New Brighton Beach Surf Break

Lat Long: 43.47° S 172.72° E

New Brighton Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 5 pm 11 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's New Brighton Beach sea temperature is
9.3° C
0.1° 

New Brighton Beach surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


New Brighton Beach surf forecast from 11 Aug 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Wednesday 19 Aug, 12AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 16s period, SE swell with offshore winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Thursday 13 Aug, 3AM (local time) - 8ft (2.4m), 8s period, NE swell with 767 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 13 Aug, 6PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 7s period with ENE 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 Thursday (Aug 13) at 6PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.8m and 7s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 13s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at New Brighton Beach in the next 16 days are 2.4m 8s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 13) at 3AM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.8m 8s period and expected on Tuesday (Aug 18) at 12PM.

Wave TypeTime (NZST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+) 6PM (Thu 13th Aug)2.5ft (0.8m) 7s
Best Surf12AM (Wed 19th Aug)2.5ft (0.7m) 16s
Most Powerful 3AM (Thu 13th Aug)8ft (2.4m) 8s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for New Brighton Beach over the next 16 days.


The Lowdown

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what we're dealing with for New Brighton Beach over the next couple of weeks. I'll be straight with you—it's not looking like a vintage stretch.

Alright, let's be honest from the start: this forecast is a tough one. We’re looking at a long, dry spell with very little to get excited about. The first real chance of anything rideable doesn’t show until the morning of Thursday, 13th August, and even then, it’s a tough sell. The wind is onshore from the ENE at 6 mph, and we’ve got a 7 ft swell coming from the ENE with a short, choppy 8-second period. Combined wave energy sits at 690, which is a moderate push of power, but that short period and onshore wind are going to make it messy and hard to handle. It’s really only for the experienced crew, and even then, you’d have to want it.

We get a bit of a break in the wind on Friday morning, 14th August. The wind swings to the SW at 9 mph, going offshore, which will clean things up nicely. The swell, however, is small—only 3 ft from the E with a 7-second period. Energy is weak at 82. You’ll find some clean, surfable little waves, but it’s ordinary; you won't be missing much if you give it a miss.

The rest of the first week and the start of the second week are a write-off. We get a few mornings with clean, glassy or offshore conditions, notably on the 19th and 20th of August, but the swell is tiny—1 ft to 2 ft. The 19th has a long-period groundswell from the SSE at 18 seconds, but it’s so small and the energy is moderate at 196. For a beach break like New Brighton, that long period and small size means the waves will be fat and straight. Not worth the paddle.

Then we hit another hole. From the 21st right through to the morning of the 24th of August, the surf is virtually flat, with almost no energy. We’re talking combined energy in the 20s and 30s; it’s dead.

Finally, on the afternoon of Monday, 24th August, things pick up a tiny bit. We get a moderate 3 ft swell from the ESE, with a 14-second period and clean, offshore SW wind at 12 mph. Combined energy is 257. This is probably the pick of the entire forecast: clean lines on a long-period groundswell. It’s still small and ordinary, but if you had to pick a time to go, that afternoon is your best bet. The 25th and 26th continue with similar small, clean, but ordinary conditions.

So the honest truth? There are no standouts here. The best you can hope for is small, clean waves on a long-period groundswell during the last few days. If you're a beginner, the 7 ft swell on the 13th is too big and messy. If you're an expert, the clean days at the end are just too small to be fun. For most of this period, the set-up is really more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, given the consistent, clean side-offshore wind but lack of any decent swell size.

Hang in there, it tends not to stay poor for long. Forecasts can change.

Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Mostly dry. Very mild (max 16°C on Thu afternoon, min 9°C on Tue afternoon). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the NE on Tue night, calm by Fri morning).

Days 5-7 Weather Summary

Light rain (total 6mm), mostly falling on Sat night. Very mild (max 13°C on Fri afternoon, min 5°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light.

Tue
11
Wednesday
12
Thursday
13
Friday
14
Saturday
15
Sunday
16
Monday
17
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.6
ESE
8
1.1
ENE
5
1.3
ENE
6
1.6
ENE
8
1.4
ENE
8
1.2
ENE
8
0.9
ENE
8
0.8
ENE
7
0.7
E
7
0.6
E
7
0.6
E
7
0.6
E
7
0.5
E
7
0.5
E
8
0.4
SE
6
0.2
E
12
0.5
SE
7
0.5
SE
7
0.2
E
15
0.3
ESE
10
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
42
69
140
270
244
176
102
71
51
40
40
37
24
29
13
12
30
23
18
20
Wind (km/h)
20
E
30
NE
30
NE
25
ENE
10
E
10
NNE
10
N
10
SW
10
WSW
10
E
5
ESE
15
WSW
15
WSW
25
SSW
15
WSW
25
SW
10
W
10
WSW
15
SW
10
WSW
Wind State
cross-on
on
on
on
on
cross-on
cross-on
off
off
cross-on
cross-on
off
off
cross-off
off
cross-off
off
off
cross-off
off
High Tide
3:08PM2.16m
3:30AM2.01m
4:02PM2.19m
4:24AM2.04m
4:55PM2.19m
5:17AM2.05m
5:47PM2.16m
6:11AM2.02m
6:39PM2.09m
7:05AM1.98m
7:31PM2.00m
8:00AM1.93m
8:24PM1.90m
Low Tide
9:25PM0.10m
9:44AM-0.02m
10:21PM0.05m
10:40AM-0.04m
11:15PM0.03m
11:35AM-0.02m
00:08AM0.03m
12:29PM0.02m
1:01AM0.06m
1:23PM0.09m
1:52AM0.12m
2:17PM0.18m
2:43AM0.19m
clear
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
cloud
light rain
rain showers
part cloud
part cloud
clear
part cloud
part cloud
clear
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
7:28
7:26
7:24
7:24
7:22
7:20
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:38
5:39
5:40
5:42
5:43
5:44
5:45
 mm
1
5
Temp °C
9
9
10
11
11
15
16
13
13
13
10
9
9
8
6
7
6
9
11
10
Feels °C
5
4
4
6
8
11
13
10
12
10
8
6
6
3
1
1
2
5
6
6
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for New Brighton Beach:

join our community of surf reporters

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 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.

Nearest locationNearest