Surf Forecasts:
Nobbys Reef surf forecast from 13 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 14 Aug, 1AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 9s period, S swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 13 Aug, 10PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 9s period, S swell with 332 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 14 Aug, 1AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 9s period with S swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Nobbys Reef this week:
The surf forecast for Nobbys Reef over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (Aug 14) at 1AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.3m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 9s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Nobbys Reef in the next 16 days are 1.4m 9s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 13) at 10PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.4m 3s period and expected on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 10AM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 1AM (Fri 14th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 1AM (Fri 14th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 10PM (Thu 13th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Nobbys Reef over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, this is Rusty. Let’s look at the outlook for Nobbys Reef.
The next week and a half is a bit of a flat, frustrating stretch. We’ve got a run of small, onshore slop with a few windows of glassy conditions that just don’t have enough push to get exciting. There’s a notable blank patch from around the 23rd through the 26th, where the swell drops right away. The real story is the raw power coming in at the very end of the forecast.
First real chance is Friday morning, August 14th. The wind goes glassy – that’s a major win for Nobbys Reef. The swell is only around 4ft from the S with a 10-second period, and the combined energy is moderate at 313. It’s clean, but it’s not big. The water is sitting at 64°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year.
We get a few other mornings that are clean with those NW offshores, like Wednesday the 19th and Thursday the 20th, but the swell hovers around 4ft and the period is a short 7 seconds. The energy drops right off too, from 196 down to 117. It’s surfable, but very ordinary.
Then the swell nearly dies from the 21st through the 26th. There’s a small pulse on the 24th with a 5ft SSW swell, but it’s only a 6-second period with only moderate energy at 266. The wind is clean, but with that short period and small size, it’s marginal at best.
The standout by far is the swell arriving on August 27th and 28th. We’re looking at a solid 5ft to 6ft S swell with a long period of 11-12 seconds, and the energy goes through the roof: 562 on the 27th and a massive 990 on the 28th. This is strong wave energy. But – and it’s a big but – the wind goes strong onshore from the SSE at 25 mph. The wave comment calls it poor surf conditions. For a reef break like this, that much wind will make it messy and dangerous. That’s one for experienced surfers only, and only if you can handle a strong cross-onshore mess. It’s more of a kite-surf setup at that point.
So, overall: the best clean window is Friday August 14th, and the biggest, most powerful swell shows up on the 28th, but it’s blown out.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 11mm), heaviest on Sat night. Very mild (max 16°C on Thu afternoon, min 11°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 9mm), mostly falling on Tue night. Very mild (max 16°C on Mon morning, min 15°C on Sun afternoon). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Thu 13 | Friday 14 | Saturday 15 | Sunday 16 | Monday 17 | Tuesday 18 | Wednesday 19 | ||||||||||||||
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) | S 9 | S 9 | S 10 | S 8 | S 7 | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | SSE 7 | SSE 18 | SE 6 | ESE 6 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | ESE 7 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 325 | 252 | 268 | 165 | 109 | 202 | 202 | 203 | 102 | 150 | 130 | 147 | 132 | 154 | 120 | 93 | 193 | 127 | 115 | 105 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | cross-off | cross-off | on | glassy | on | on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | glassy | cross-on | glassy |
High Tide | 8:49PM1.83m | 9:26AM1.44m | 9:32PM1.74m | 10:08AM1.45m | 10:14PM1.61m | 10:48AM1.45m | 10:54PM1.46m | 11:30AM1.42m | 11:35PM1.30m | 12:12PM1.39m | 00:16AM1.16m | 12:59PM1.36m | 1:04AM1.03m | |||||||
Low Tide | 3:22AM0.07m | 3:15PM0.26m | 4:01AM0.12m | 4:02PM0.29m | 4:37AM0.19m | 4:49PM0.36m | 5:12AM0.28m | 5:38PM0.44m | 5:46AM0.37m | 6:30PM0.53m | 6:20AM0.46m | 7:31PM0.60m | ||||||||
 |  | | |  |  | | | |  |  | | | | | |  | | | | |
 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — | 6:30 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — |
 | 5:22 | — | — | 5:22 | — | — | 5:22 | — | — | 5:23 | — | — | 5:24 | — | — | 5:24 | — | — | 5:25 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 |
Feels °C | 12 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 14 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 9 | S 9 | S 10 | S 8 | S 7 | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | SSE 7 | S 7 | SE 6 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 8 | S 8 | S 8 | SSE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | ESE 7 |
| kJ | 325 | 252 | 268 | 165 | 109 | 202 | 202 | 203 | 56 | 150 | 56 | 85 | 80 | 35 | 21 | 20 | 96 | 127 | 115 | 105 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 10 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | SSE 19 | SSE 17 | SSE 18 | S 8 | S 11 | S 16 | SSW 13 | S 12 | SE 10 | S 11 | E 6 | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | E 11 |
| kJ | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 69 | 59 | 102 | 31 | 40 | 21 | 53 | 11 | 15 | 21 | 25 | 38 | 47 | 3 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 19 | S 18 | S 19 | SSE 17 | SSE 16 | SSE 19 | ENE 10 | ENE 10 | E 10 | SSE 18 | SSE 17 | — | — | SE 11 | S 12 | ESE 13 | ESE 11 | — | — | — |
| kJ | 7 | 6 | 27 | 55 | 25 | 36 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 102 | 59 | — | — | 5 | 24 | 16 | 47 | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SE 6 | ESE 6 | ESE 6 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | SE 7 | W 3 | — | NE 6 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 83 | 87 | 130 | 147 | 132 | 154 | 120 | 93 | 193 | 3 | — | 33 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 417 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 96 | 174 | 44 | 221 | 271 | 44 | 1 | 44 | 30 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Newcastle | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||
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 Nobbys Reef 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 Nobbys Reef Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Nobbys Reef provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Nobbys Reef can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Nobbys Reef 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 (Nobbys Reef) 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 Nobbys Reef 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 Newcastle? If you are looking for accommodation near Nobbys Reef, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Newcastle, consider staying in Newcastle which is 3 km (2 miles) away. Other places in and around Newcastle where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Catherine Hill Bay which is 31 km (19 miles) away, Port Stephens, Cessnock and Central Coast.
Nearest