Friday the 4th of September morning still has a good 4ft SE swell, clean with light cross-off winds, combined energy at 437. Good, but not as strong as Thursday. Saturday the 5th of September morning goes glassy with a tiny 2ft SE swell—surfable but small.
Water temp is 50°, a touch warmer than average for this time.
Bottom line: wait for the 3rd of September. That’s your session. The rest is filler.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 15°C on Sat afternoon, min 6°C on Fri morning). Winds increasing (calm on Fri afternoon, near gales from the W by Sun morning). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 18°C on Tue afternoon, min 6°C on Mon morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | Sunday 23 | Monday 24 | Tuesday 25 | Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | |||||||||||||||
AM | 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) | SSE 12 | SE 11 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | ENE 6 | ENE 7 | E 14 | SSE 15 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SSE 15 | SE 16 | SE 15 | SSE 15 | SSE 12 | SSE 16 | SE 16 | SE 12 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 53 | 30 | 28 | 27 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 14 | 339 | 133 | 115 | 43 | 21 | 22 | 61 | 58 | 85 | 27 | 102 | 124 | 36 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-on | off | off | cross | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 10:22AM2.03m | 11:08PM2.04m | 11:11AM2.06m | 11:56PM2.08m | 11:57AM2.09m | 00:38AM2.10m | 12:42PM2.11m | 1:16AM2.10m | 1:25PM2.11m | 1:50AM2.10m | 2:06PM2.10m | 2:23AM2.10m | 2:43PM2.08m | 2:58AM2.11m | |||||||
Low Tide | 4:32PM0.74m | 4:58AM0.84m | 5:34PM0.73m | 5:50AM0.83m | 6:26PM0.70m | 6:36AM0.79m | 7:10PM0.68m | 7:19AM0.75m | 7:48PM0.64m | 7:59AM0.71m | 8:23PM0.59m | 8:38AM0.65m | 8:58PM0.53m | ||||||||
 | |  |  | | | | |  | | |  | |  | | | | | | | | |
 | 7:22 | — | — | 7:20 | — | — | 7:18 | — | — | 7:16 | — | — | 7:15 | — | — | 7:13 | — | — | 7:11 | — | — |
 | — | 5:53 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:55 | — | — | 5:57 | — | — | 5:59 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 6:00 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 9 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 13 |
Feels °C | 5 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 7 | -1 | -1 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 9 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 12 | SE 11 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | ENE 6 | ENE 7 | E 14 | SSE 15 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SSE 15 | SE 16 | SE 15 | SSE 15 | SSE 12 | ENE 6 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 |
| kJ | 53 | 30 | 28 | 27 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 14 | 339 | 133 | 115 | 43 | 20 | 22 | 61 | 58 | 85 | 27 | 37 | 34 | 15 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | — | ENE 4 | NE 4 | E 14 | SE 9 | NNE 4 | S 16 | ESE 14 | ESE 13 | E 12 | SSE 16 | SSE 15 | SSE 8 | SE 12 | ESE 14 | ESE 13 | ENE 5 | SSE 16 | SE 16 | SE 12 |
| kJ | 8 | — | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 17 | 3 | 24 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 19 | 18 | 2 | 102 | 124 | 36 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 12 | SE 11 | ESE 10 | E 9 | E 10 | E 14 | ESE 14 | SE 9 | ESE 14 | — | SE 15 | ESE 14 | ESE 14 | ESE 14 | ESE 13 | ESE 14 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | SE 5 | — | SE 7 |
| kJ | 6 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 3 | 37 | — | 8 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 7 | — | 7 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNE 3 | — | — | — | NE 2 | — | WNW 4 | WSW 4 | W 3 | — | — | — | — | NNW 2 | — | — | — | — | — | NE 6 | — |
| kJ | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | — | 24 | 38 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 101 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 136 | 87 | 87 | 89 | 109 | 150 | 315 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 87 | 0 | 0 | 136 | 136 | 1 | 87 | 89 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Canterbury | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Lighthouse Reef 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 Lighthouse Reef Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Lighthouse Reef provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Lighthouse Reef can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Lighthouse Reef 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 (Lighthouse Reef) 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 Lighthouse Reef 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.
Lighthouse Reef is 4 km (2 miles) from the city of Timaru. If you plan a holiday in Canterbury, look for hotels and other accommodation in Timaru. Timaru has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest