Rainbow Bay Surf Forecast

/ QLD – Gold Coast (23 breaks) / New South Wales (297 breaks) /

Australia (828 breaks) / Lat Long: (28.16° S 153.55° E)

Surf Forecasts

Rainbow Bay surfForecast / QLD – Gold Coast / Australia

12 Day Weather and Surf, issued 3 pm Friday 15 Aug 2025 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 20.9° C
(Which is normal for this time of year)

Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Rainbow Bay this week:

The surf forecast for Rainbow Bay over the next 12 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (Aug 15) at 10PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.2m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 5s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Rainbow Bay in the next 12 days are 4.0m 10s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Aug 22) at 4PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.2m 6s period and expected on Wednesday (Aug 20) at 1AM.

Wave Type	Time (AEST) & Date	Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+)	10PM (Fri 15th Aug)	4ft (1.2m) 8s
Best Surf	10PM (Thu 21st Aug)	8ft (2.5m) 9s
Most Powerful	4PM (Fri 22nd Aug)	13ft (4.0m) 10s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Rainbow Bay over the next 12 days.

Hourly 12 Days

Gold Coast Surf

Print Surf Table

Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent

	Short Range Forecast Some drizzle, heaviest during Fri afternoon. Warm (max 22°C on Sat afternoon, min 11°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light.											Days 3-6 Weather Summary Moderate rain (total 17mm), heaviest on Tue night. Very mild (max 18°C on Thu morning, min 12°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light.
	Fri 15		Saturday 16			Sunday 17			Monday 18			Tuesday 19			Wednesday 20			Thursday 21
	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM
Rating (10 max)	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	0	1	1	2	3	3	3	3	4
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) & direction (?)	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	E	E	E	E	E	ESE	ESE	ESE	SE
Period(s) (?)	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	9	10	10	10	10	10	6	7	8	9	9	9	9
Wave Graph (?)
Energy (?)	149	381	359	257	286	231	296	274	244	257	276	279	239	142	391	445	1289	1461	2395	1063	2163
Wind (km/h)	SSE	WSW	WNW	NW	WSW	SW	E	SSW	SSE	SE	S	S	SSE	S	SSW	SSW	W	NNW	ENE	WSW	SE
Wind State (?) onshore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore offshore glassy	off	cross- off	cross- on	cross- on	cross- off	cross- off	cross	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	off	off	cross- off	off	off	cross- off	glass	glass	cross- on	cross- off	glass
High Tide / height (m)		12:35AM 1.28		1:35PM 1.46	1:42AM 1.14		2:51PM 1.50	3:04AM 1.05		4:07PM 1.58		4:27AM 1.05	5:14PM 1.69		5:37AM 1.10	6:10PM 1.78		6:33AM 1.18	6:59PM 1.85		7:20AM 1.26
Low Tide / height (m)	6:41PM 0.45		6:52AM 0.30		8:04PM 0.51	7:54AM 0.34		9:36PM 0.52	9:05AM 0.36		10:58PM 0.46	10:16AM 0.34		12:02AM 0.38	11:19AM 0.30		12:53AM 0.31	12:14PM 0.26		1:36AM 0.27

	Fri 15		Saturday 16			Sunday 17			Monday 18			Tuesday 19			Wednesday 20			Thursday 21
Sunrise	-	-	6:16	-	-	6:16	-	-	6:15	-	-	6:13	-	-	6:13	-	-	6:11	-	-	6:11
Sunset	5:22	-	-	5:22	-	-	5:23	-	-	5:23	-	-	5:24	-	-	5:24	-	-	5:25	-	-

Rain (mm)	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	11	-	-	-	3	2	-	-
Temp. °C	18	15	21	22	18	17	17	14	16	16	14	16	16	13	16	15	14	18	19	15	17
Feels °C (?)	15	14	18	19	14	14	13	12	13	13	12	12	12	10	14	12	13	17	18	14	15

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Recent Eyeball Surf Reports for QLD - Gold Coast

Wind Update Offshore wind has become very light (light winds from the S at Coolangatta Airport 5 km from Rainbow Bay). Surf should be turning clean at Rainbow Bay. 1.2m 9s swell from the ESE with a 0.7m 5s windswell from the S and a 0.4m 7s swell, also from the S. 3 swells combining to make bigger set waves.
1 hour 37 minutes ago Rainbow Bay

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1 h 37 min ago

9 km/h

Clean

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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 12 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.