Redhead Surf Break

Lat Long: 33.02° S 151.72° E

Redhead Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 9 am 08 Jul 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Redhead sea temperature is
18.7° C
0.1° 

Redhead surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


Redhead surf forecast from 8 Jul 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Thursday 9 Jul, 10PM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 10s period, SE swell with glassy winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Wednesday 8 Jul, 4PM (local time) - 8ft (2.4m), 11s period, SE swell with 1,227 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 9 Jul, 10PM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 10s period with SE 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 Thursday (Jul 09) at 10PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.8m 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 2.4m 11s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 08) at 4PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.9m 11s period and expected on Wednesday (Jul 08) at 7PM.

Wave TypeTime (AEST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+)10PM (Thu 9th Jul)6ft (1.8m) 10s
Best Surf10PM (Thu 9th Jul)6ft (1.8m) 10s
Most Powerful 4PM (Wed 8th Jul)8ft (2.4m) 11s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Redhead over the next 16 days.


Righto, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up at Redhead. It’s a bit of a mixed bag to start, but there’s a real flash of something special if you’re patient.

We kick off Wednesday the 8th of July, and honestly, it’s a write-off. We’ve got a solid 8 ft swell rolling in from the southeast, with a period of 11 seconds, giving a strong 1627 combined energy, but the wind is on it from the SSE at 12 mph, making it messy. The water temp is sitting at 66°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year. Don’t bother paddling out Wednesday.

Thursday the 9th is still no good. The swell drops a touch to 7 ft, but we’ve still got that cross-on wind. It’s just not clean enough. The energy drops to 856, which tells you it’s losing its grunt anyway.

Then we get to Friday the 10th of July, and this is where it gets interesting. The morning shows the swell settling at 5 ft, still from the southeast with a 9-second period, but the wind swings to a light westerly, giving us a clean, cross-off breeze. It’s a proper surf window. The afternoon is even better – the wind drops to glassy, with the same 5 ft swell and 10-second period (energy 517). That’s your first standout. Redhead is a reef, and with a longish 10-second period on a southeast swell, it should offer up some nice, lined-up waves. The swell direction is from the southeast, and the optimum for this break is northeast, so it’s a touch off-angle, but with glassy conditions, it’ll still be fun. It’s fairly consistent too, so you won’t be waiting forever.

Saturday the 11th of July keeps the good run going. The morning has clean 4 ft swell with a nice westerly offshore at 9 mph. That’s going to be tidy. It’s a beginner-friendly size, so a good day for a wider crew. The afternoon drops to 3 ft with a 12 mph offshore, still clean, but getting small. Crowds can be a thing here sometimes, so get in early Saturday morning if you want a quieter paddle.

Sunday the 12th of July through to the end of the 16-day period is where the surf really dries up. From Sunday onwards, we’re looking at tiny, sub-2 ft swell with weak energy readings dropping to 87 and below. The wind stays clean from the west and northwest, but there’s just no push. There’s a solid gap of poor to no surf from Sunday the 12th right through to the 23rd of July. We see a tiny blip on the 19th with a 1 ft, 12-second groundswell from the southeast, but the energy is only 38, and it won’t be rideable on a reef like Redhead. The 23rd has a tiny uptick to 2 ft, but the wind is cross-on, so nothing to get excited about.

So, to sum it up: the only real window to score is Friday the 10th afternoon and Saturday the 11th morning. Friday afternoon with that glassy 5 ft southeast swell is the pick of the bunch – clean, lined-up, and fun. Saturday morning with the offshore breeze is your second-best call. After that, it’s a long, quiet stretch. Keep an eye on the forecasts, but for now, make plans for Friday.

Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Heavy rain (total 21mm), heaviest during Wed night. Very mild (max 17°C on Wed morning, min 10°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light.

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Mostly dry. Very mild (max 17°C on Sat afternoon, min 8°C on Sun night). Mainly fresh winds.

Wednesday
8
Thursday
9
Friday
10
Saturday
11
Sunday
12
Monday
13
Tuesday
14
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
1
1
1
1
0
1
2
2
2
2
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
2.5
SE
11
2.4
SE
11
1.6
ESE
12
2.1
SE
10
1.8
SE
10
1.7
SE
9
1.6
SE
9
1.6
SE
10
1.4
SE
10
1.1
SE
9
0.8
ESE
11
0.9
ESE
10
0.7
ESE
10
0.6
ESE
10
0.3
ESE
10
0.2
ESE
9
0.1
SE
8
0.1
E
8
0.1
E
10
0.1
E
10
0.1
E
10
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
1377
1227
710
809
602
502
433
517
373
202
133
151
86
63
18
8
3
1
2
2
2
Wind (km/h)
20
SSE
20
S
10
SSE
10
S
15
SSE
5
SW
10
W
5
SSW
10
NW
15
NW
20
NW
25
NW
35
WNW
30
W
20
NW
25
NW
25
WNW
25
NW
20
WNW
20
NW
25
WNW
Wind State
on
cross-on
on
cross-on
on
cross-on
cross-off
glassy
off
off
off
off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
off
cross-off
High Tide
2:23PM1.21m
2:29AM1.04m
3:25PM1.28m
3:45AM0.97m
4:29PM1.36m
5:06AM0.95m
5:32PM1.45m
6:18AM0.96m
6:30PM1.53m
7:19AM0.99m
7:23PM1.60m
8:12AM1.03m
8:14PM1.64m
Low Tide
8:43PM0.46m
8:44AM0.34m
9:59PM0.42m
9:40AM0.35m
11:16PM0.34m
10:39AM0.35m
00:25AM0.24m
11:40AM0.33m
1:24AM0.15m
12:40PM0.30m
2:16AM0.07m
1:37PM0.26m
3:03AM0.03m
rain showers
rain showers
mod rain
rain showers
part cloud
rain showers
rain showers
cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:56
6:56
6:54
6:54
6:54
6:54
6:54
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:00
5:00
5:00
5:00
5:01
5:01
5:02
 mm
2
1
10
3
4
1
Temp °C
17
16
15
15
16
14
14
14
13
16
17
14
16
16
11
16
17
11
17
18
12
Feels °C
13
12
13
13
13
13
13
13
11
12
13
10
9
9
7
10
10
5
12
13
6
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for Redhead:

join our community of surf reporters

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 locationNearest