Surf Forecasts:
Rainbow Bay surf forecast from 11 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 17 Sep, 10PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 9s period, SSE swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 16 Sep, 10PM (local time) - 13ft (4.0m), 10s period, SSE swell with 3,331 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 12 Sep, 4AM (local time) - 6ft (1.9m), 8s period with SE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Rainbow Bay this week:
The surf forecast for Rainbow Bay over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Sep 12) at 4AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.9m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 14s. Another secondary swell of 0.1m and 16s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Rainbow Bay in the next 16 days are 4.0m 10s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Sep 16) at 10PM. Winds are predicted to be offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.5m 5s period and expected on Wednesday (Sep 16) at 10AM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 4AM (Sat 12th Sep) | 6ft (1.9m) 8s |
| Best Surf | 10PM (Thu 17th Sep) | 10ft (3.0m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 10PM (Wed 16th Sep) | 13ft (4.0m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Rainbow Bay over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Righto, let’s get into it. The next couple of weeks are looking pretty bleak at first. We’ve got a run of poor, gutless surf, and the energy levels are way down. You won’t be missing much. The first real chance doesn’t show up until Wednesday the 16th, and honestly, it’s a weird one. We get a solid 12ft of south-southeast swell, but it’s short-period and messy, you know? The tide’s going to make it difficult. The energy reads 1599, so there’s some grunt, but it’s not a clean wave at all.
The real standout is Thursday the 17th of September. The swell holds at 12ft, but the period stretches to 10 seconds, and the energy jumps to 2282. It’s still big and rough. With 30 km/h south winds, it’s going to be a real battle. This is one for the experts only. The size and power will keep everyone else well on the beach. It’s a crying shame because the winds are offshore and the surface is clean, but you need to know what you’re doing. Anything over 8ft is expert territory, and this is well beyond that.
Friday the 18th is the real gem. The swell eases to 8ft from the SSE with a 9-second period. The energy is a healthy 1094, and we get a moderate offshore breeze. This is the pick of the fortnight. It’s a proper size for the experienced lads, but the conditions should be perfect. The water temp anomaly isn't out of the ordinary, so it’s about average for this time of year.
From there, it all fades away. The weekend is no good with onshores, and we slip back into small, messy surf. The second week is basically a blank. A few little one-to-three-foot pulses around the 26th and 27th, but it’s nothing to write home about. It’s a frustrating couple of weeks, but Thursday and Friday are worth waiting for. Try and get Friday morning if you can, that’s the one.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 6mm), mostly falling on Sat night. Very mild (max 19°C on Sat morning, min 15°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 21°C on Tue morning, min 13°C on Wed night). Winds increasing (light winds from the N on Mon night, strong winds from the S by Wed afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | Tuesday 15 | Wednesday 16 | Thursday 17 | ||||||||||||||
Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 7 | SSE 10 | SE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | N 4 | ENE 6 | SSE 8 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 497 | 373 | 260 | 116 | 96 | 164 | 121 | 106 | 100 | 65 | 50 | 34 | 28 | 20 | 1595 | 3052 | 2275 | 1915 | 1418 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | off | off | off | off | off | off |
High Tide | 8:36AM1.55m | 8:52PM1.67m | 9:13AM1.57m | 9:26PM1.55m | 9:50AM1.56m | 9:57PM1.41m | 10:28AM1.53m | 10:27PM1.28m | 11:08AM1.49m | 10:58PM1.16m | 11:55AM1.44m | 11:36PM1.05m | |||||||
Low Tide | 2:33AM0.19m | 2:37PM0.22m | 3:04AM0.23m | 3:18PM0.30m | 3:34AM0.29m | 3:58PM0.41m | 4:02AM0.35m | 4:40PM0.52m | 4:29AM0.42m | 5:27PM0.64m | 5:00AM0.48m | 6:27PM0.73m | |||||||
 |  |  | |  | |  | | | | | | | | |  | | | | |
 | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:47 | — | — | 5:46 | — | — | 5:43 | — | — | 5:43 | — | — | 5:41 | — | — |
 | — | — | 5:36 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:38 | — |
mm | 1 | 1 | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 |
Feels °C | 14 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 11 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 14 | E 14 | SE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 10 | SE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | ENE 6 | E 13 | NE 13 | NE 13 | NE 13 | — |
| kJ | 16 | 16 | 260 | 92 | 96 | 164 | 121 | 106 | 100 | 31 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 20 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | — |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 15 | S 19 | SSE 20 | SSE 19 | SSE 20 | SSE 19 | E 5 | ENE 5 | E 5 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | N 5 | — | — | — | NE 13 | NE 16 |
| kJ | 9 | 7 | 38 | 69 | 40 | 35 | 21 | 16 | 20 | 65 | 50 | 34 | 16 | 4 | — | — | — | 7 | 10 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | E 12 | E 13 | E 9 | SE 16 | E 13 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | NE 8 | NE 12 | E 15 | NE 13 | — | — | — | — | E 12 |
| kJ | — | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 7 | — | — | — | — | 3 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 8 | SE 8 | — | ESE 7 | ESE 6 | — | — | — | — | — | N 2 | N 4 | N 4 | S 5 | SSE 8 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 |
| kJ | 497 | 373 | — | 116 | 94 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 9 | 28 | 121 | 1595 | 3052 | 2275 | 1915 | 1418 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 170 | 1 | 144 | 733 | 40 | 203 | 1374 | 7 | 7 | 324 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Gold Coast | |||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
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.
Information about the Rainbow Bay Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Rainbow Bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Rainbow Bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Rainbow Bay surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Rainbow Bay) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Rainbow Bay may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Rainbow Bay is 6 km (4 miles) from Banora Point. If you plan a holiday in Gold Coast, look for hotels and other accommodation in Banora Point. Banora Point has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest