
Surf Forecasts:
Piha-The Bar surf forecast from 5 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 6 Aug, 3AM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 13s period, SW swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 13 Aug, 6AM (local time) - 7ft (2.2m), 13s period, W swell with 1,657 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 6 Aug, 3AM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 13s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Piha-The Bar this week:
The surf forecast for Piha-The Bar over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 06) at 3AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.8m and 13s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 16s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Piha-The Bar in the next 16 days are 2.2m 13s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 13) at 6AM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.0m 4s period and expected on Wednesday (Aug 12) at 12PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 3AM (Thu 6th Aug) | 6ft (1.8m) 13s |
| Best Surf | 3AM (Thu 6th Aug) | 6ft (1.8m) 13s |
| Most Powerful | 6AM (Thu 13th Aug) | 7ft (2.2m) 13s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Piha-The Bar over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G’day, Rusty here. Look, we’ve got a mixed bag coming our way for Piha-The-Bar over the next couple of weeks. The first few days are a bit of a write-off with small, messy surf, but there is a proper pulse of energy building for the second week that’ll get the heart racing. The standout windows are Thursday the 13th and Thursday the 20th of August—those are your best bets for a clean, solid session.
Let’s kick off with the water temp at Piha-The-Bar (New Zealand). It’s sitting at 57°F, which is pretty much standard for this time of year with a slight negative anomaly of -1°F—nothing to write home about, just your typical winter chill.
The first real action worth paddling out for is on Thursday morning, 6th August. The swell is a clean 5ft from the SW with a 12-second period (solid groundswell) and a southeast offshore breeze of 10 km/h. The wave energy is moderate (833). It’s not a monster, but it’s clean and lined up—good for an advanced crew. Thursday afternoon drops off to 4ft and goes a bit cross-off, so the morning is the call.
Friday the 7th starts off glassy with a tiny 3ft SW swell (203 energy), but it’s glassy as—basically a longboard or finless session. The afternoon gets blown out.
Now, there’s a big gap of nothing really worth mentioning from Saturday the 8th through to Tuesday the 11th. The swell gets small, messy, and the wind turns onshore or cross-on. We see a little pulse on Monday the 10th with 7ft from the NW, but it’s cross-on and choppy—marginal at best.
Things start shaping up on Wednesday the 12th with a 5ft SW swell in the afternoon, but it’s still a touch cross-on. Not a standout.
Here’s where we get excited: Thursday the 13th of August is your first true standout. Both morning and afternoon sessions are glassy with a light NNE or WSW breeze at 5 km/h. The morning hits 7ft from the W with a 13-second period—solid groundswell—and energy is strong (1880). That’s expert territory. The afternoon is 6ft from the W, also glassy (1533 energy). This is clean, powerful SW groundswell hitting Piha perfectly. Expect a crowd of experts because this is as good as it gets for a winter’s day.
Friday the 14th sees a jump in energy (2217 in the morning) but with a 5ft SW swell and onshore NW wind—messy. The afternoon gets proper nasty with rain and 25 km/h cross-on wind.
Saturday the 15th of August is a huge day, but it’s too big for Piha. Swell hits 18ft to 20ft from the WSW with energy readings over 20,000—absolutely massive. That’s not paddle surf; that’s big-wave tow or maybe kite territory. The wind is cross and cross-on, so the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.
Sunday the 16th drops to 13ft and 12ft with cross-shore winds—still big and lumpy, but the crowd might be thinner. Not a beginner’s day.
Monday the 17th sees 10ft from the WSW with clean cross-off SSE winds at 20 km/h. Energy is very strong (6397). This is for experienced surfers only, and with clean conditions, it could be a heavy session.
Tuesday the 18th is similar: 8ft to 7ft SW groundswell, cross-off S winds, clean but solid. Crowd potential is there.
Thursday the 20th of August is your second standout. Both morning and afternoon are glassy with 4ft SW swell, but the period is long—18 to 19 seconds—and energy is strong (1446 and 1225). This is very long-period groundswell, which means clean, powerful lines peeling off Piha’s bar. It’s perfect for reef and point setups, and with no wind, it’s glassy perfection. The crowd is likely to be there, but you’ll forgive them.
Overall, the best windows are Thursday 13th and Thursday 20th. The 13th offers bigger, more powerful swell for advanced surfers, while the 20th is slightly smaller but just as clean and glassy. The rest of the period has a lot of marginal or blown-out days, with a massive pulse mid-month that’s simply too big for a paddle.
Keep your eyes on the forecast—this is a dynamic winter run, and those glassy windows are gold.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 12°C on Sat morning, min 6°C on Thu morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 9mm), mostly falling on Sun night. Very mild (max 16°C on Sun morning, min 11°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 6 | Friday 7 | Saturday 8 | Sunday 9 | Monday 10 | Tuesday 11 | ||||||||||||||
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) | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 18 | WSW 19 | WSW 15 | NW 10 | NW 10 | WSW 16 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 19 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||
1286 | 718 | 403 | 282 | 167 | 75 | 89 | 116 | 139 | 390 | 1033 | 773 | 834 | 640 | 1184 | 1010 | 692 | 536 | 584 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | off | cross-off | glassy | glassy | cross-on | on | cross-on | on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross |
High Tide | 2:08AM2.51m | 2:44PM2.40m | 3:08AM2.39m | 3:52PM2.34m | 4:21AM2.30m | 5:11PM2.36m | 5:43AM2.31m | 6:28PM2.47m | 6:58AM2.42m | 7:34PM2.65m | 8:00AM2.58m | 8:30PM2.84m | |||||||
Low Tide | 8:35AM0.45m | 9:03PM0.62m | 9:37AM0.55m | 10:14PM0.69m | 10:49AM0.58m | 11:31PM0.66m | 12:03PM0.53m | 00:45AM0.54m | 1:11PM0.40m | 1:50AM0.37m | 2:10PM0.23m | 2:45AM0.18m | |||||||
— | 7:16 | — | — | 7:15 | — | — | 7:13 | — | — | 7:13 | — | — | 7:11 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | |
— | — | 5:39 | — | — | 5:40 | — | — | 5:42 | — | — | 5:42 | — | — | 5:43 | — | — | 5:44 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 |
Temp °C | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 14 |
Feels °C | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 13 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 14 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WSW 19 | NW 9 | WSW 14 | NW 10 | WSW 16 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 19 |
1286 | 718 | 403 | 282 | 167 | 75 | 89 | 58 | 81 | 187 | 1033 | 493 | 662 | 640 | 1184 | 1010 | 692 | 536 | 584 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 16 | WSW 22 | WSW 21 | SW 21 | WSW 19 | WSW 14 | W 10 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 18 | WSW 19 | WSW 15 | WSW 18 | WSW 16 | NW 9 | SSW 7 | SSW 6 | WSW 21 | WSW 13 |
51 | 47 | 44 | 108 | 35 | 74 | 17 | 116 | 108 | 390 | 329 | 773 | 486 | 635 | 145 | 42 | 15 | 397 | 261 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 23 | — | — | W 7 | W 7 | WSW 18 | SW 10 | WSW 19 | WSW 19 | WSW 12 | — | — | — | SW 9 | WSW 8 | NW 8 | SW 23 | NNW 7 | NNW 6 |
11 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 34 | 15 | 34 | 139 | 56 | — | — | — | 183 | 13 | 36 | 133 | 9 | 4 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | WNW 10 | — | NW 10 | — | SSW 8 | — | — | — | NE 3 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 741 | — | 834 | — | 109 | — | — | — | 12 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 243 | 40 | 8 | 106 | 1 | 53 | 281 | 323 | 121 | 44 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Auckland | |||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Piha-The Bar Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Piha-The Bar provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Piha-The Bar can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Piha-The Bar 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 (Piha-The Bar) 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 Piha-The Bar 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.
Piha-The Bar is 12 km (7 miles) from the city of Auckland. If you plan a holiday in Auckland, look for hotels and other accommodation in Auckland. Auckland has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.











