Surf Forecasts:
Red Island surf forecast from 15 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 21 Aug, 3AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 11s period, S swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 19 Aug, 9AM (local time) - 16ft (5.0m), 12s period, S swell with 7,415 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 20 Aug, 9PM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 9s period with S swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Red Island this week:
The surf forecast for Red Island over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 20) at 9PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.5m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.6m and 8s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Red Island in the next 16 days are 5.0m 12s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 9AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.4m 3s period and expected on Friday (Aug 21) at 6PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 9PM (Thu 20th Aug) | 5ft (1.5m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 3AM (Fri 21st Aug) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 11s |
| Most Powerful | 9AM (Wed 19th Aug) | 16ft (5.0m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Red Island over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s shaping up at Red Island.
Truth be told, the next week and a half is a write-off for any decent paddle surfing. We’ve got some serious size at times, but the wind is just relentless – mostly cross or cross-onshore, often strong. Through Saturday the 15th and into the following week, you’re looking at messy, choppy, and poor conditions. The swell does show some push, with combined wave energy hitting the hundreds and even thousands (583 on Saturday morning, 1,808 by Sunday afternoon), but with that wind, it’s just not surfable for a good wave. Not a single decent option until the end of the week.
We finally see a glimmer of hope on Friday the 21st. Morning brings a clean 4ft swell from the south, period 11 seconds, with light offshore wind from the WNW. That’s the standout moment right there. The combined energy sits at 747 – moderate energy, but with clean conditions, this is the window. Afternoon holds similar but with a very long 15-second period swell, still small but glassy clean. It’s not massive, but for the first decent surf in over a week, it’ll feel like gold.
Saturday the 22nd stays clean but drops right off: 3ft from the south, period 12 seconds, energy dropping to 218. Worth a paddle for the desperate, but it’s small and ordinary.
Then from Sunday the 23rd through Tuesday the 26th, it’s flat or practically flat. We get clean conditions but barely a ripple with combined energy under 100.
Around Wednesday the 26th afternoon, the swell tries to kick back up, hitting 7ft from the south, but the wind swings onshore again and it’s instantly choppy and poor through to the 30th. There is a slight improvement on the weekend of the 30th – south swell pushing 7 to 7ft with a long 15-16 second period, combined energy climbing to 3,394 – but the wind is still cross or cross-onshore, so it’s marginal at best.
Overall, if you’re patient, keep your eyes on Friday the 21st. That’s the pick of the whole forecast. After that, it’s back to waiting for a better swell and cleaner wind.
The water temperature sits at 54°F at the start, which is about 3° colder than average for this time of year – a bit nippier than normal, so you’ll want a thicker suit.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 19mm), heaviest on Sun night. Very mild (max 13°C on Sat morning, min 6°C on Mon night). Winds increasing (light winds from the SE on Sat morning, strong winds from the SSW by Sun afternoon). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 10mm), heaviest on Tue afternoon. Very mild (max 12°C on Thu morning, min 7°C on Tue morning). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the SSW on Tue night, light winds from the W by Thu night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 15 | Sunday 16 | Monday 17 | Tuesday 18 | Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | |||||||||||||||
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) | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | E 9 | E 9 | SSW 9 | S 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | S 8 | S 10 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 14 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | S 10 | S 11 | S 15 | S 13 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 560 | 381 | 567 | 334 | 1455 | 2740 | 2365 | 1966 | 1407 | 691 | 2095 | 7062 | 7415 | 5329 | 5223 | 675 | 417 | 434 | 354 | 627 | 335 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | on | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | off | off | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 7:33PM1.63m | 8:00AM1.52m | 8:25PM1.59m | 8:52AM1.50m | 9:15PM1.53m | 9:43AM1.47m | 10:05PM1.47m | 10:32AM1.44m | 10:54PM1.41m | 11:21AM1.41m | 11:42PM1.35m | 12:09PM1.38m | 00:30AM1.31m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 1:19PM0.03m | 1:55AM0.03m | 2:14PM0.05m | 2:46AM0.06m | 3:07PM0.10m | 3:36AM0.10m | 3:58PM0.15m | 4:23AM0.15m | 4:48PM0.20m | 5:10AM0.21m | 5:37PM0.25m | 5:56AM0.26m | 6:25PM0.30m | ||||||||
 | |  | | |  |  | |  |  |  | | | | |  | |  | | | | |
 | 7:00 | — | — | 6:58 | — | — | 6:58 | — | — | 6:56 | — | — | 6:54 | — | — | 6:54 | — | — | 6:52 | — | — |
 | — | 5:31 | — | — | 5:32 | — | — | 5:34 | — | — | 5:35 | — | — | 5:36 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — |
mm | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 3 | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 13 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 10 |
Feels °C | 10 | 11 | 10 | 0 | -2 | -1 | -1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | -2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 7 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 10 | E 11 | SSE 9 | SE 9 | ENE 10 | — | S 12 | S 11 | S 14 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | S 10 | S 11 | S 15 | S 13 |
| kJ | 560 | 381 | 567 | 334 | 304 | 355 | 198 | 178 | 1141 | 328 | 19 | — | 4712 | 3074 | 2125 | 675 | 417 | 434 | 354 | 627 | 335 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 13 | ESE 7 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | S 16 | SSW 19 | SSW 16 | S 16 | E 10 | ENE 10 | — | — | — | ESE 14 | SE 9 | SE 11 | S 12 | ESE 8 | S 16 | ESE 11 | SE 10 |
| kJ | 17 | 104 | 64 | 94 | 20 | 119 | 89 | 45 | 106 | 31 | — | — | — | 18 | 281 | 5 | 106 | 44 | 321 | 75 | 54 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 18 | ESE 13 | SSW 18 | — | S 19 | — | — | — | SSW 14 | E 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | SE 11 | SE 11 | ESE 10 | — | — |
| kJ | 6 | 18 | 182 | — | 29 | — | — | — | 68 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 30 | 29 | 72 | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | SSW 6 | SSW 9 | S 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | S 8 | S 10 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | 201 | 1455 | 2740 | 2365 | 1966 | 1407 | 691 | 2095 | 7062 | 7415 | 5329 | 5223 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 113 | 3 | 3 | 42 | 212 | 162 | 261 | 255 | 3 | 42 | 257 | 257 | 39 | 42 | 23 | 3 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Hawkes Bay | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Red Island 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 Red Island Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Red Island provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Red Island can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Red Island 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 (Red Island) 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 Red Island 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.
Red Island is 27 km (17 miles) from the city of Hastings. If you plan a holiday in Hawkes Bay, look for hotels and other accommodation in Hastings. Hastings has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest