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Rainbow Bay Surf Forecast
/ QLD – Gold Coast (23 breaks) / New South Wales (297 breaks) /
Surf Forecasts:
Rainbow Bay surfForecast / QLD – Gold Coast / Australia
48hr Weather and Surf, issued 9 am Wednesday 20 May 2026 AESTForecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Rainbow Bay surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.
Today's Rainbow Bay sea temperature is
23.9° C
(Which is slightly warmer than usual)How big are the waves at Rainbow Bay today?
The current surf forecast for Rainbow Bay at 4PM is: 1.5m 10s primary swell from a East direction and 1.7m 8s secondary swell from a South-southeast direction (forecast issued at 09:00am May 20). The wind direction is predicted to be offshore and the swell rating is 2.
| Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (20 May) | 5ft (1.6m) | 10s |
| Afternoon (20 May) | 5ft (1.5m) | 10s |
| Evening (20 May) | 8ft (2.5m) | 8s |
Table - waves today at Rainbow Bay. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 3mm), mostly falling on Wed night. Warm (max 21°C on Wed morning, min 14°C on Wed night). Winds increasing (light winds from the SSW on Wed morning, fresh winds from the S by Fri afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 20 | Thursday 21 | Friday 22 | Sat 23 | |||||||||||||||||||||
7 AM | 10 AM | 1 PM | 4 PM | 7 PM | 10 PM | 1 AM | 4 AM | 7 AM | 10 AM | 1 PM | 4 PM | 7 PM | 10 PM | 1 AM | 4 AM | 7 AM | 10 AM | 1 PM | 4 PM | 7 PM | 10 PM | 1 AM | 4 AM | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | S 8 | S 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | S 9 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 11 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 11 | |
561 | 490 | 480 | 414 | 636 | 893 | 970 | 1198 | 1361 | 1242 | 1093 | 1185 | 1282 | 1400 | 1432 | 1825 | 2568 | 3254 | 4082 | 5279 | 5887 | 4780 | 3839 | 3552 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross-off | off | off | off | off | off | off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | off | off | off | off | off | off | off | off | off | off | off | off | off | |
High Tide | 10:40AM1.24m | 11:04PM1.92m | 11:38AM1.20m | 11:58PM1.83m | 12:42PM1.20m | 00:55AM1.74m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 5:00AM0.38m | 4:13PM0.43m | 5:58AM0.44m | 5:06PM0.53m | 6:57AM0.49m | 6:08PM0.62m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | | | |  |  | | |  | | | |  | |  | | |  | | | | | | | |
 | 6:22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:24 |
 | — | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | — | 5:00 |
— | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | |
Temp °C | 16 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 18 |
14 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 13 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | ENE 10 | — | ENE 9 | — | — |
 kJ | 561 | 490 | 480 | 414 | 349 | 301 | 255 | 255 | 214 | 225 | 220 | 211 | 211 | 181 | 179 | 151 | 92 | 68 | 49 | 31 | — | 17 | — | — |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NW 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | NE 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 4 | S 6 | S 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | S 8 | S 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | S 9 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 11 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 11 |
| kJ | 13 | 35 | 176 | 364 | 636 | 893 | 970 | 1198 | 1361 | 1242 | 1093 | 1185 | 1282 | 1400 | 1432 | 1825 | 2568 | 3254 | 4082 | 5279 | 5887 | 4780 | 3839 | 3552 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 53 | 324 | 324 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 170 | 739 | 599 | 324 | 171 | 7 | 7 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Gold Coast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
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