Surf Forecasts:
Tawharanui surf forecast from 22 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 26 Jul, 9AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 6s period, NNW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 25 Jul, 12AM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 6s period, NNW swell with 175 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 26 Jul, 9AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 6s period with NNW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Tawharanui this week:
The surf forecast for Tawharanui over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Sunday (Jul 26) at 9AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.8m and 6s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 11s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Tawharanui in the next 16 days are 1.5m 6s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Jul 25) at 12AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.4m 5s period and expected on Saturday (Jul 25) at 6AM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 9AM (Sun 26th Jul) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 9AM (Sun 26th Jul) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 6s |
| Most Powerful | 12AM (Sat 25th Jul) | 5ft (1.5m) 6s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Tawharanui over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Hey mate, Rusty here. Let’s be straight – this forecast is a quiet one. We’ve got a long stretch of small or flat conditions before anything worthwhile shows up. No standouts for a while.
Starting Wednesday, July 22, Tawharanui (beach and reef) is barely moving. Swell is 0.3 ft from the ENE with a period of only 5 seconds, energy is just 11. Light offshore wind from the SSW but the waves are way too small to surf. Thursday and Friday are more of the same: swell heights ranging from 0.3 ft to 3 ft, all short-period junk. Friday afternoon sees a 3 ft NNW swell with a 4-second period and a cross-onshore breeze – messy and weak.
Saturday, July 25 has a bit of energy with a strong 25 mph offshore wind from the WSW and a 3 ft NNW swell, period 7 seconds, energy at 133. But that wind is howling, making it hard to paddle into anything. The waves are clean but tough. Afternoon drops to 1 ft – no good.
Sunday, July 26 afternoon finally shows a “surfable but ordinary” window: gentle offshore wind, 2 ft from the NNW, period 7 seconds, energy at 81. It’s not a goer, just a maybe for a longboard.
The big news is Saturday, August 1. Morning brings a 5 ft swell from the SE with a 5-second period, energy at 160. Wind is a gentle offshore from the WSW – clean. The afternoon gets better: 4 ft from the east, 9-second period, and energy jumps to 303. Offshore wind again. This is the standout of the whole outlook. It’s not a monster, but it’s the most push we’ll see. Tawharanui is fairly consistent and exposed to the NE, so the east-southeast direction is a little off the ideal, but it’ll still work. Crowds? This spot is often busy, so expect company.
After that, Sunday the 2nd and Monday the 3rd drop back to small – 2 ft and below. Tuesday the 4th and Wednesday the 5th see 2 ft from the ENE with a long 12-second period, energy around 123 to 135. Wednesday morning has glassy conditions – beautiful and clean – but the swell is still small.
Water temp at the start is 58°, about normal for this time of year.
So the call: a flat spell until that Saturday, August 1, which is the pick of the period. Not huge, but the best we’ve got. After that, it fades again.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 7mm), mostly falling on Fri afternoon. Very mild (max 15°C on Wed afternoon, min 11°C on Wed morning). Winds increasing (light winds from the SW on Wed morning, strong winds from the W by Fri night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 11mm), heaviest on Sun afternoon. Very mild (max 13°C on Sun morning, min 8°C on Sun night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the WSW on Sat morning, light winds from the WSW by Mon morning). | ||||||||||||||||||||
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) | ENE 5 | N 7 | E 5 | E 10 | NE 7 | E 7 | E 7 | NNW 4 | NNW 6 | NNW 7 | E 11 | E 11 | NNW 6 | E 11 | E 14 | E 13 | E 14 | E 14 | E 14 | E 14 | E 14 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 46 | 175 | 49 | 39 | 21 | 50 | 22 | 15 | 30 | 61 | 62 | 60 | 63 | 58 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | off | off | off | off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | off | off | cross | cross-off | off | cross-off | off | off | off | off | off | off |
High Tide | 1:11PM2.38m | 1:27AM2.39m | 2:02PM2.28m | 2:18AM2.28m | 3:01PM2.21m | 3:13AM2.20m | 4:03PM2.19m | 4:11AM2.15m | 5:00PM2.21m | 5:06AM2.15m | 5:49PM2.26m | 5:55AM2.19m | 6:32PM2.33m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 7:32PM0.82m | 7:57AM0.76m | 8:27PM0.90m | 8:46AM0.85m | 9:21PM0.96m | 9:37AM0.92m | 10:15PM0.98m | 10:30AM0.95m | 11:09PM0.99m | 11:24AM0.94m | 00:00AM0.96m | 12:17PM0.88m | 00:48AM0.92m | ||||||||
 | |  |  |  | | | |  | |  | | |  |  |  | | | | | | |
 | 7:24 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:22 | — | — | 7:22 | — | — | 7:22 | — | — | 7:20 | — | — |
 | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:29 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:31 | — | — | 5:32 | — |
mm | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | 3 | 2 | — | — | 1 | 3 | 6 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 12 |
Feels °C | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 5 | ENE 5 | E 5 | NE 7 | NE 7 | E 7 | E 7 | E 8 | E 10 | NNW 7 | E 11 | E 11 | NNW 6 | NNW 7 | E 12 | E 13 | E 14 | E 14 | E 14 | E 14 | E 14 |
| kJ | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 28 | 49 | 39 | 21 | 50 | 17 | 10 | 30 | 61 | 62 | 60 | 63 | 58 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 7 | N 7 | N 8 | E 6 | E 5 | NE 7 | E 8 | E 11 | E 13 | E 12 | NNW 7 | NNW 7 | E 11 | E 11 | NNW 6 | ESE 6 | E 5 | E 5 | — | N 10 | — |
| kJ | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 46 | 10 | 5 | 21 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | — | 2 | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 11 | E 11 | NE 6 | E 10 | E 7 | E 11 | NE 7 | E 10 | — | — | — | E 17 | E 16 | E 15 | E 14 | N 6 | N 6 | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 6 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | SSW 3 | SW 3 | SW 3 | WSW 2 | NNW 3 | NNW 4 | NNW 6 | WSW 5 | WSW 5 | W 4 | W 4 | SSW 4 | S 4 | SW 3 | SW 4 | SW 4 | SW 4 | WSW 3 | WSW 3 |
| kJ | — | — | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 46 | 175 | 91 | 70 | 16 | 17 | 46 | 30 | 5 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 8 | 8 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 66 | 202 | 161 | 72 | 369 | 279 | 66 | 359 | 8 | 359 | 112 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Northland | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Tawharanui Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Tawharanui provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Tawharanui can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Tawharanui 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 (Tawharanui) 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 Tawharanui 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.
Tawharanui is 48 km (30 miles) from the city of Northshore. If you plan a holiday in Northland, look for hotels and other accommodation in Northshore. Northshore has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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