Surf Forecasts:
Rolling Stones surf forecast from 22 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 28 Jul, 9PM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 14s period, SE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 26 Jul, 3AM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 12s period, SSW swell with 3,267 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 22 Jul, 9PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 13s period with S swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Rolling Stones this week:
The surf forecast for Rolling Stones over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 22) at 9PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.1m and 13s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 11s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Rolling Stones in the next 16 days are 3.5m 12s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Jul 26) at 3AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.3m 6s period and expected on Saturday (Jul 25) at 3AM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 9PM (Wed 22nd Jul) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 13s |
| Best Surf | 9PM (Tue 28th Jul) | 5ft (1.5m) 14s |
| Most Powerful | 3AM (Sun 26th Jul) | 11ft (3.5m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Rolling Stones over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G’day, Rusty here. The forecast is a bit of a mixed bag for the Rolling Stones, but there are a couple of clean windows to get excited about.
First up, the water’s running at 55°, which is a good chunk colder than normal for this time of year. So, if you’re heading out, you’ll want that extra rubber.
The week kicks off with a solid pulse on Wednesday the 22nd. We’ve got a clean 4ft swell from the south, with a long 12-second period, offering up some proper energy. The morning is glassy – absolutely perfect. That’s the standout for the early part of the week. The afternoon holds similar clean 4ft surf, also glassy. Very good.
Thursday the 23rd is a step down. The swell drops to 3ft in the morning and 2ft in the arvo, with a cross-off wind. It’s clean, but small. Then Friday the 24th is a write-off – tiny 1ft surf. Not worth paddling out for.
The weekend gets messy. We see a big spike in swell on Saturday the 25th, with a 6ft windswell from the WSW, but the wind is howling at 25 mph from the southwest, creating a messy cross-chop. Sunday the 26th has a massive 12ft groundswell from the SSW, but it’s cross-shore and messy. That’s expert-only territory, and only if you’re desperate. The wind is no good for a paddle.
Early the next week, Monday the 27th and Tuesday the 28th have some size (7ft and 5ft), but the wind is from the wrong side, making for choppy, bumpy conditions. Not the cleanest.
Now, here’s the real highlight. On Wednesday the 29th, the conditions finally line up. The swell drops to a clean 5ft from the southeast (13 seconds), and the morning is glassy – absolutely perfect. The afternoon stays glassy as well. That’s your best window in the entire outlook. Get in the water then.
The end of the month and into August gets blown out again. The 30th and 31st have swell, but the wind is strong and onshore. A massive 20ft swell hits on Sunday the 2nd of August, but it’s a cross-onshore disaster. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on those days.
The final few days of the outlook (August 3rd to 6th) show a return to smaller, cleaner conditions. The morning of the 4th has glassy 4ft surf, and the 5th also has glassy 4ft surf. Good, clean fun to finish the run.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastSome drizzle, heaviest during Fri night. Very mild (max 15°C on Fri afternoon, min 7°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 3mm), mostly falling on Sun morning. Very mild (max 13°C on Sat morning, min 5°C on Sun night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the SW on Sat afternoon, light winds from the WSW by Sat night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | Friday 24 | Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | Monday 27 | Tuesday 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) | S 12 | S 12 | S 13 | S 12 | S 12 | SSW 10 | S 10 | S 9 | E 12 | E 11 | WSW 6 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | S 11 | S 9 | S 9 | ESE 14 | ESE 14 | SE 14 | SE 14 | SE 13 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 501 | 342 | 326 | 180 | 75 | 34 | 30 | 26 | 73 | 154 | 219 | 2460 | 2767 | 1397 | 1306 | 734 | 1080 | 1034 | 961 | 907 | 792 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | glassy | off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 11:59AM1.65m | 00:24AM1.62m | 12:54PM1.62m | 1:14AM1.58m | 1:46PM1.61m | 2:03AM1.55m | 2:36PM1.59m | 2:51AM1.51m | 3:22PM1.58m | 3:37AM1.48m | 4:08PM1.56m | 4:23AM1.45m | 4:53PM1.55m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 6:15PM0.36m | 6:39AM0.36m | 7:08PM0.42m | 7:27AM0.42m | 8:00PM0.47m | 8:15AM0.47m | 8:50PM0.50m | 9:04AM0.48m | 9:37PM0.50m | 9:53AM0.48m | 10:23PM0.49m | 10:40AM0.45m | 11:08PM0.46m | ||||||||
 | |  | |  |  | | |  | | | |  |  | | | | | | | | |
 | 7:20 | — | — | 7:18 | — | — | 7:18 | — | — | 7:18 | — | — | 7:16 | — | — | 7:16 | — | — | 7:15 | — | — |
 | — | 5:09 | — | — | 5:09 | — | — | 5:10 | — | — | 5:12 | — | — | 5:13 | — | — | 5:14 | — | — | 5:15 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 10 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 |
Feels °C | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 12 | S 12 | S 13 | S 12 | S 12 | ENE 5 | ENE 6 | ENE 8 | E 12 | E 11 | E 11 | SE 16 | S 12 | ESE 14 | ESE 13 | S 9 | S 9 | ESE 14 | SE 14 | SE 14 | SE 13 |
| kJ | 501 | 342 | 326 | 180 | 75 | 12 | 12 | 27 | 73 | 154 | 151 | 201 | 2128 | 332 | 304 | 734 | 528 | 1034 | 961 | 907 | 792 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 10 | SE 11 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SSE 11 | SSW 10 | S 10 | S 9 | S 9 | NE 6 | SE 17 | E 11 | ESE 14 | E 12 | E 12 | ESE 13 | ESE 14 | S 9 | S 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 |
| kJ | 28 | 29 | 34 | 30 | 37 | 34 | 30 | 26 | 6 | 11 | 107 | 82 | 367 | 73 | 11 | 669 | 1080 | 408 | 325 | 289 | 243 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | E 4 | SE 11 | SSE 11 | ESE 10 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SE 18 | S 18 | SSW 16 | E 12 | SW 15 | E 12 | — | S 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 |
| kJ | — | — | — | 1 | 18 | 22 | 10 | 20 | 5 | 13 | 25 | 25 | 95 | 60 | 11 | — | 16 | 60 | 47 | 25 | 11 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | ENE 3 | NNW 2 | NNW 3 | NNW 3 | NE 5 | W 4 | WSW 6 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | S 11 | S 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 68 | 18 | 219 | 2460 | 2767 | 1397 | 1306 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 45 | 3 | 1 | 508 | 41 | 1 | 93 | 41 | 33 | 95 | 47 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Gisborne and Mahia | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Rolling Stones Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Rolling Stones provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Rolling Stones can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Rolling Stones 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 (Rolling Stones) 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 Rolling Stones 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.
Rolling Stones is 48 km (30 miles) from the city of Gisborne. If you plan a holiday in Gisborne and Mahia, look for hotels and other accommodation in Gisborne. Gisborne has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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