Surf Forecasts:
Redhead surf forecast from 17 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 20 Jul, 7AM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 10s period, E swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 19 Jul, 4AM (local time) - 7ft (2.1m), 11s period, E swell with 1,056 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 20 Jul, 7AM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 10s period with E swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Redhead this week:
The surf forecast for Redhead over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Monday (Jul 20) at 7AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.5m and 10s period. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Redhead in the next 16 days are 2.1m 11s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Jul 19) at 4AM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 2.0m 8s period and expected on Thursday (Jul 23) at 10PM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 7AM (Mon 20th Jul) | 5ft (1.5m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 7AM (Mon 20th Jul) | 5ft (1.5m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 4AM (Sun 19th Jul) | 7ft (2.1m) 11s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Redhead over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for the next couple of weeks.
You know, I gotta be straight with you – for the first week, it’s a bit of a tough watch. The weekend of the 18th and 19th is pretty much a write-off. Saturday the 18th has onshore wind and short-period, messy swell coming in from the southeast, giving us poor surf conditions. Sunday the 19th is a little bigger but still all chopped up and onshore.
The first real shining light in this whole 16-day window hits on Monday the 20th. That morning, the wind drops right out to glassy. We’ve got a 5ft east swell rolling in with a period of 10 seconds, generating moderate wave energy (412). That’s the best you’re gonna see for a while. The swell direction is east, and the spot is Redhead, a reef break that is fairly exposed to the swell and likes it from the northeast. The east direction is a bit off its optimum, but it’s still the standout. The water temperature is about average for the time of year. Just a heads up – it’s not a massive swell, but it’s clean, and that’s gold.
Tuesday the 21st still has a bit of life in the morning with a 4ft east swell, clean conditions, and light offshore wind from the NNW. The wave energy is moderate (245). It’s surfable, but ordinary. The afternoon gets a bit messy again.
After that, things taper off hard. Wednesday the 22nd drops to 2ft. Thursday the 23rd is a tiny 2ft, and then Friday the 24th is barely a ripple with 1ft. From midday Thursday the 24th all the way through to the end of the forecast on August 2nd, it’s a real desert. There are long gaps of several days with nothing worth paddling out for. You get a few tiny pulses here and there – like a 1ft on the 28th – but the energy is pathetic, with values in the single digits. There’s a little 0.3ft on the 1st of August with a very long period of 18 seconds, but it’s too small and too weak to do anything with.
So, the verdict: Your best and really only bet is Monday morning the 20th of July. Get it while it’s glassy and clean. The rest of the run is a long, flat spell.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastSome drizzle, heaviest during Fri night. Very mild (max 17°C on Sat morning, min 15°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 19°C on Wed morning, min 11°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 18 | Sunday 19 | Monday 20 | Tuesday 21 | Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | ||||||||||||||
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 7 | SE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 9 | E 11 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | ENE 10 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | E 9 | S 5 | ENE 8 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 140 | 173 | 191 | 612 | 890 | 637 | 524 | 402 | 353 | 296 | 235 | 192 | 154 | 86 | 64 | 62 | 38 | 73 | 23 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross-on | glassy | cross | off | off | cross | off | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-on | on | cross-on |
High Tide | 10:35PM1.50m | 11:18AM1.16m | 11:20PM1.38m | 12:05PM1.16m | 00:05AM1.24m | 12:54PM1.16m | 00:53AM1.09m | 1:47PM1.15m | 1:46AM0.96m | 2:45PM1.15m | 2:48AM0.85m | 3:47PM1.16m | |||||||
Low Tide | 5:14AM0.08m | 5:08PM0.29m | 5:55AM0.14m | 6:03PM0.35m | 6:36AM0.21m | 7:01PM0.41m | 7:17AM0.28m | 8:06PM0.46m | 8:00AM0.34m | 9:19PM0.47m | 8:46AM0.38m | 10:37PM0.45m | |||||||
 |  |  |  | |  | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | 6:52 | — | — | 6:52 | — | — | 6:52 | — | — | 6:50 | — | — | 6:50 | — | — | 6:50 | — | — |
 | — | — | 5:05 | — | — | 5:06 | — | — | 5:06 | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:07 | — |
mm | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 |
Temp °C | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
Feels °C | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 13 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 7 | SSE 21 | S 10 | S 9 | E 11 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | ENE 10 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | E 9 | ENE 8 | SSE 8 |
| kJ | 93 | 43 | 29 | 24 | 890 | 637 | 524 | 402 | 353 | 296 | 235 | 192 | 154 | 86 | 64 | 62 | 38 | 24 | 534 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 8 | S 21 | SSE 20 | SSE 19 | SSE 18 | SSE 16 | S 13 | S 12 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 11 | S 10 | E 8 | ENE 8 |
| kJ | 49 | 35 | 39 | 70 | 102 | 87 | 125 | 144 | 139 | 86 | 58 | 54 | 31 | 30 | 17 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 23 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 21 | — | S 18 | SSE 19 | S 8 | S 8 | SE 16 | SE 16 | SE 15 | S 15 | SE 16 | SSE 15 | SSE 14 | — | — | — | — | S 17 | S 14 |
| kJ | 8 | — | 6 | 69 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 21 | 20 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 16 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 7 | SE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | NE 3 | NE 5 | — | — | SW 3 | SSW 4 | S 5 | — |
| kJ | 140 | 173 | 191 | 612 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 35 | — | — | 1 | 5 | 73 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 3 | 156 | 167 | 155 | 100 | 84 | 13 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 79 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 3 | 9 | 32 | 3 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Newcastle | |||||||||||||||||||
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 Redhead 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 Redhead Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Redhead provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Redhead can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Redhead 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 (Redhead) 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 Redhead 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.
Are you planning a holiday in Newcastle? If you are looking for accommodation near Redhead, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Newcastle, consider staying in Newcastle which is 12 km (7 miles) away. Other places in and around Newcastle where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Catherine Hill Bay which is 19 km (12 miles) away, Cessnock, Port Stephens and Central Coast.
Nearest