Ruakaka 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

Lat Long: 35.91° S 174.46° E

Issued: 5 am 18 Jul 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's Ruakaka sea temperature is

15.8° C

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

Surf Forecasts:

How big are the waves at Ruakaka today (18 Jul):

Morning surf: Morning surf (18 Jul, local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 14s period with ESE swell.
Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (18 Jul, local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 14s period with ESE swell.
Evening surf: Evening surf (18 Jul, local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 14s period with ESE swell.

The current surf forecast for Ruakaka at 10AM is: 0.7m 14s primary swell from a East-southeast direction and 0.2m 9s secondary swell from a North-northeast direction (forecast issued at 05:00am July 18). An open ocean swell of 0.4m 3s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore.

Time (NZST) & Date	Wave Height	Wave Period
Morning (18 Jul)	2.5ft (0.7m)	14s
Afternoon (18 Jul)	2.5ft (0.7m)	14s
Evening (18 Jul)	2ft (0.6m)	14s

Table - waves today at Ruakaka. (Swell directed towards the surf break)

	Short Range Forecast Moderate rain (total 14mm), heaviest on Mon night. Very mild (max 14°C on Mon night, min 11°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light.
	Saturday 18							Sunday 19								Monday 20
	3 AM	6 AM	9 AM	12 PM	3 PM	6 PM	9 PM	12 AM	3 AM	6 AM	9 AM	12 PM	3 PM	6 PM	9 PM	12 AM	3 AM	6 AM	9 AM	12 PM	3 PM	6 PM	9 PM
Rating (10 max)	2	2	1	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s)	ESE 15	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 13	ESE 13	ESE 13	ESE 13	ESE 13	ESE 13	ESE 12	ESE 12	ESE 12	ESE 12	ESE 12	E 5
Wave Graph
kJ	284	280	218	215	215	160	158	156	154	111	108	101	99	99	98	96	64	59	58	57	56	56	61
Wind (km/h)	WSW	WSW	SW	SW	WSW	SW	W	WSW	WSW	WSW	SW	SW	SW	SW	W	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	S	SSW	E
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross	cross	on
High Tide				10:28AM2.66m				10:51PM2.82m				11:16AM2.63m				11:38PM2.74m					12:03PM2.56m
Low Tide		4:15AM0.40m				4:28PM0.37m				5:03AM0.42m				5:16PM0.49m				5:50AM0.48m					6:04PM0.63m


	—	7:28	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7:28	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7:26	—	—	—	—	—
	—	—	—	—	5:28	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:29	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:29	—	—
mm	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	1	1
Temp °C	11	11	12	12	13	12	12	12	13	12	13	13	13	13	12	12	11	12	13	13	13	13	13
Feels °C	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	9	11	10	10	10	10	11	10	10	9	10	11	12	12	12	11
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	ESE 15	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 14	ESE 13	ESE 13	ESE 13	ESE 13	ESE 13	ESE 13	ESE 12	ESE 12	ESE 12	ESE 12	ESE 12	ESE 12
kJ	284	280	218	215	215	160	158	156	154	111	108	101	99	99	98	96	64	59	58	57	56	56	56
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	NNE 10	NE 10	NNE 10	NNE 9	NNE 9	NNE 9	N 9	N 9	N 9	N 8	N 8	N 8	N 8	N 8	N 8	N 8	N 8	N 8	N 8	N 8	NNE 8	N 8	N 8
kJ	9	4	9	8	8	8	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	6	6
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	—	N 8	—	—	—	N 8	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	N 6	—	—	—	—	—
kJ	—	1	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	—
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SW 3	SSW 3	SSW 3	SSW 3	SW 3	SW 3	SW 3	SW 3	SW 3	SW 3	SW 3	SSW 3	SW 3	SW 3	SW 3	SSW 3	SW 2	SW 2	SW 3	SSW 2	ESE 4	E 4	E 5
kJ	2	3	4	3	3	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	5	5	2	1	1	2	1	1	5	28	61
Nearest Offshore or Glassy	Ruakaka Northland	Ruakaka Northland	Ruakaka Northland	Ruakaka Northland	Waipu River Northland	Ruakaka Northland	Ruakaka Northland	Ruakaka Northland	Ruakaka Northland	Ruakaka Northland	Ruakaka Northland	Ruakaka Northland	Ruakaka Northland	Ruakaka Northland	Ruakaka Northland	Ruakaka Northland	Ocean Beach (Whangarei) Northland	Ocean Beach (Whangarei) Northland	Ocean Beach (Whangarei) Northland	Ocean Beach (Whangarei) Northland	Pataua Northland	Waipu River Northland	Moureeses Northland
Rating (10 max)	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Distance (km)	0	0	0	0	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	14	14	14	23	9	50
Best forecast wave conditions in Northland	Takou Bay	Takou Bay	Takou Bay	Takou Bay	Fairway Reef	Fairway Reef	Matauri Bay	Fairway Reef	Fairway Reef	Fairway Reef	Fairway Reef	Fairway Reef	Takou Bay	Takou Bay	Takou Bay	Takou Bay	Takou Bay	Takou Bay	Takou Bay	Takou Bay	Takou Bay	Takou Bay	Takou Bay
Rating (10 max)	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand	Blaketown Wedge West Coast South Island	Blaketown Wedge West Coast South Island	Blaketown Wedge West Coast South Island	Otago Peninsula - Papanui Beach Otago	Papatowai Catlins	Shingles West Coast South Island	Shingles West Coast South Island	Blaketown Wedge West Coast South Island	Otago Peninsula - Papanui Beach Otago	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins	Papatowai Catlins
Rating (10 max)	4	4	4	8	9	5	5	4	5	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	8	7	6	5	5	5	4
Header Global	Dunedin - Kuri Bush New Zealand	Dunedin - Bobs Beach New Zealand	Dunedin - Bobs Beach New Zealand	Seconds (White Rock) New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Seconds (White Rock) New Zealand	Seconds (White Rock) New Zealand	Seconds (White Rock) New Zealand	Seconds (White Rock) New Zealand	Kaka Point New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Otago Peninsula - Allans Beach New Zealand	Humenga Point New Zealand	Otago Peninsula - Allans Beach New Zealand	Ning Nong Point and Reef New Zealand	Seconds (White Rock) New Zealand
Rating (10 max)	7	6	6	9	9	9	8	7	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	8	7	7	6	5	7	7

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Latest Updates

Ben Mondy

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 Ruakaka 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.

Ruakaka 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

How big are the waves at Ruakaka today (18 Jul):

Short Range Forecast

Latest Updates

How Our WaveFinder Tool Makes Forecasting Easier Than Ever Before

The Five Best Forecasts For International Surfing Day 2026

Best Surf Travel Deals & Discounts For 2026 To Help Make Surf Travel Cheaper

Let Our Surf Alerts Do All Your Forecast Heavy Lifting

Talking To Maddie Meddings on New Film Undercurrents. (And Then Watch It!)

FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website