Surf Forecasts:
Lighthouse Reef surf forecast from 31 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 4 Aug, 12PM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 16s period, SE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 1 Aug, 3AM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 12s period, SE swell with 933 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 1 Aug, 9AM (local time) - 5.5ft (1.7m), 12s period with SE 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 Saturday (Aug 01) at 9AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.7m and 12s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 10s. 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 1.8m 12s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 01) 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 4.0m 10s period and expected on Saturday (Aug 01) at 12AM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 9AM (Sat 1st Aug) | 5.5ft (1.7m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 12PM (Tue 4th Aug) | 4ft (1.2m) 16s |
| Most Powerful | 3AM (Sat 1st Aug) | 6ft (1.8m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Lighthouse Reef over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G’day, Rusty here. Let’s talk Lighthouse Reef.
The first few days are a bust, but there’s a couple of real gems hiding in this 16-day window. Water temp is about 49°F, running a touch warmer than usual – nothing to write home about.
Friday the 31st of July – forget it. Tiny 1ft swell from the ESE, cross-off breeze, combined energy at 65. Weak and poor.
Now Saturday the 1st of August: morning brings a clean 6ft swell from the SE with a gentle offshore at 9 mph. Energy jumps to 851 – that’s moderate but punchy. Expect very good surf for advanced surfers. Then the afternoon goes glassy, zero wind, 5ft SE swell. This is the best session of the whole outlook – clean, lined up, and perfect. Period is 11 seconds, so it’s a solid groundswell.
Sunday the 2nd is still decent: 3ft SE swell in the morning with a light offshore, energy 265. Good. Afternoon fades.
Monday the 3rd starts clean but tiny at 1ft, then the afternoon turns nasty with a 19 mph cross-on and lumpy 4ft swell.
Tuesday the 4th is another standout. Morning delivers 4ft SE swell, light offshore from the WNW at 6 mph, and a very long 16-second period. Energy is 717 – moderate but powerful. Clean and very good. Afternoon gets choppy.
Wednesday the 5th is okay in the morning: 3ft SE, light offshore, energy 311. Good.
From Thursday the 6th through Sunday the 9th, it’s small. Swells between 1ft and 3ft, weak energy (33 to 199), and short period down to 5 seconds. Not worth it.
Monday the 10th sees a bump to 6ft, but it’s from the ENE with a 12 mph cross-shore and short 8-second period. Messy.
Tuesday the 11th of August morning is the second standout: 6ft ENE swell, clean offshore from the WNW at 6 mph. Energy is 663 – moderate. The period is short at 8 seconds, but it’s clean and very good. The afternoon gets ugly with 10ft swell and a 16 mph cross-on, energy 1424 – big, choppy, expert-only.
Wednesday the 12th has a morning with 5ft E swell and a 12-second period, but an onshore wind and light rain makes it marginal.
From Thursday the 13th to Saturday the 15th, it’s a slow fade: 2ft to 3ft swells, mostly cross-on winds, weak energy.
The best on offer is the glassy Saturday the 1st of August afternoon with 5ft SE swell, and the Tuesday the 11th of August morning with clean 6ft ENE swell. The rest is small, messy, or blown out.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastSome drizzle, heaviest during Fri night. Very mild (max 14°C on Sun afternoon, min 5°C on Fri night). Winds decreasing (near gales from the SW on Fri afternoon, calm by Sat afternoon). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 15°C on Mon morning, min 3°C on Wed night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the SSW on Mon afternoon, calm by Wed afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 31 | Saturday 1 | Sunday 2 | Monday 3 | Tuesday 4 | Wednesday 5 | Thursday 6 | |||||||||||||||
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) | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | SSE 11 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SSE 15 | SSE 14 | SE 16 | SE 15 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 13 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 40 | 43 | 732 | 833 | 544 | 424 | 265 | 169 | 110 | 50 | 505 | 553 | 711 | 574 | 282 | 192 | 205 | 162 | 120 | 77 | 46 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | glassy | off | off | cross-off | off | off | cross-on | cross-off | off | cross | cross-off | off | on | off | cross-off | cross-on | off |
High Tide | 4:34PM2.08m | 4:41AM2.06m | 5:13PM2.06m | 5:32AM2.04m | 5:56PM2.02m | 6:21AM2.04m | 6:43PM1.98m | 7:10AM2.05m | 7:32PM1.95m | 8:02AM2.08m | 8:23PM1.96m | 8:59AM2.11m | 9:17PM2.00m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 10:30AM0.67m | 10:55PM0.67m | 11:16AM0.64m | 11:36PM0.66m | 12:04PM0.59m | 00:18AM0.66m | 12:50PM0.56m | 1:02AM0.67m | 1:35PM0.57m | 1:48AM0.69m | 2:20PM0.63m | 2:40AM0.69m | 3:10PM0.71m | ||||||||
 |  |  |  | |  | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 7:52 | — | — | 7:50 | — | — | 7:48 | — | — | 7:48 | — | — | 7:47 | — | — | 7:46 | — | — | 7:43 | — | — |
 | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:31 | — | — | 5:32 | — | — | 5:34 | — | — | 5:35 | — | — | 5:36 | — | — | 5:37 | — |
mm | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 12 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
Feels °C | 7 | 1 | -4 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | SSE 11 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SSE 14 | SE 16 | SE 15 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SE 10 | SE 10 | E 5 |
| kJ | 40 | 43 | 732 | 833 | 544 | 424 | 265 | 169 | 110 | 50 | 18 | 553 | 711 | 574 | 282 | 192 | 205 | 162 | 120 | 77 | 21 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | E 11 | E 10 | E 10 | SE 13 | S 9 | S 22 | SSE 19 | SSE 13 | NE 7 | E 14 | E 13 | E 13 | E 12 | SE 15 | SSE 15 | ESE 16 | ESE 15 | ESE 14 | SE 9 |
| kJ | 15 | 5 | 36 | 18 | 8 | 250 | 81 | 9 | 36 | 33 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 116 | 21 | 26 | 22 | 21 | 30 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 16 | ESE 16 | — | — | — | E 10 | S 19 | S 22 | SE 12 | SSE 18 | E 14 | — | E 13 | E 13 | — | E 12 | E 12 | SE 16 | SE 15 | SE 14 | SE 13 |
| kJ | 10 | 24 | — | — | — | 2 | 7 | 10 | 53 | 31 | 4 | — | 3 | 3 | — | 3 | 3 | 41 | 57 | 68 | 46 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | S 10 | — | — | — | — | — | NW 2 | — | SSE 15 | S 10 | — | — | — | — | NE 3 | NE 3 | — | ENE 4 | — |
| kJ | — | — | 2984 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | 505 | 1046 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | 6 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 87 | 157 | 191 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 155 | 7 | 0 | 191 | 0 | 0 | 150 | 0 | 0 | 136 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Canterbury | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
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