Rainbow Bay 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

Lat Long: 28.16° S 153.55° E

Issued: 3 am 16 Oct 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's Rainbow Bay sea temperature is

21.8°C

Rainbow Bay surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.

Surf Forecasts:

How big are the waves at Rainbow Bay today (16 Oct):

Morning surf: Morning surf (16 Oct, local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 10s period with S swell.
Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (16 Oct, local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 9s period with SE swell.
Evening surf: Evening surf (16 Oct, local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 6s period with SE swell.

The current surf forecast for Rainbow Bay at 9AM is: 1.0m 10s primary swell from a South direction and 0.6m 8s secondary swell from a East direction, 1.1m 6s secondary swell from a East-southeast direction (forecast issued at 03:00am October 16). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore.

Time (AEST) & Date	Wave Height	Wave Period
Morning (16 Oct)	3.5ft (1.0m)	10s
Afternoon (16 Oct)	5ft (1.5m)	9s
Evening (16 Oct)	5ft (1.6m)	6s

Table - waves today at Rainbow Bay. (Swell directed towards the surf break)

	Short Range Forecast Moderate rain (total 17mm), heaviest on Sat morning. Very mild (max 19°C on Sat afternoon, min 16°C on Fri morning). Wind will be generally light.
	Friday 16								Saturday 17								Sunday 18
	2 AM	5 AM	8 AM	11 AM	2 PM	5 PM	8 PM	11 PM	2 AM	5 AM	8 AM	11 AM	2 PM	5 PM	8 PM	11 PM	2 AM	5 AM	8 AM	11 AM	2 PM	5 PM	8 PM	11 PM
Rating (10 max)	0	0	1	0	2	1	1	0	2	2	0	0	2	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s)	S 10	S 10	S 10	S 10	SE 10	SE 9	SE 6	SE 6	SSE 9	SSE 10	SSE 10	SSE 10	ESE 10	SSE 10	SSE 10	SSE 9	SSE 9	SSE 9	SSE 9	SSE 9	SSE 9	SSE 9	E 7	SSE 9
Wave Graph
kJ	208	196	192	188	399	383	190	196	287	318	318	318	756	378	394	312	327	261	261	261	226	226	226	199
Wind (km/h)	ESE	SE	SE	ESE	ESE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	SE	SE	SE	SE
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off
High Tide	10:33PM1.08m				11:23AM1.52m				11:20PM1.00m				12:16PM1.47m				00:32AM0.95m					1:20PM1.44m
Low Tide			4:18AM0.52m				6:16PM0.71m				4:56AM0.61m					7:34PM0.73m			5:52AM0.69m					8:52PM0.69m


	—	5:09	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:07	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:07	—	—	—	—	—	—
	—	—	—	—	—	5:53	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:53	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:54	—	—
mm	—	—	1	—	1	1	1	—	—	—	2	2	2	1	—	—	—	—	1	2	2	1	—	—
Temp °C	18	18	16	18	18	17	18	18	17	17	18	18	19	19	19	18	18	18	17	18	18	19	19	18
Feels °C	14	15	14	15	16	15	16	15	15	14	15	14	15	15	15	16	16	16	15	16	16	17	17	17
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	S 10	S 10	S 10	S 10	E 8	E 8	E 8	E 8	SSE 9	SSE 10	SSE 10	SSE 10	SSE 10	SSE 10	SSE 10	SSE 9	SSE 9	SSE 9	SSE 9	SSE 9	SSE 9	SSE 9	SSE 9	E 7
kJ	208	196	192	188	51	52	51	51	287	318	318	318	407	378	394	312	327	261	261	261	226	221	203	198
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	E 8	E 8	E 8	E 8	E 8	SE 14	SE 13	SE 12	E 8	E 8	E 8	E 10	E 10	E 11	E 8	SE 13	E 10	E 10	E 10	S 13	S 13	SE 13	SE 13	SSE 9
kJ	36	35	35	51	52	8	28	55	51	51	48	18	18	21	34	27	18	18	19	4	3	7	6	199
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	N 8	—	E 10	—	—	—	SSE 13	SSE 12	N 12	—	E 10	—	—	N 14	E 11	SSE 13	S 15	NE 13	N 13	—	N 13	—	N 12	ESE 12
kJ	1	—	18	—	—	—	59	87	3	—	33	—	—	4	21	65	4	7	3	—	3	—	3	14
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s)	ESE 6	ESE 6	ESE 6	ESE 6	SE 10	SE 9	SE 6	SE 6	E 6	E 6	E 6	E 6	ESE 10	E 6	E 6	E 6	E 6	E 6	E 7	E 7	E 7	E 7	E 7	—
kJ	140	123	87	95	399	383	190	196	64	73	83	139	756	165	113	135	119	163	173	214	220	226	226	—
Nearest Offshore or Glassy	Snapper Rocks QLD - Gold Coast	Snapper Rocks QLD - Gold Coast	Rainbow Bay QLD - Gold Coast	The Pass NSW - North Coast	Rainbow Bay QLD - Gold Coast	Snapper Rocks QLD - Gold Coast	Rainbow Bay QLD - Gold Coast	Snapper Rocks QLD - Gold Coast	Rainbow Bay QLD - Gold Coast	Rainbow Bay QLD - Gold Coast	Snapper Rocks QLD - Gold Coast	The Pass NSW - North Coast	Snapper Rocks QLD - Gold Coast	Snapper Rocks QLD - Gold Coast	Snapper Rocks QLD - Gold Coast	Greenmount QLD - Gold Coast	Rainbow Bay QLD - Gold Coast	Rainbow Bay QLD - Gold Coast	Rainbow Bay QLD - Gold Coast	Rainbow Bay QLD - Gold Coast	Rainbow Bay QLD - Gold Coast	Rainbow Bay QLD - Gold Coast	Rainbow Bay QLD - Gold Coast	Rainbow Bay QLD - Gold Coast
Rating (10 max)	2	2	1	2	2	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	3	2	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Distance (km)	0	0	0	53	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	53	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Best forecast wave conditions in Gold Coast	Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks		Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks		Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks	Kirra	Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks	Snapper Rocks
Rating (10 max)	2	2	2		2	2	2	2	2	2	2		3	2	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia	Luna Park VIC - Far West	Luna Park VIC - Far West	Luna Park VIC - Far West	Luna Park VIC - Far West	Point Lonsdale VIC - Torquay	Snapper Rocks QLD - Gold Coast	Shipstern Bluff TAS - East Coast	Luna Park VIC - Far West	Luna Park VIC - Far West	Cyclops WA - Far South	Cyclops WA - Far South	Cyclops WA - Far South	Snapper Rocks QLD - Gold Coast	Snapper Rocks QLD - Gold Coast	Snapper Rocks QLD - Gold Coast	Cyclops WA - Far South	Eaglehawk Neck Reef TAS - East Coast	Cyclops WA - Far South	Cyclops WA - Far South	Cyclops WA - Far South	Ethel Wreck SA - Yorke Peninsula	Ethel Wreck SA - Yorke Peninsula	Black Rock NSW - North Coast	Luna Park VIC - Far West
Rating (10 max)	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	3	3	2	3	3	3	2	2	4	2	4	4	4	2	2	2	3
Header Global	Gerickes Point South Africa	Fish Boma South Africa	Faial - Praia do Norte Portugal	Sea Vista South Africa	Ahijedero Mexico	Viri Inga O Tuki Chile	Viri Inga O Tuki Chile	Ahijedero Mexico	Ahijedero Mexico	Bocock's Bay Namibia	Papatowai New Zealand	Afife Portugal	Afife Portugal	Afife Portugal	Dunedin - Bobs Beach New Zealand	Ahijedero Mexico	Ahijedero Mexico	Ahijedero Mexico	Ahijedero Mexico	Pascuales Mexico	Pascuales Mexico	Dunedin - Bobs Beach New Zealand	Nugget Point New Zealand	Rio Nexpa Mexico
Rating (10 max)	5	5	5	5	4	5	5	4	4	4	5	4	4	4	5	4	4	5	5	5	6	7	5	5

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

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Rainbow Bay 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

How big are the waves at Rainbow Bay today (16 Oct):

Short Range Forecast

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