Surf Forecasts:
New Brighton Beach surf forecast from 25 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 1 Sep, 12AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 15s period, SSE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 1 Sep, 12AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 15s period, SSE swell with 828 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 26 Aug, 9PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 6s period with SSE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for New Brighton Beach this week:
The surf forecast for New Brighton Beach over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 9PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.6m and 6s period with a secondary swell of 0.7m and 6s. Another secondary swell of 0.3m and 18s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at New Brighton Beach in the next 16 days are 1.3m 15s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Sep 01) 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 1.5m 13s period and expected on Monday (Aug 31) at 9PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 9PM (Wed 26th Aug) | 5ft (1.6m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 12AM (Tue 1st Sep) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 15s |
| Most Powerful | 12AM (Tue 1st Sep) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 15s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for New Brighton Beach over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, this is Rusty. Let's get straight into the local surf outlook for New Brighton Beach.
First up, the water temp is sitting about average for this time of year, so nothing wild there.
We're looking at a pretty grim run to start. From Wednesday the 26th of August right through to the end of the month, it's a total write-off. There's a solid seven-day stretch of virtually nothing surfable. The swell is tiny, the wind is often onshore, and the energy is just pathetic. You’d be wasting your time.
Finally, on Tuesday the 1st of September, we get a little glimmer. The morning session at New Brighton Beach sees a bit of life with a 2ft swell from the SSE. The period is a very long 15 seconds, which is beautiful groundswell energy, but it's a bit of a gamble for a beach break like this. That long period can make it break a bit too straight. The wind is light and cross-off, so the surface will be clean. The combined energy is moderate (239). It’s only scoring a 1 out of 10 though, so "surfable" is the best word for it. Not a standout, but it's the only game in town.
We get another tiny window on Thursday the 3rd of September. The morning is glassy, with a 1ft, 13-second swell from the SE. The combined energy is weak (88), and it's another "surfable" rating. It's a longboard or a foiler at best.
For the rest of the run into the second week, it's more of the same. A few glassy mornings here and there from the 6th of September, but the swell is consistently under 2ft with weak energy. The crowds at New Brighton Beach are "sometimes" an issue, but honestly, with surf this small, you'll have the place to yourself.
To be straight with you, there are no true standouts in this 16-day window. The best on offer is that Tuesday morning on the 1st of September. It's not going to be epic, but if you're desperate for a clean, glassy paddle on a little bit of groundswell, that's your best bet. The rest of the time, it's just a blank run. For this area, a long stretch of nothing is pretty normal.
Stay patient.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 15mm), heaviest on Wed night. Very mild (max 16°C on Fri afternoon, min 6°C on Wed night). Winds increasing (calm on Tue night, fresh winds from the ENE by Thu afternoon). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 8mm), mostly falling on Sun afternoon. Very mild (max 12°C on Fri night, min 2°C on Sun night). Winds increasing (calm on Fri night, fresh winds from the SW by Sun night). | ||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | ||||||||||||||
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 17 | E 14 | SSE 17 | SSE 17 | SSE 17 | SSE 16 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | NE 8 | SE 13 | ENE 8 | NE 8 | ENE 8 | SSE 12 | SSE 13 | E 11 | SSE 15 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 30 | 14 | 29 | 101 | 99 | 104 | 140 | 323 | 202 | 82 | 138 | 43 | 23 | 15 | 11 | 87 | 62 | 3 | 828 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | on | on | on | cross-on | cross-off | glassy | on | on | off | off | off | off | cross | glassy | cross-off |
High Tide | 3:01AM1.70m | 3:26PM1.84m | 3:42AM1.72m | 4:06PM1.86m | 4:22AM1.75m | 4:46PM1.87m | 5:03AM1.77m | 5:26PM1.87m | 5:45AM1.79m | 6:08PM1.86m | 6:30AM1.81m | 6:52PM1.84m | |||||||
Low Tide | 9:02AM0.35m | 9:34PM0.38m | 9:45AM0.31m | 10:17PM0.34m | 10:30AM0.28m | 11:00PM0.31m | 11:15AM0.26m | 11:44PM0.28m | 12:01PM0.25m | 00:29AM0.27m | 12:49PM0.26m | 1:15AM0.26m | |||||||
 |  | |  |  |  |  |  | |  | | | | |  |  | | | | |
 | — | 7:07 | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:00 | — | — | 6:58 | — | — |
 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:55 | — | — | 5:57 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 6:00 | — |
mm | — | — | — | 12 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 14 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 9 |
Feels °C | 13 | 11 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 0 | -3 | 4 | 9 | 6 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 17 | E 14 | NE 4 | E 5 | SSE 17 | SSE 16 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ESE 13 | ENE 8 | NE 8 | ENE 8 | SSE 12 | SSE 13 | — | NW 4 |
| kJ | 30 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 99 | 104 | 30 | 13 | 202 | 82 | 37 | 17 | 23 | 15 | 11 | 87 | 62 | — | 1 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 14 | S 17 | SSE 17 | SSE 17 | ESE 12 | ESE 12 | E 12 | — | SSE 11 | NNW 3 | ESE 13 | SSE 10 | ENE 4 | N 3 | SE 12 | SE 4 | SSE 16 | E 11 | — |
| kJ | 15 | 23 | 29 | 101 | 15 | 13 | 3 | — | 12 | 1 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 26 | 3 | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 5 | E 11 | E 13 | SE 6 | — | — | — | — | SE 15 | ESE 14 | SSE 10 | SE 13 | ESE 12 | SE 12 | — | E 9 | E 11 | E 9 | — |
| kJ | 1 | 2 | 14 | 5 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 18 | 10 | 43 | 14 | 6 | — | 2 | 2 | 1 | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 3 | N 4 | NW 3 | SE 6 | E 3 | ENE 5 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | NNW 3 | — | NE 8 | ENE 8 | — | WSW 2 | SSW 3 | SW 4 | NW 3 | S 3 | SSE 15 |
| kJ | 6 | 7 | 2 | 69 | 7 | 56 | 140 | 323 | 10 | — | 138 | 34 | — | 1 | 8 | 17 | 2 | 5 | 828 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 45 | 233 | 54 | 54 | 154 | 0 | 40 | 43 | 4 | 33 | 33 | 169 | 10 | 31 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Canterbury | |||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||
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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our New Brighton Beach 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 New Brighton Beach Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for New Brighton Beach provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at New Brighton Beach can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our New Brighton Beach 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 (New Brighton Beach) 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 New Brighton Beach 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.
Are you planning a holiday in Canterbury? If you are looking for accommodation near New Brighton Beach, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Canterbury, consider staying in Christchurch which is 10 km (6 miles) away.
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