Rainbow Bay surfForecast / QLD – Gold Coast / Australia

information circle48hr Weather and Surf, issued 3 pm Thursday 21 May 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
23.7° 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 11PM is: 3.5m 9s primary swell from a South-southeast direction and 0.9m 10s secondary swell from a East direction (forecast issued at 03:00pm May 21). The wind direction is predicted to be offshore.

Time (AEST) & DateWave HeightWave Period
Morning (21 May)--
Afternoon (21 May)10ft (3.0m)9s
Evening (21 May)10ft (3.0m)9s

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


Updates in  hr  min  s Forecast update imminent

Short Range Forecast

Some drizzle, heaviest during Fri night. Warm (max 21°C on Sat morning, min 16°C on Thu night). Mainly fresh winds.

Thu
21
Friday
22
Saturday
23
Sun
24
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
7 AM
10 AM
Rating
(10 max)
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
4
5
4
4
3
4
3
3
4
3
4
4
4
4
5
Swell
Height Map
Height MapHeight Map
Height MapHeight MapHeight Map
Height MapHeight MapHeight Map
Height MapHeight MapHeight Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
3
SSE
9
3
SSE
9
3
SSE
9
3
SSE
9
3.5
SSE
9
3.5
SSE
10
4
SSE
10
3.5
SSE
10
4.5
SSE
11
5
SSE
12
5
SSE
12
5
SSE
12
4.5
SE
12
4.5
SE
12
4
SE
11
4
SE
11
4
SE
11
4
SE
11
4
SE
11
3.5
ESE
11
3.5
ESE
11
3.5
ESE
11
3
ESE
11
3.5
SE
12
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
1362
1618
1558
1624
2052
2371
2983
2187
5243
7339
6752
6426
6100
5293
4235
4206
4206
4001
3611
2894
3063
2956
2235
3527
Wind (km/h)
30
S
30
S
30
SSW
25
SSW
30
SSW
30
SSW
30
SSW
35
SSW
35
S
35
S
35
SSW
35
SSW
30
SSW
30
SSW
25
S
30
S
30
S
30
S
30
S
25
S
25
S
25
S
20
S
20
S
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
High Tide
11:38AM1.20m
11:58PM1.83m
12:42PM1.20m
00:55AM1.74m
1:51PM1.24m
1:55AM1.65m
Low Tide
5:06PM0.53m
6:57AM0.49m
6:08PM0.62m
7:56AM0.52m
7:20PM0.70m
8:50AM0.53m
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
clear
cloud
part cloud
part cloud
cloud
part cloud
part cloud
cloud
cloud
light rain
cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
cloud
cloud
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:22
6:24
6:24
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:00
5:00
5:00
5:00
1
Temp °C
19
20
18
17
17
16
16
17
18
19
18
17
16
17
18
20
21
21
20
20
19
19
18
19
13
15
14
13
12
11
11
11
12
13
12
11
11
13
15
16
16
16
15
16
15
15
15
17
Swell 1
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
1.1
E
10
1
E
10
1
E
10
0.9
E
10
0.8
E
9
0.7
E
10
0.5
E
10
2.5
SE
12
0.7
SE
13
0.4
E
10
4
SE
12
3.5
ESE
11
3.5
ESE
11
3.5
ESE
11
3.5
ESE
11
3
ESE
11
3.5
SE
11
Energy kJ
225
183
177
146
111
90
49
1880
180
29
4927
3185
2894
3063
2956
2235
3017
Swell 2
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
Energy kJ
Swell 3
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
Energy kJ
Wind waves
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
3
SSE
9
3
SSE
9
3
SSE
9
3
SSE
9
3.5
SSE
9
3.5
SSE
10
4
SSE
10
3.5
SSE
10
4.5
SSE
11
5
SSE
12
5
SSE
12
5
SSE
12
4.5
SE
12
4.5
SE
12
4
SE
11
4
SE
11
4
SE
11
4
SE
11
4
SE
11
1.5
S
9
0.8
S
9
1.4
S
6
3.5
SE
12
Energy kJ
1362
1618
1558
1624
2052
2371
2983
2187
5243
7339
6752
6426
6100
5293
4235
4206
4206
4001
3611
342
97
144
3527
Nearest Offshore or Glassy
Rating
(10 max)
4
4
2
2
2
3
3
3
4
8
3
4
4
4
4
5
2
2
4
4
4
4
4
5
Distance (km)
324
324
2
2
7
2
7
170
170
203
767
170
7
2
0
7
667
667
775
0
0
0
0
0
Best forecast wave conditions in Gold Coast
Rating
(10 max)
2
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia
Rating
(10 max)
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
8
5
5
5
5
5
5
4
4
4
5
5
5
7
5
Header Global
Rating
(10 max)
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
4
5
7
7
7
6
5
7
5
7
7
8
8
7
6
7
5
  • 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

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