Stent Road Surf Break

Lat Long: 39.22° S 173.78° E

Stent Road Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 11 am 20 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Stent Road sea temperature is
14.0° C
0.5° 

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


Stent Road surf forecast from 20 Aug 2026:

  • Most powerful swell: Monday 24 Aug, 9AM (local time) - 15ft (4.5m), 15s period, WSW swell with 8,676 kJ wave energy.

Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Stent Road this week:

The most powerful waves expected at Stent Road in the next 16 days are 4.5m 15s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Aug 24) at 9AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.4m 8s period and expected on Sunday (Aug 23) at 12PM.

Wave TypeTime (NZST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+)--
Best Surf--
Most Powerful 9AM (Mon 24th Aug)15ft (4.5m) 15s

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


The Lowdown

Alright folks, Rusty here. We’ve got a classic 16-day window for Stent Road, and it’s a bit of a wild ride. Let’s get into it.

The real standout for this whole period is Thursday morning, August 20. We’re kicking off with a solid 6 ft of WSW groundswell, with a period of 14 seconds, packing a huge amount of energy (1491). The wind is a glassy 3 mph from the north, so the surface is going to be perfect. This is a reef and point setup, and with that long period, it’s going to love the structure. The water is sitting at 57°, which is bang on average for this time of year. This is big, powerful stuff though – at 6 ft, it’s pushing into expert territory. It’s consistent, and the offshore wind direction is from the east, right in the sweet spot for the optimum SW swell direction. This is the session to aim for. Be aware, crowds are often a factor here, so you’ll want to be on it early.

The good news doesn’t last long. The afternoon of the 20th and all of Friday the 21st are a write-off with onshore winds and marginal conditions. Saturday the 22nd gets smaller and choppy with cross-onshore wind.

Then things get properly heavy. Sunday the 23rd through Monday the 24th sees a massive pulse of 13 ft to 15 ft swell. The energy is off the charts (3419, 3411, 8676). This is serious, expert-only territory and the wind is a messy cross-onshore. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing right now.

We get a brief window on Tuesday the 25th with a still-large 10 ft to 8 ft WSW swell and clean onshore wind, but the quality is still marginal. After that, Wednesday the 26th and Thursday the 27th are messy with moderate cross-shore winds.

Now, look ahead to Saturday, August 29. This is your second real standout. The morning has a 7 ft swell from the WNW with a short period of 9 seconds and a clean offshore wind from the ENE (1632 energy). The big surprise is the afternoon: a tiny 3 ft swell, but it’s a 20-second period groundswell from the WSW with glassy, 3 mph offshore wind. The energy is still high (1656). This long period swell will be very straight at a beach break, but at a reef and point like Stent Road, it’ll be lining up beautifully. It’s a promising, glassy session, but it’s over a week out, so don’t set your watch by it yet.

The final week into early September is a slow fade. We get some clean cross-offshore winds on the 28th, 30th, and 31st, but the swell is small (4 ft to 5 ft) and the energy drops off. By the 1st of September the swell is gone, and the south wind on the 3rd just makes a mess of things.

So, to sum it up: the absolute best is this Thursday morning, August 20, for a powerful, glassy session. The second best is looking like Saturday, August 29, for a glassy, long-period clean-up set. The rest of the window is either too big and messy, or too small and onshore.

Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Light rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Sat afternoon. Very mild (max 14°C on Sat afternoon, min 11°C on Thu morning). Winds increasing (calm on Thu morning, fresh winds from the NW by Sat night).

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Light rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Sun morning. Very mild (max 14°C on Sun morning, min 12°C on Sun afternoon). Mainly fresh winds.

Thursday
20
Friday
21
Saturday
22
Sunday
23
Monday
24
Tuesday
25
Wednesday
26
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
4
2
1
2
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
2
2
1
0
0
3
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
1.9
WSW
14
1.7
WSW
14
1.6
WSW
13
1.6
WSW
13
1.6
WSW
14
1
WSW
14
0.9
WSW
14
0.8
WSW
13
2.5
NW
8
4
WNW
10
4
W
10
4
WSW
11
4.5
WSW
15
4
WSW
15
3.5
WSW
14
3
WSW
15
2.5
WSW
14
2.2
WSW
14
2.2
WSW
13
2.1
WSW
13
3
W
14
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
1484
1127
863
863
982
413
312
222
724
3136
2931
4233
8676
6949
5186
3783
2907
1886
1634
1556
3009
Wind (km/h)
5
N
15
W
10
W
10
W
15
W
15
W
15
WNW
15
NW
35
NW
30
WNW
30
WSW
30
WSW
25
SW
20
WSW
15
WSW
20
W
20
WNW
20
NW
25
NNW
25
NNW
20
NNW
Wind State
glassy
on
on
on
on
on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
on
on
on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross
High Tide
2:56PM2.45m
3:18AM2.34m
4:01PM2.31m
4:30AM2.22m
5:22PM2.27m
5:53AM2.22m
6:38PM2.36m
7:03AM2.33m
7:35PM2.51m
7:55AM2.49m
8:20PM2.70m
8:37AM2.67m
8:58PM2.88m
Low Tide
9:16PM0.98m
9:45AM0.96m
10:25PM1.11m
10:57AM1.05m
11:44PM1.12m
12:12PM1.01m
00:53AM1.02m
1:14PM0.88m
1:47AM0.85m
2:03PM0.70m
2:31AM0.66m
2:43PM0.52m
clear
clear
part cloud
cloud
cloud
cloud
part cloud
light rain
rain showers
thunderstorm
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
rain showers
clear
clear
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
7:05
7:03
7:03
7:01
7:00
6:58
6:56
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:51
5:52
5:52
5:53
5:53
5:54
5:55
 mm
1
4
4
1
1
2
1
Temp °C
12
13
12
12
12
12
13
14
14
14
13
12
13
13
13
13
13
13
14
14
14
Feels °C
10
10
9
10
8
8
9
11
7
9
7
5
8
7
8
8
9
9
10
10
11
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
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Information about the Stent Road Surf forecast

The above surf forecast table for Stent Road provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Stent Road can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Stent Road 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 (Stent Road) 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 Stent Road 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 Taranaki? If you are looking for accommodation near Stent Road, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Taranaki, consider staying in New Plymouth which is 33 km (20 miles) away.

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