Mount Maunganui Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve got the lowdown on what’s coming for Mount Maunganui. We’re kicking off with a bit of a wait, so don’t rush down to the beach just yet. The first real sniff of action hits on Sunday the 5th, and we’ll see a run of surf through to the following Friday before it drops right off.

Overall, the pattern is a classic short-period northerly blast that cleans up by Wednesday morning with a nice offshore breeze, but after Friday the 10th, it’s a long stretch of tiny, weak waves. There’s a massive swell forecast for Monday the 20th, but the wind and rain will be absolutely howling onshore, making it a mess. There’s only one true standout session and that’s on Wednesday morning the 8th.

Right then, let’s get into it. Sunday the 5th starts with a bit of life. The morning sees some clouds and a light cross-off W wind at 6 mph pushing into a NNE swell of 6 ft with a short period of 7 seconds. The combined energy is moderate (434). It’s surfable, but nothing special. Sunday afternoon gets better though—glass! The wind drops to NW at 3 mph, going glass, and the swell settles to a cleaner 4 ft from the NNE (period 7s, energy 282). That’s a lovely window for a beginner-friendly wave at Mount Maunganui.

Monday the 6th is a write-off. Morning brings moderate rain and a strong N cross-on wind at 16 mph blowing into a 7 ft NNE swell (492 energy). That’s choppy, messy, and poor. Afternoon is only slightly better with a NE onshore wind, but still poor.

Tuesday the 7th is also poor. Rain showers and a cross-on E wind at 12 mph on the afternoon make the 5 ft NNE swell a lumpy, choppy mess.

Now, here’s the pick of the week. Wednesday the 8th. Morning: some clouds, a sweet SSW offshore wind at 9 mph, and a solid 5 ft NNE swell with a period of 9 seconds. The combined energy is strong (634), and that offshore wind will groom it into clean, lined-up waves. Mount Maunganui is fairly exposed to this NNE swell, and the offshore is perfect. This is the one to aim for. Wednesday afternoon gets even glassier with a W wind at 0 mph, glass, and a 4 ft NE swell (469 energy). Very clean, but smaller.

Thursday the 9th and Friday the 10th are very ordinary. The swell drops from 3 ft to 2 ft, with the wind going offshore SW or S, but the energy drops from 175 down to 70. The waves are clean but tiny. Not worth paddling out for unless you’re on a log.

From Saturday the 11th right through until Thursday the 17th, it’s a gap of nearly a week of flat or near-flat conditions. Swell heights sit at 1.0-2 ft with combined energy under 100 (very weak). It’s glassy and clean at times, but there’s no wave to ride.

On Friday the 17th afternoon, a small pulse of E swell at 2 ft with a period of 11 seconds comes in (123 energy), but the ENE cross-on wind and wind ripples ruin it. Poor.

Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th bring rain and strong onshore winds out of the north, with swell building to 5 ft but period dropping to 5-6 seconds. It’s a lumpy, rainy mess. Not for surfing.

Then Monday the 20th gets big. We’re looking at a massive NNE swell of 13 ft to 15 ft (period 9-10 seconds) with combined energy readings of 2350 and then 4132. That’s very strong energy. But the wind is a nasty NNE onshore at 22 mph with heavy rain. The wave comment says poor surf conditions. For a beginner beach like Mount Maunganui, this much swell with that strong onshore wind is dangerous and ugly. This setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

The water temperature is 58°F, with an anomaly of -1°F, so that’s pretty much average for this time of year at Mount Maunganui. Nothing unusual there.

Bottom line: the window is Sunday arvo the 5th for a glassy little one, and the absolute standout is Wednesday morning the 8th with the offshore wind and solid NNE energy. After that, it’s a long flat spell. The big swell on the 20th is a stormy mess. Keep your eye on Wednesday.

Rusty

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