Today's Porpoise Bay sea temperature is 11.9 °C
(2.1°C warmer than normal for this time of year)
| Mean: | 9.8 °C | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Range: | 8.5 °C to 11.6 °C | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Statistics for 23 Jun (1981–2005) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Today, many surfers would wear a winter wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots.
The water temperature (11 °C) at Porpoise Bay is rather cold today and the windchill (4 °C) will make the air temperature seem even colder, not helped by a lack of sunshine. You'll need a thick hooded winter wetsuit to keep your head warm and ideally neoprene gloves and neoprene boots too.
 Map of current New Zealand Surface Water Temperatures (based on measurements from oceanographic satellites) |  Map of current New Zealand Sea Water Temperature Anomalies (compared with long term averages at this time of year) |
click thumbnails to expand
Below is a graph of Historical Sea Surface Temperature for Porpoise Bay. This has been derived from analysis of two decades of oceanographic satellite measurements of nearby open water. We have calculated the average water temperature variation around the year as well as the extremes that have been observed on each date.
All of the graphs for the surf breaks presented on Surf-Forecast.com are on the same scale to enable comparison between locations around the world.
Porpoise Bay water temperatures peak in the range 12 to 15°C (54 to 59°F) on around the 10th of February and are at their minimum on about the 10th of August, in the range 8 to 11°C (46 to 52°F). The maximum water temperatures at Porpoise Bay in early to mid February are ideally suited to a 4/3mm wetsuit + 3mm boots, although a 5/3mm wetsuit may be preferable for longer sessions and cold windy days. At its minimum in early to mid August, low water temperatures at Porpoise Bay are suited to a 5/4mm or 5/3mm good quality wetsuit with neoprene gloves and 3mm boots. You will need a hood if it's windy or the air is cold.
Actual sea surface water temperatures close to shore at Porpoise Bay can vary by several degrees compared with these open water averages. This is especially true after heavy rain, close to river mouths or after long periods of strong offshore winds. Offshore winds cause colder deep water to replace surface water that has been warmed by the sun. Air temperature, wind-chill and sunshine should also be considered before deciding on the kind of wetsuit needed to stay warm when surfing at Porpoise Bay. Refer to our detailed weather forecasts for this information.
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