
Surf Forecasts:
North wall surf forecast from 16 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 16 Sep, 7PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 9s period, SSE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 17 Sep, 1AM (local time) - 15ft (4.5m), 10s period, SSE swell with 4,030 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 16 Sep, 7PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 9s period with SSE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for North wall this week:
The surf forecast for North wall over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Sep 16) at 7PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 3.5m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 13s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at North wall in the next 16 days are 4.5m 10s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Sep 17) at 1AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.4m 6s period and expected on Tuesday (Sep 22) at 7PM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 7PM (Wed 16th Sep) | 11ft (3.5m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 7PM (Wed 16th Sep) | 11ft (3.5m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 1AM (Thu 17th Sep) | 15ft (4.5m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for North wall over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Morning crew, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you—this stretch is a real mixed bag. The first few days are going to be frustrating, with some solid pulse in the water but the wind and conditions just not lining up for Northwall. We’re looking at a run where you’ll want to be picky, and you need to be aware there are some sizable, unruly swells early on that are simply too much for this setup.
Wednesday (16th) kicks things off sloppy. There’s a cross-off breeze in the morning with 2.3m of short-period S swell, but the combined energy is only moderate at 565. It’s messy, and the tide is making things questionable. By afternoon, it’s a write-off: 3.0m of SSE windswell, cross-shore wind, and the energy jumps to 1292, but it’s lumpy and ugly. Not your day.
Thursday (17th) is a teaser—a big one, but a warning. Swell builds to 3.5m in the morning with the period stretching to 10 seconds, and the combined energy is strong at 2536. The wind is actually favorable, a cross-off S breeze, and the tide is right. But here’s the catch: that size is over the 2.5m mark, so it’s strictly expert territory. Even the afternoon, dropping to 3.0m, carries that same caution. Big, powerful, but for the crew who know what they’re doing. If you’re not in that bracket, sit this one out.
The standout window is Friday (18th) morning. The swell drops to a clean 1.8m from the SSE with a 9-second period, and the energy settles to a moderate 576. The wind is light and cross-off from the SSW—that’s the formula for clean, lined-up surf here. This is the one to circle. It’s not giant, but it’s quality. The afternoon turns onshore from the ENE, so get your fill early.
After that, things fade fast. Saturday (19th) morning is glassy with a tiny 1.0m S swell and a 10-second period—clean but small. The energy is weak at 385. It’s a longboard or funboard kind of morning, if you’re keen. By Sunday, the swell is down to 0.7m, and despite the morning glass, it’s very ordinary.
Then we hit a rough patch. Monday (21st) starts interesting—there’s a very long-period groundswell sneaking in (18 seconds from the SSE), but it’s only 0.6m. That long period means it will be breaking straight and mushy at this beach break—not good. The rest of that week and into the next is dominated by onshore and cross-onshore winds, with NE and ENE winds chopping things up. The swell from 23rd to 30th fluctuates around 1.5m to 2.3m, but the periods are short (7-8 seconds), the energy is mostly moderate, and the conditions are consistently poor—lumpy, cross-onshore, and just plain messy. There’s a period of several days there, from the 22nd through the 30th, where it’s just not worth paddling out for any decent session.
The water temp is about average for this time of year at 21°, so a thin wetsuit will do.
One more thing: if the onshores get strong and the surf is that lumpy, especially the ENE swells from the 27th onward, this beach/groyne setup is going to look a lot more interesting for the kite crew than the surfers. Keep that in mind.
So, to sum it up: Friday morning is your best bet—clean, head-high, and fun. Thursday is for experts only. Apart from that, it’s a waiting game for the winds to back off. Pray for a lull.
-Rusty
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Wed morning. Very mild (max 18°C on Wed morning, min 12°C on Wed night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the S on Wed night, light winds from the WNW by Fri night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 23°C on Mon morning, min 17°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 16 | Thursday 17 | Friday 18 | Saturday 19 | Sunday 20 | Monday 21 | Tuesday 22 | |||||||||||||||
AM | 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 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | S 9 | S 10 | S 9 | SSE 16 | S 11 | S 11 | SSE 19 | SSE 18 | SSE 17 | S 12 | S 11 | SSE 12 | SSE 7 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
539 | 1282 | 4030 | 2529 | 1810 | 1402 | 573 | 435 | 164 | 179 | 133 | 83 | 112 | 110 | 212 | 254 | 117 | 99 | 82 | 150 | 215 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | on | cross-off | glassy | on | off | glassy | cross-on | cross | glassy | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross | cross |
High Tide | 11:27AM1.38m | 11:19PM1.01m | 12:12PM1.33m | 11:58PM0.91m | 1:07PM1.28m | 00:57AM0.82m | 2:15PM1.25m | 2:37AM0.78m | 3:31PM1.26m | 4:31AM0.83m | 4:35PM1.30m | 5:29AM0.91m | 5:24PM1.35m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 5:55PM0.53m | 5:23AM0.39m | 6:53PM0.61m | 6:00AM0.46m | 8:09PM0.65m | 6:50AM0.53m | 9:50PM0.62m | 7:59AM0.58m | 10:59PM0.55m | 9:20AM0.58m | 11:41PM0.46m | 10:34AM0.54m | 00:14AM0.38m | ||||||||
5:43 | — | — | 5:41 | — | — | 5:41 | — | — | 5:39 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:35 | — | — | |
— | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:38 | — | — | 5:38 | — | — | 5:39 | — | — | 5:39 | — | — | 5:40 | — | |
mm | 2 | — | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 3 | 3 |
Temp °C | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 19 |
Feels °C | 13 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 16 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 6 | E 13 | NE 13 | NE 13 | NE 8 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SE 8 | S 10 | S 9 | S 9 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | SSE 18 | SSE 17 | NNE 5 | NNE 5 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 |
16 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1172 | 573 | 435 | 145 | 179 | 133 | 83 | 112 | 110 | 114 | 254 | 117 | 35 | 30 | 150 | 106 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 14 | S 17 | — | — | E 13 | E 12 | E 12 | S 19 | S 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SSE 19 | S 9 | S 8 | S 12 | S 11 | NNE 5 | SSE 17 |
4 | 6 | — | — | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 164 | 149 | 78 | 51 | 20 | 20 | 212 | 56 | 21 | 99 | 82 | 8 | 55 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 12 | — | — | — | — | NE 16 | N 16 | NE 12 | SSE 18 | SSE 17 | SSE 17 | SSE 16 | N 4 | SSE 17 | ESE 8 | N 4 | SSE 11 | SSE 15 | SSE 13 | E 8 | N 4 |
6 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 5 | 6 | 62 | 55 | 95 | 81 | 1 | 29 | 6 | 9 | 40 | 45 | 66 | 1 | 1 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | S 10 | — | — | NNW 2 | NNW 3 | NNE 3 | — | — | NNE 3 | N 4 | N 4 | NNE 4 | — | S 5 | SSE 5 | SSE 7 |
539 | 1282 | 4030 | 2529 | 1810 | 1402 | — | — | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 3 | 15 | 18 | 19 | — | 16 | 38 | 215 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 281 | 1306 | 71 | 26 | 247 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 247 | 0 | 0 | 562 | 63 | 0 | 189 | 0 | 8 | 65 | 27 |
Best forecast wave conditions in North Coast - New South Wales | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the North wall Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for North wall provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at North wall can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our North wall 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 (North wall) 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 North wall 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.
North wall is 3 km (2 miles) from Ballina. If you plan a holiday in North Coast - New South Wales, look for hotels and other accommodation in Ballina. Ballina has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.










