
Surf Forecasts:
New Brighton Beach surf forecast from 7 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 8 Jul, 6AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 10s period, ENE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 8 Jul, 6PM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 11s period, E swell with 498 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 8 Jul, 6AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 10s 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 Wednesday (Jul 08) at 6AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.3m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 7s. Another secondary swell of 0.8m and 6s 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 1.5m 11s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 08) at 6PM. 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 Thursday (Jul 09) at 3PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 6AM (Wed 8th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 6AM (Wed 8th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 6PM (Wed 8th Jul) | 5ft (1.5m) 11s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for New Brighton Beach over the next 16 days.
Alright folks, Rusty here, and I’ve got the goods on what’s shaping up for our local stretch of beach.
We’ve got a bit of a slow start, but things start to pick up from Wednesday, July 8th. The standout is definitely the opening days, with a solid easterly swell pushing through. Combined swell energy is moderate at best (429) but the wind is looking good, giving us clean conditions.
Wednesday, July 8th is your pick of the week. New Brighton Beach has chest-high waves around 4 ft to 5 ft pushing in from the east with a period around 10 to 11 seconds. The wind is light and offshore in the morning, swinging to a light cross-offshore in the afternoon. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing wild. Expect clean, fun waves for the experienced intermediate. Crowds are possible here, so get in early. It’s the best we’ll see for a while.
Thursday, July 9th sees similar swell size, around 5 ft, but the wind picks up to a stronger cross-offshore, making it a bit lumpier. The wave quality takes a knock. It’s still surfable, but not as clean as Wednesday.
The weekend (July 10th-11th) has the swell dropping off to 3 ft to 4 ft. The mornings have offshore winds, so you might snag a fun little wave, but it’s very ordinary. By Saturday afternoon, the wind turns onshore and the surf turns to junk.
We then hit a dead zone. From Sunday, July 12th all the way through to Tuesday, July 15th, the swell is tiny, the winds are from the north and messy. It’s a solid 4-day gap with nothing worth paddling out for. The energy readings drop into the teens and twenties – just no power.
Wednesday, July 15th offers a tiny reprieve with a glassy morning and a very small 1 ft wave, but it’s really just a paddle.
The next real blip is Thursday, July 16th. A new, longer-period easterly swell bumps back up to 3 ft with a period of 15 seconds. The wind is light offshore, making for clean conditions. The energy is back up to a moderate 347. This groundswell will offer clean, lined-up waves, but that long 15-second period might make it break a bit too straight for the beachbreak here. Still, the best-run chance in the second week. That run holds okay into Friday the 17th with clean 3 ft waves.
From Saturday the 18th onwards, the swell slowly fades back down to 2 ft and then smaller, with a mix of glassy mornings but not much push. The forecast after that point is for a longer period south-east swell around the 21st and 22nd of July, but the wind looks poor and onshore, so it's likely a miss.
So, bottom line: don’t sleep on Wednesday the 8th or Thursday the 16th if you want a clean wave. The rest of the outlook is a waiting game.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Tue night. Very mild (max 11°C on Wed afternoon, min 4°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 14°C on Mon afternoon, min 4°C on Fri night). Winds increasing (calm on Sat morning, fresh winds from the N by Mon afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | Sunday 12 | Monday 13 | Tue 14 | |||||||||||||||
Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | |
Swell Height Map | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 10 | E 10 | E 11 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 9 | NE 6 | NE 6 | NNE 4 | NNE 4 | NNE 4 | N 4 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
342 | 367 | 442 | 416 | 426 | 347 | 365 | 252 | 262 | 208 | 162 | 125 | 90 | 45 | 41 | 92 | 49 | 17 | 17 | 28 | 7 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | off | off | off | on | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross |
High Tide | 10:09PM1.73m | 10:39AM1.71m | 11:01PM1.75m | 11:34AM1.79m | 11:56PM1.78m | 12:31PM1.89m | 00:53AM1.83m | 1:29PM1.99m | 1:51AM1.90m | 2:26PM2.10m | 2:49AM1.96m | 3:23PM2.18m | 3:45AM2.02m | 4:19PM2.24m | |||||||
Low Tide | 4:33AM0.33m | 4:55PM0.36m | 5:21AM0.29m | 5:49PM0.32m | 6:13AM0.24m | 6:46PM0.28m | 7:07AM0.17m | 7:44PM0.22m | 8:04AM0.10m | 8:43PM0.16m | 9:02AM0.03m | 9:42PM0.10m | 10:00AM-0.03m | ||||||||
— | 8:00 | — | — | 8:00 | — | — | 8:00 | — | — | 7:58 | — | — | 7:58 | — | — | 7:58 | — | — | 7:58 | — | |
— | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:08 | — | — | 5:09 | — | — | 5:09 | — | — | 5:10 | |
mm | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 9 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
Feels °C | 7 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 10 | E 10 | E 11 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 9 | ENE 6 | NE 5 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | ENE 5 |
342 | 367 | 442 | 416 | 426 | 347 | 365 | 252 | 262 | 208 | 162 | 125 | 90 | 45 | 41 | 25 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 7 | SE 6 | S 18 | SSW 16 | S 21 | S 19 | S 18 | S 16 | S 16 | S 20 | SSE 18 | SSE 16 | S 15 | S 13 | S 14 | E 9 | E 9 | S 9 | ESE 9 | S 8 | NE 8 |
16 | 6 | 158 | 198 | 36 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 31 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 14 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 3 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 14 | S 19 | SSW 18 | — | S 22 | S 19 | S 17 | S 16 | S 16 | S 20 | S 9 | S 9 | — | — | S 15 | S 10 | S 9 | S 13 | S 8 | S 20 | E 9 |
4 | 29 | 61 | — | 9 | 66 | 148 | 79 | 78 | 121 | 59 | 38 | — | — | 39 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 2 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SE 6 | S 18 | S 7 | SSW 3 | SSW 13 | — | SSW 12 | — | — | — | — | — | NE 3 | NE 4 | NE 6 | NE 6 | NNE 4 | NNE 4 | NNE 4 | N 4 |
— | 56 | 6 | 32 | 3 | 735 | — | 343 | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 7 | 92 | 49 | 17 | 13 | 28 | 7 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 20 | 43 | 45 | 154 | 169 | 248 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Canterbury | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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.











