Surf Forecasts:
Rhino Head surf forecast from 22 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 27 Aug, 3PM (local time) - 6ft (1.9m), 19s period, SW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 27 Aug, 6PM (local time) - 6.5ft (2.0m), 19s period, SW swell with 2,772 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 22 Aug, 3PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 15s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Rhino Head this week:
The surf forecast for Rhino Head over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 22) at 3PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.6m and 15s period with a secondary swell of 0.6m and 21s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Rhino Head in the next 16 days are 2.0m 19s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 27) at 6PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.5m 4s period and expected on Thursday (Aug 27) at 3PM.
| Wave Type | Time (ACST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 3PM (Sat 22nd Aug) | 5ft (1.6m) 15s |
| Best Surf | 3PM (Thu 27th Aug) | 6ft (1.9m) 19s |
| Most Powerful | 6PM (Thu 27th Aug) | 6.5ft (2.0m) 19s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Rhino Head over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here with a look at what we’ve got coming down the line. It’s a solid run of surf ahead, with a couple absolute crackers if you play your cards right.
The main story is a long-lived southwest groundswell that sets in right away and keeps pumping for over a week. The energy builds quick and we’ve got some real heavy water at times, so this isn’t one for the soft-top crew. The biggest call of the whole period is Thursday the 27th afternoon—that’s the standout.
We kick off with Rhino Head this Saturday morning, the 22nd. Clean 6ft SW swell with 15-second period, light cross-off breeze, and a combined energy reading of 1360. The water temp here is sitting at 59°, only 0.5° above normal, about average for this time of year. Saturday afternoon looks just as clean but drops to 5ft. Rhino Head is a sheltered reef break, and winds from the WSW stay cross-off, so the shape should be well groomed.
Sunday morning the 23rd gets a little dicey with a cross-shore wind making things bumpy, but Sunday afternoon swings back clean with 5ft SW groundswell and a period up to 16 seconds, proper long lines. The wind goes light and cross-off from the north. Nice little session if you can grab it.
Monday the 24th is a write-off—rain, onshore winds, weak and messy. Tuesday the 25th is bigger but messy too, with fresh cross-shore winds and lumpy conditions, energy spikes up into the thousands but no quality to go with it. Not worth paddling out.
Now here’s your first real highlight. Wednesday morning the 26th: glassy. A 4ft SW swell with 13-second period, and the combined energy is 425, but with the winds dead calm from the NNW and glassy conditions, this will be a super clean session if you’re after something fun and easy. Not big, but silky smooth.
Thursday the 27th afternoon—remember this one. The swell jumps to 6ft from the SW with a very long 19-second period, the combined energy is 2784, and we’ve got a light north breeze blowing cross-off. Clean, powerful, and lined up. The data says this is for experienced surfers, and I’d back that—this is the pick of the whole run. If you’re competent, don’t miss it.
Friday the 28th holds 5-6ft SW swell but the winds go a little cross-on or cross, so the quality drops off. Still surfable but not the day to book off work.
The next week opens up with glassy conditions again on Sunday the 30th morning—4ft SSW swell, 14-second period, offshore light airs. Calm, clean, small. Then Monday the 31st is another standout: 6ft SSW swell with a 19-second period, combined energy of 2390, and light cross-off from the NNW. Excellent conditions for experienced surfers once more. The afternoon stays clean and offshore from the WNW.
Tuesday the 1st of September and Wednesday the 2nd drop off in size but stay clean, with offshore tendencies—good for a longboard or a fun little cruiser session.
From Thursday the 3rd into the 4th, the wind turns onshore and cross-shore and the quality tanks. Then the weekend of the 5th and 6th sees the swell blow up huge—10ft on Saturday the 5th afternoon, combined energy over 5000—but it’s onshore and choppy, too big for most and messy. Sunday the 6th is still big at 8ft, but the wind goes cross-off and clean, so if you’re an expert and you’re chasing big clean lines, that could be your wildcard.
So to boil it down: Thursday 27th afternoon is the absolute standout—big, clean, long-period groundswell, light offshore breeze, strong energy. Monday 31st runs a close second. For smaller clean fun, Wednesday 26th morning and Sunday 30th morning have glassy, groomed conditions.
Stay safe, read the sets, and I’ll see you in the water.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 26mm), heaviest during Mon afternoon. Very mild (max 16°C on Sun night, min 12°C on Sat night). Winds increasing (calm on Sun night, fresh winds from the S by Mon night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummarySome drizzle, heaviest during Tue morning. Very mild (max 17°C on Thu night, min 12°C on Tue night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the S on Tue morning, calm by Tue night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 22 | Sunday 23 | Monday 24 | Tuesday 25 | Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 15 | SW 21 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 14 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
1306 | 1140 | 1045 | 1433 | 1018 | 496 | 297 | 191 | 222 | 1273 | 1158 | 731 | 394 | 277 | 114 | 467 | 2527 | 2600 | 1504 | 1224 | 701 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross | cross-off | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | glassy | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on |
High Tide | 12:20PM0.72m | 12:56PM0.79m | 3:38AM0.37m | 1:22PM0.86m | 2:36AM0.40m | 1:44PM0.90m | 2:26AM0.46m | 2:05PM0.93m | 2:32AM0.53m | 2:25PM0.93m | 2:45AM0.61m | ||||||||||
Low Tide | 10:07PM0.15m | 9:39PM0.15m | 9:15PM0.15m | 5:30AM0.36m | 9:03PM0.14m | 6:37AM0.29m | 8:59PM0.13m | 7:15AM0.22m | 9:00PM0.11m | 7:48AM0.16m | 9:04PM0.10m | ||||||||||
6:54 | — | — | 6:54 | — | — | 6:52 | — | — | 6:52 | — | — | 6:50 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | |
— | 5:54 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:55 | — | — | 5:57 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:59 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 14 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 15 |
Feels °C | 12 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 12 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SSW 13 | SW 16 | SSW 15 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 14 |
1306 | 1140 | 1045 | 1433 | 1018 | 496 | 297 | 191 | 222 | 886 | 334 | 731 | 394 | 277 | 114 | 295 | 2527 | 2600 | 1504 | 1224 | 701 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 24 | SSW 21 | SSW 19 | — | — | — | SW 20 | SW 19 | SW 18 | — | WSW 7 | — | SSW 18 | SSW 16 | SW 15 | SW 21 | WSW 14 | — | — | — | — |
54 | 302 | 465 | — | — | — | 15 | 57 | 154 | — | 26 | — | 31 | 26 | 107 | 467 | 257 | — | — | — | — | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | SW 20 | — | ESE 4 | — | — | — | — | — | SW 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | 15 | — | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | E 3 | E 4 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSE 4 | — | — | — | NNW 4 | N 4 | — | — | — | SE 3 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 7 | 1273 | 1158 | 6 | — | — | — | 5 | 7 | — | — | — | 2 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 81 | 28 | 522 | 44 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 83 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 12 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Yorke Peninsula | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Rhino Head Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Rhino Head provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Rhino Head can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Rhino Head 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 (Rhino Head) 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 Rhino Head 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 Yorke Peninsula? If you are looking for accommodation near Rhino Head, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Yorke Peninsula, consider staying in Kingscote which is 75 km (47 miles) away.











