Surf Forecasts:
Rainbow Bay surf forecast from 12 Oct 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 19 Oct, 4AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 9s period, SSE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 15 Oct, 1AM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 8s period, SE swell with 741 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 16 Oct, 7AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 10s period with S 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 Friday (Oct 16) at 7AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.8m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.6m and 8s. Another secondary swell of 1.1m and 6s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Rainbow Bay in the next 16 days are 2.5m 8s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Oct 15) at 1AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.6m 6s period and expected on Wednesday (Oct 14) at 1PM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 7AM (Fri 16th Oct) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 4AM (Mon 19th Oct) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 1AM (Thu 15th Oct) | 8ft (2.5m) 8s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Rainbow Bay over the next 16 days.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 17mm), heaviest on Tue night. Warm (max 24°C on Mon morning, min 18°C on Wed night). Winds increasing (calm on Tue night, fresh winds from the SSE by Wed night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 10mm), heaviest on Sat night. Very mild (max 19°C on Thu afternoon, min 17°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 12 | Tuesday 13 | Wednesday 14 | Thursday 15 | Friday 16 | Saturday 17 | Sunday 18 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | 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) | NNE 5 | NNE 5 | NNE 5 | N 5 | NNE 5 | E 9 | E 8 | SSE 6 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | ESE 9 | SSE 9 | ESE 7 | SE 10 | SSE 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 37 | 56 | 69 | 97 | 62 | 24 | 33 | 279 | 741 | 489 | 204 | 187 | 141 | 146 | 166 | 201 | 604 | 262 | 449 | 392 | 301 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | on | on | on | on | cross | off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross |
High Tide | 8:53PM1.39m | 9:22AM1.68m | 9:25PM1.28m | 9:59AM1.64m | 9:57PM1.17m | 10:38AM1.59m | 10:33PM1.08m | 11:23AM1.52m | 11:20PM1.00m | 12:16PM1.47m | 00:32AM0.95m | 1:20PM1.44m | 2:14AM0.97m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 3:02PM0.37m | 2:50AM0.30m | 3:43PM0.46m | 3:18AM0.37m | 4:26PM0.55m | 3:46AM0.44m | 5:15PM0.64m | 4:18AM0.52m | 6:16PM0.71m | 4:56AM0.61m | 7:34PM0.73m | 5:52AM0.69m | 8:52PM0.69m | ||||||||
 | |  |  |  |  | |  |  | | |  | | | | |  | | | | | |
 | 5:13 | — | — | 5:11 | — | — | 5:11 | — | — | 5:09 | — | — | 5:09 | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:07 | — | — |
 | — | 5:51 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:53 | — | — | 5:53 | — | — | 5:54 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | — | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
Temp °C | 24 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 19 |
Feels °C | 23 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 16 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | N 6 | E 9 | NNE 6 | E 8 | E 8 | NE 8 | SSE 14 | SSE 8 | S 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | E 11 | SSE 9 | SE 12 | SE 10 | SSE 10 |
| kJ | 22 | 21 | 20 | 74 | 24 | 27 | 33 | 35 | 11 | 20 | 115 | 65 | 141 | 146 | 166 | 201 | 20 | 262 | 112 | 392 | 301 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNE 8 | NE 11 | NNE 12 | E 8 | NE 10 | E 9 | NNE 6 | NE 9 | — | S 14 | E 9 | SSE 11 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | ENE 8 | SSE 12 | SE 12 | S 13 | N 12 | N 12 |
| kJ | 6 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 24 | 10 | 40 | — | 61 | 38 | 44 | 50 | 51 | 51 | 38 | 29 | 72 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 7 | S 7 | S 7 | NE 10 | S 6 | NE 9 | NE 7 | E 15 | — | — | E 13 | — | — | SSE 12 | — | E 10 | S 17 | S 15 | S 13 | — | E 13 |
| kJ | 4 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 18 | 4 | — | — | 3 | — | — | 50 | — | 32 | 6 | 4 | 3 | — | 3 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNE 5 | NNE 5 | NNE 5 | N 5 | NNE 5 | — | SSE 5 | SSE 6 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | E 6 | E 6 | ESE 6 | ESE 6 | ESE 9 | E 7 | ESE 7 | E 7 | ENE 7 |
| kJ | 37 | 56 | 69 | 97 | 62 | — | 112 | 279 | 741 | 489 | 204 | 187 | 94 | 89 | 137 | 126 | 604 | 199 | 449 | 233 | 220 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 183 | 588 | 140 | 16 | 40 | 1 | 204 | 279 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 1371 | 142 | 1163 | 826 | 53 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Gold Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
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