Rainbow Bay surfForecast / QLD – Gold Coast / Australia

information circle48hr Weather and Surf, issued 9 am Sunday 18 Jan 2026 AEST
Forecast 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
26.0° C
(Which is normal for this time of year)


How big are the waves at Rainbow Bay today?

The current surf forecast for Rainbow Bay at 12PM is: 0.8m 7s primary swell from a East-northeast direction and 0.6m 7s secondary swell from a Southeast direction (forecast issued at 09:00am January 18). An open ocean swell of 0.3m 5s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore.

Time (AEST) & DateWave HeightWave Period
Morning (18 Jan)3ft (0.9m)7s
Afternoon (18 Jan)2.5ft (0.8m)8s
Evening (18 Jan)4ft (1.2m)9s

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

Updates in  hr  min  s Forecast update imminent
Sunday
18
Monday
19
Tuesday
20
Wed
21
8AM11AM2PM5PM8PM11PM2AM5AM8AM11AM2PM5PM8PM11PM2AM5AM8AM11AM2PM5PM8PM11PM2AM5AM
Rating
(10 max)
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
0
1
0
2
2
2
1
0
1
1
2
2
3
Swell
Height Map
Wave Height (m) & direction (?)
0.9
ENE
0.9
ENE
0.8
ENE
0.8
SE
1.1
SE
1.2
SSE
1.4
SE
1.4
SE
1.5
SE
1.6
SSE
1.7
SSE
1.7
SSE
1.9
SE
2.1
SE
2.2
SE
1.6
SSE
2.2
SE
1.7
SSE
1.7
SSE
1.7
SSE
1.6
SSE
1.5
SSE
1.2
SE
2
SSE
Period(s) (?)77789988888888788877771011
Wave
Graph
(?)Metric surfscale
Energy kJ (?)94786267174202273266291343365356435510516338559322301285235204308873
Wind
(km/h)
5
SSW
10
SSE
10
SE
15
ESE
10
S
10
S
15
SSE
15
S
20
S
20
SSE
25
SSE
25
SE
25
SSE
25
SSE
25
SSE
25
SSE
25
S
25
SSE
30
SE
25
SSE
25
SSE
20
SSE
20
S
20
SSW
Wind State (?)
onshore
cross-onshore
cross-shore
cross-offshore
offshore
glassy
offcross-
off
cross-
off
cross-
off
offoffoffoffoffoffcross-
off
cross-
off
cross-
off
cross-
off
offoffoffoffcross-
off
offoffoffoffoff
High Tide
/ height (m)
7:54AM
1.86
8:07PM
1.24
8:28AM
1.89
8:44PM
1.28
9:02AM
1.89
9:20PM
1.31
Low Tide
/ height (m)
2:33PM
0.45
1:45AM
0.38
3:06PM
0.40
2:22AM
0.37
3:38PM
0.38
3:00AM
0.37
Sunday
18
Monday
19
Tuesday
20
Wed
21
Sunrise5:03-------5:05-------5:05-------
Sunset---6:45-------6:45-------6:45----
thunderstorm
thunderstorm
thunderstorm
thunderstorm
thunderstorm
thunderstorm
thunderstorm
rain showers
cloud
part cloud
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
light rain
light rain
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
clear
part cloud
Rain (mm)
33215111--142211--------
Temp. °C242526262423232222262424232322212125242523222020
Feels °C (?)272728282625252322252323222121191921212120201818
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder

Latest Updates

FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website

The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Rainbow Bay surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.


Nearest locationNearest
Nearest locationNearest
Nearest locationNearest