Surf Forecasts:
Redhead surf forecast from 17 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 19 Aug, 1AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 8s period, ESE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 19 Aug, 7PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 9s period, ESE swell with 225 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 19 Aug, 1AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 8s period with ESE 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 Wednesday (Aug 19) at 1AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.0m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 0.6m and 11s. Another secondary swell of 0.9m and 5s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Redhead in the next 16 days are 1.1m 9s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 7PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.3m 7s period and expected on Tuesday (Aug 25) at 4AM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 1AM (Wed 19th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 8s |
| Best Surf | 1AM (Wed 19th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 8s |
| Most Powerful | 7PM (Wed 19th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Redhead over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, let’s look at what’s on the table for the next couple of weeks. Honestly, it’s grim – the finder doesn’t give us a single good option across the whole 16-day window. That’s a long, quiet patch for Redhead. This kind of dead run happens here sometimes, so don’t get too down – the ocean will wake up again.
The first and only time you might want to bother is Wednesday morning, the 19th of August. We’ve got a glassy start with a light breeze out of the NNE, and the swell is running at 2 ft from the ESE with a period of 10 seconds – that’s a long-period groundswell, so it’ll have some grunt and shape. The combined energy is moderate (160). The water’s at 63°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year – that 1° anomaly is noticeable. Redhead is a reef break, fairly consistent, and it likes a NE swell best, but this ESE direction is a bit off. Still, this is the only morning that’s even worth a look. By Wednesday afternoon, a 12 mph cross-shore messes it up, so forget that.
Thursday morning the 20th of August gives you another slim chance: 3 ft swell from the ESE, short period of 7 seconds, but with a light offshore wind out of the NNW, it’ll be clean. The combined energy is weak (68). It’s surfable, but nothing special. From Friday the 21st right through to Monday the 1st of September, the swell drops to waist-high or smaller – 2 ft and below – with periods of 6 to 9 seconds. The winds are mostly cross-on or onshore, and the energy numbers are all in the teens or single digits. There’s nothing to chase.
The last entry on Monday the 31st of August afternoon shows a bump in swell to 4 ft from the SE with a 10-second period and strong combined energy (363), but the wind is onshore southerly at 15 mph, and the conditions are poor. That’s a choppy, windy mess.
So, the bottom line: no standout sessions in this 16-day stretch. The 19th of August morning is your best bet, but it’s not a classic. The rest is a write-off. Forecasts can shift, but for now, it’s a waiting game.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 3mm), mostly falling on Tue morning. Warm (max 21°C on Thu morning, min 14°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 9mm), mostly falling on Fri night. Warm (max 20°C on Thu night, min 13°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 18 | Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | Sunday 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) | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | E 6 | E 6 | ENE 6 | SE 7 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 8 | SSE 16 | SE 5 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 132 | 124 | 124 | 125 | 92 | 214 | 169 | 68 | 45 | 51 | 20 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | glassy | cross | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | glassy | off | cross-off | on | cross-on | cross-off | cross | off |
High Tide | 11:36PM1.12m | 12:11PM1.19m | 00:18AM0.98m | 12:58PM1.15m | 1:07AM0.85m | 1:53PM1.11m | 2:10AM0.75m | 2:56PM1.09m | 3:39AM0.70m | 4:02PM1.11m | 5:05AM0.73m | 4:58PM1.15m | |||||||
Low Tide | 5:50AM0.23m | 6:34PM0.35m | 6:28AM0.31m | 7:34PM0.41m | 7:08AM0.37m | 8:46PM0.45m | 7:56AM0.43m | 10:07PM0.44m | 8:53AM0.46m | 11:14PM0.39m | 9:56AM0.46m | 00:00AM0.32m | |||||||
 |  |  |  |  | |  | |  |  | | |  | | | | | | | |
 | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — |
 | — | — | 5:25 | — | — | 5:25 | — | — | 5:27 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:29 | — |
mm | — | 2 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 |
Feels °C | 12 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 12 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 8 | S 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 7 | S 8 | ESE 9 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | E 6 | E 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | S 5 | SSE 5 | S 8 |
| kJ | 35 | 34 | 124 | 125 | 86 | 12 | 169 | 68 | 45 | 51 | 20 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 23 | 28 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 12 | S 12 | S 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | — | E 12 | E 11 | E 10 | E 10 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | S 5 | S 5 | S 8 | ENE 8 | S 9 | SE 5 |
| kJ | 25 | 10 | 55 | 85 | 92 | — | 3 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 25 | 10 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 11 | SE 15 | SE 14 | S 10 | S 9 | S 15 | E 12 | — | — | S 13 | S 11 | S 11 | S 5 | SE 7 | S 9 | S 6 | S 8 | SSE 16 | S 12 |
| kJ | 12 | 9 | 47 | 30 | 26 | 4 | 3 | — | — | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 51 | 47 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | — | E 5 | — | ESE 10 | NE 4 | — | ENE 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | NNW 2 | — | — | — |
| kJ | 132 | 124 | — | 45 | — | 214 | 28 | — | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 106 | 86 | 212 | 0 | 0 | 124 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 9 | 10 | 176 | 186 | 176 | 253 | 119 | 24 | 214 | 9 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Newcastle | |||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||
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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 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.
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