Surf Forecasts:
New Brighton Beach surf forecast from 23 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 24 Aug, 3AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 13s period, SSE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 28 Aug, 9AM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 7s period, NE swell with 285 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 24 Aug, 3AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 13s 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 Monday (Aug 24) at 3AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.4m and 13s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 14s. 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 1.6m 7s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Aug 28) at 9AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.6m 17s period and expected on Thursday (Aug 27) at 12AM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 3AM (Mon 24th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 13s |
| Best Surf | 3AM (Mon 24th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 13s |
| Most Powerful | 9AM (Fri 28th Aug) | 5ft (1.6m) 7s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for New Brighton Beach over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Right, let’s get into it for New Brighton Beach. The next 16 days are looking bleak for surf. There’s hardly any rideable waves on the cards, with swell heights mostly under 3 ft and the directions not matching up with the ideal ENE. It’s a dry spell, but round here that’s not unusual—forecasts can change.
Starting Sunday the 23rd, we’ve got a tiny 1 ft swell from the NE with a short 9-second period, but a strong WNW wind at 25 mph is making a mess. The water temperature is 50°, which is about normal for the time of year. Wave energy is weak (38), so don’t bother. Monday the 24th morning turns glassy with a light WNW breeze and a long-period 1 ft groundswell from the SSE at 14 seconds. It’s surfable but very ordinary (57 energy). Not worth the effort.
Tuesday the 25th is a dud with a 3 ft NNW windswell at 4 seconds and cross-shore wind. Wednesday the 26th gives us a tiny 0.7 ft onshore ESE swell, choppy. Thursday the 27th sees a jump to 2 ft SSE groundswell at 18 seconds (232 energy), but it’s onshore with rain. Friday the 28th morning has a 5 ft NE windswell at 7 seconds (423 energy, moderate) but it’s cross-onshore and lumpy. The afternoon on Friday is the highlight: 3 ft ENE swell with a light offshore SW breeze at 9 mph, clean and smooth (172 energy). That’s the one session in the whole 16 days that might give you a few decent waves.
After that, it’s tiny and inconsistent. Saturday the 29th has a 0.7 ft ESE groundswell with offshore light air, but it’s barely there. Sunday the 30th has a weak 2 ft ENE windswell. Monday the 31st has glassy 1 ft SSE swell but low energy (32). Tuesday the 1st of September has a 2 ft SSE swell at 17 seconds (175 energy) but a cross-shore breeze. Wednesday and Thursday are flat. Friday the 4th of September afternoon turns glassy again with a 0.7 ft SSE groundswell at 16 seconds (57 energy), still tiny. Saturday the 5th and beyond offer nothing but small 0.7 ft swells and strong winds.
The only real standout is Friday afternoon the 28th of August. Clean offshore wind, a 3 ft ENE swell, and smooth conditions. That’s your window—grab it if you’re desperate.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 17°C on Tue morning, min 7°C on Sun night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the WNW on Sun afternoon, calm by Tue night). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 15mm), heaviest on Wed night. Very mild (max 16°C on Thu night, min 8°C on Wed night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the ENE on Thu morning, calm by Fri night). | |||||||||||||||||||
Sun 23 | Monday 24 | Tuesday 25 | Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | ||||||||||||||
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) | NE 9 | SSE 11 | SSE 14 | SSE 14 | ESE 14 | NNW 4 | E 14 | ESE 14 | E 13 | ESE 13 | ESE 17 | SSE 18 | ENE 6 | ENE 7 | NE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 6 | N 4 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 23 | 23 | 40 | 18 | 40 | 30 | 15 | 38 | 14 | 34 | 267 | 174 | 131 | 161 | 285 | 150 | 27 | 17 | 37 | 15 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | off | glassy | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | glassy | on | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | off | glassy | off | on | cross-off |
High Tide | 1:36AM1.66m | 2:03PM1.79m | 2:20AM1.68m | 2:45PM1.82m | 3:01AM1.70m | 3:26PM1.84m | 3:42AM1.72m | 4:06PM1.86m | 4:22AM1.75m | 4:46PM1.87m | 5:03AM1.77m | 5:26PM1.87m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 7:21PM0.48m | 7:34AM0.42m | 8:07PM0.46m | 8:18AM0.39m | 8:51PM0.43m | 9:02AM0.35m | 9:34PM0.38m | 9:45AM0.31m | 10:17PM0.34m | 10:30AM0.28m | 11:00PM0.31m | 11:15AM0.26m | 11:44PM0.28m | |||||||
 |  | |  |  | | | |  | |  |  | | | | | |  | | | |
 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | 7:07 | — | — | 7:07 | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — |
 | 5:52 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:53 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:55 | — | — | 5:57 | — | — | 5:58 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — |
Temp °C | 14 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 11 |
Feels °C | 4 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 4 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 9 | SSE 11 | SSE 14 | SSE 14 | SSE 16 | E 14 | E 14 | N 3 | E 13 | E 13 | S 17 | SSE 18 | SSE 17 | SE 13 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 6 | ENE 5 |
| kJ | 23 | 23 | 40 | 18 | 26 | 15 | 15 | 2 | 14 | 14 | 1456 | 174 | 115 | 45 | 96 | 150 | 27 | 15 | 14 | 15 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 14 | E 14 | E 14 | E 14 | E 14 | S 16 | S 18 | E 14 | S 17 | S 16 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | ESE 12 | ENE 7 | SE 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | ESE 13 | ENE 8 |
| kJ | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 6 | 21 | 32 | 16 | 13 | 161 | 37 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 7 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 9 | NE 7 | E 8 | NE 4 | ESE 14 | S 9 | S 9 | ESE 14 | NE 4 | ESE 13 | — | — | — | SE 12 | E 16 | E 15 | NE 9 | ESE 13 | SSE 10 | ESE 12 |
| kJ | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 40 | 2 | 1 | 38 | 1 | 34 | — | — | — | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 9 | 14 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 4 | NW 4 | N 3 | N 3 | NNE 4 | NNW 4 | NNW 4 | S 17 | E 4 | E 3 | ESE 17 | ENE 5 | ENE 6 | NE 7 | NE 7 | NNW 3 | — | — | ENE 6 | N 4 |
| kJ | 30 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 30 | 18 | 23 | 2 | 2 | 267 | 42 | 131 | 131 | 285 | 5 | — | — | 37 | 12 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 544 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 10 | 49 | 124 | 0 | 43 | 40 | 45 | 216 | 158 | 54 | 40 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 40 | 43 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Canterbury | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
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