
Surf Forecasts:
Shelley Beach surf forecast from 3 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 7 Jul, 1PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 10s period, SSE swell with cross-shore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 5 Jul, 7PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 12s period, SSE swell with 2,513 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 4 Jul, 7AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 11s period with S swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Shelley Beach this week:
The surf forecast for Shelley Beach over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Jul 04) at 7AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.0m and 11s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 8s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Shelley Beach in the next 16 days are 3.0m 12s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Jul 05) at 7PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 7AM (Sat 4th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 11s |
| Best Surf | 1PM (Tue 7th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 7PM (Sun 5th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Shelley Beach over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ at Shelley Beach.
Right off the bat, we’ve got a bit of a mixed bag. The next 16 days start with some proper clean conditions, but the ocean turns nasty pretty quick. The standout session is Saturday morning, 4 July – it’s the one to circle. You’ve got a clean 4ft south swell rolling in with an 11-second period, and a light offshore WNW breeze at just 3 mph will have it looking like glass. Combined wave energy is a solid moderate 369 – enough to push you along without being a handful. That’s the pick of the whole run, no question.
Now, after that Saturday morning, the wheels fall off. Saturday arvo goes cross-onshore, and then from Sunday morning, 5 July, right through to Friday morning, 10 July, the wind is howling from the south or southwest at 16 to 22 mph, and the swell jumps up to 8ft to 10ft. That’s too big for beginners and frankly, the wind messes it up completely – lumpy, choppy, cross-onshore junk. The water’s energy readings spike up strong territory (values between 975 and 3463 for those days—these are serious numbers), but worthless waves for paddlin’ into. Honestly, looks more suited to kite foilers than surfers most of that stretch.
Afternoon wind Wednesday 8 July morning… ya get a glimpse of hope on Wednesday morning with WSW 12 mph cross-offshore wind cleaning up an 8ft swell, moderate energy at 2714 . Tide might still be an issue, hailed as marginal conditions. Thursday morning the 9th,the same-sized swell scoops up cross-offshore wind wind 19 then becomes junk by the afternoon. Not really my pick for heading down.
Friday morning the 10th swell drops to 7ft, moderate energy, yet still cross-onshore messy conditions.
We get a gap of real junk days for a week—the next genuine clean surf doesn’t show again until Saturday morning, 11 July. That morning delivers a 5ft south-southeast swell, 9-second period, light offshore cross-offshore breeze from the west at 6 mph. Energy’s back down to moderate 398, and it’s clean—so it’s a runner for a small-wave cruise, but not the stand-out.
Sunday morning the 12th has a lovely offshore west wind at 12 mph, but the swell is tiny, only 3ft from east-southeast with a 12-second period – too weak, energy a low 327. Clean though.
From there, Tuesday morning the 14th borderline with 6ft south swell and 9-second period, clean with westerly offshore winds, moderate energy at 514—worth a look for the desperate. Wednesday morning the 15th a similar 5ft south swell but cross-shore winds leave it messy.
After Friday 17 July, the swell drops to 3ft–3ft and the period goes short (7–8 seconds), weak energy down to 137–254 – just small, weak and sloppy. The last morning, 19 July, might be clean with 3ft east swell, 7 seconds, and cross-offshore breeze, but it’s barely surfable.
Bottom line: if you can get out Saturday morning, 4 July, you’ll score the best clean waves of the whole run. After that, only a handful of marginal windows pop up over the next two weeks.
Stay salty.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 12mm), heaviest on Sat night. Very mild (max 16°C on Mon morning, min 10°C on Fri night). Mainly fresh winds. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 11mm), heaviest on Tue afternoon. Very mild (max 15°C on Mon night, min 11°C on Wed morning). Mainly fresh winds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 4 | Sunday 5 | Monday 6 | Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Fri 10 | |||||||||||||||
Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | |
Swell Height Map | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 7 | S 11 | S 9 | S 8 | S 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | S 9 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
45 | 354 | 166 | 108 | 2095 | 1896 | 1544 | 1113 | 957 | 1209 | 1450 | 1749 | 1782 | 1440 | 1145 | 1632 | 1299 | 2043 | 1410 | 1010 | 928 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | off | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on |
High Tide | 10:18PM1.52m | 11:11AM1.10m | 10:55PM1.46m | 11:55AM1.14m | 11:35PM1.38m | 12:42PM1.19m | 00:21AM1.30m | 1:34PM1.25m | 1:18AM1.20m | 2:29PM1.33m | 2:25AM1.12m | 3:27PM1.43m | 3:41AM1.07m | 4:26PM1.53m | |||||||
Low Tide | 5:06AM0.19m | 4:36PM0.46m | 5:41AM0.19m | 5:25PM0.50m | 6:18AM0.20m | 6:23PM0.52m | 6:59AM0.22m | 7:29PM0.53m | 7:46AM0.24m | 8:44PM0.49m | 8:39AM0.27m | 10:00PM0.41m | 9:38AM0.30m | ||||||||
— | 6:58 | — | — | 6:58 | — | — | 6:58 | — | — | 6:58 | — | — | 6:56 | — | — | 6:56 | — | — | 6:56 | — | |
— | — | 4:58 | — | — | 4:58 | — | — | 4:59 | — | — | 4:59 | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | 5:00 | |
mm | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Temp °C | 12 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 15 |
Feels °C | 7 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 10 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 7 | S 11 | S 9 | S 8 | E 8 | E 13 | E 13 | E 14 | E 14 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SE 10 | SE 11 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | SSE 10 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 |
45 | 354 | 166 | 108 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 961 | 1080 | 1325 | 1313 | 1169 | 918 | 1260 | 909 | 1420 | 1410 | 1010 | 928 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 8 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | S 12 | NE 7 | NE 7 | — | E 14 | E 13 | E 12 | ESE 14 | S 11 | S 10 | ESE 14 | ESE 12 | — | SSE 15 | — | — | S 20 | — |
22 | 11 | 5 | 66 | 2 | 2 | — | 14 | 14 | 12 | 121 | 88 | 75 | 105 | 59 | — | 88 | — | — | 7 | — | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 12 | E 14 | E 12 | ENE 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | S 18 | S 16 | — | — | S 15 | — | S 23 | — | — | — | — |
11 | 4 | 12 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 5 | — | — | 5 | — | 10 | — | — | — | — | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 3 | — | — | — | S 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | S 9 | SSE 11 | — | — | — |
2 | — | — | — | 2095 | 1896 | 1544 | 1113 | 957 | 1209 | 1450 | 1749 | 1782 | 1440 | 1145 | 1632 | 1299 | 2043 | — | — | — | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 4 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 125 | 260 | 294 | 166 | 166 | 11 | 11 | 41 | 11 | 11 | 41 | 11 | 11 | 41 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Newcastle | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Shelley Beach Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Shelley Beach provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Shelley Beach can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Shelley Beach 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 (Shelley Beach) 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 Shelley Beach 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 Shelley Beach, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Newcastle, consider staying in Central Coast which is 20 km (12 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 24 km (15 miles) away, Dee Why, Newcastle and Hornsby.











