Surf Forecasts:
Tawharanui surf forecast from 29 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Saturday 1 Aug, 3AM (local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 7s period, N swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 31 Jul, 12AM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 6s period, N swell with 175 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 1 Aug, 3AM (local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 7s period with N 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 Saturday (Aug 01) at 3AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.6m and 7s 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 1.6m 6s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 31) at 12AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.8m 4s period and expected on Friday (Jul 31) at 6PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 3AM (Sat 1st Aug) | 2ft (0.6m) 7s |
| Best Surf | 3AM (Sat 1st Aug) | 2ft (0.6m) 7s |
| Most Powerful | 12AM (Fri 31st Jul) | 5ft (1.6m) 6s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Tawharanui over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about Tawharanui for the next couple of weeks.
To be honest, it’s a pretty quiet stretch for this beach and reef setup. It’s exposed to the northeast, and for the first week, the swell is tiny and the winds are mostly messy or cross-off. There’s a long gap of small, weak surf, with combined energy values barely hitting double digits – like 91 or even 13. It’s a tough run. The best bet comes in the second week, but it’s a big, powerful, and dangerous window.
The first real pulse of energy shows up on the afternoon of Monday, August 10th. The wind is offshore from the southwest at 25 mph, so it’s clean. The swell jumps to 10 ft from the southeast, with a period of 9 seconds. The combined energy is a massive 1357, so there’s plenty of power. But, this is a surf for experts only. Over 8 ft and that strong offshore wind will make it hard to paddle into and hold your line. It’s not a day for beginners.
Tuesday, August 11th is the standout, but it comes with a giant warning. The afternoon shows an 12 ft swell from the east, period of 10 seconds, and a clean offshore wind from the southwest at 22 mph. The combined energy is a whopping 2460. The forecast even says it might be too big for this break. This is big, powerful, and only for the most experienced locals. The wind is strong and offshore, so the waves will be clean, but the size is serious. If you’re not an expert, stay on the beach. This is the only day that really gets the blood pumping, but you have to respect the power.
The rest of the second week, from the 12th onwards, sees the swell dropping back, with E swells around 4 ft to 7 ft. The winds are light and variable, sometimes cross-shore, so the surf will be messy and less reliable. The combined energy drops off, and it’s not worth getting too excited about.
For the water temp, it’s about average for this time of year, nothing unusual to report.
Overall, the only real window for a proper surf is that big, wild window on the 10th and 11th of August. If you’re a confident, experienced surfer, the 11th is the one to circle. For everyone else, it’s a quiet stretch.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 8mm), mostly falling on Thu night. Very mild (max 15°C on Thu afternoon, min 10°C on Fri night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the NNW on Thu night, calm by Sat morning). | Days 5-7 Weather SummarySome drizzle, heaviest during Tue afternoon. Very mild (max 14°C on Mon morning, min 8°C on Sun morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 30 | Friday 31 | Saturday 1 | Sunday 2 | Monday 3 | Tuesday 4 | ||||||||||||||
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) | E 12 | E 12 | N 5 | N 6 | N 7 | N 7 | N 7 | N 6 | E 11 | E 10 | ESE 6 | E 6 | NNE 14 | N 16 | N 16 | NE 15 | NE 14 | NE 13 | E 16 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 76 | 72 | 46 | 175 | 103 | 58 | 34 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 25 | 10 | 18 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | off | cross-off | off | off | off |
High Tide | 7:22AM2.31m | 7:51PM2.47m | 8:04AM2.37m | 8:30PM2.52m | 8:45AM2.41m | 9:09PM2.55m | 9:27AM2.44m | 9:49PM2.55m | 10:09AM2.45m | 10:31PM2.54m | 10:52AM2.44m | 11:14PM2.51m | |||||||
Low Tide | 1:32AM0.85m | 1:46PM0.72m | 2:13AM0.78m | 2:26PM0.66m | 2:53AM0.72m | 3:04PM0.62m | 3:33AM0.67m | 3:42PM0.62m | 4:13AM0.64m | 4:21PM0.64m | 4:55AM0.63m | 5:04PM0.69m | |||||||
 |  | |  |  | | |  |  |  | | | |  | | | | | | |
 | — | 7:20 | — | — | 7:18 | — | — | 7:18 | — | — | 7:16 | — | — | 7:16 | — | — | 7:15 | — | — |
 | — | — | 5:34 | — | — | 5:35 | — | — | 5:36 | — | — | 5:36 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — |
mm | — | 1 | 1 | 5 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — |
Temp °C | 13 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 |
Feels °C | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 12 | E 12 | ESE 12 | E 11 | N 7 | N 7 | N 7 | N 6 | N 6 | N 5 | ESE 6 | E 6 | E 5 | NE 13 | NE 13 | NE 12 | NE 12 | NE 13 | NE 12 |
| kJ | 76 | 72 | 46 | 39 | 103 | 58 | 34 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 25 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 9 | — | NE 12 | NE 11 | E 11 | E 11 | E 11 | E 11 | E 11 | NE 15 | NE 15 | NE 14 | NNE 14 | NE 6 | N 16 | NE 15 | NE 14 | — | N 13 |
| kJ | 2 | — | 6 | 5 | 38 | 21 | 21 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 7 | — | 3 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | N 19 | NE 18 | NE 18 | NE 17 | NE 16 | NE 16 | E 10 | N 5 | N 5 | — | N 16 | NE 5 | E 6 | — | — | E 16 |
| kJ | — | — | — | 7 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | — | 5 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 5 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 3 | N 4 | N 5 | N 6 | W 3 | WNW 4 | W 4 | WSW 3 | — | ESE 3 | — | S 3 | SSW 3 | WSW 3 | WSW 3 | SW 4 | SW 3 | SW 3 | — |
| kJ | 6 | 19 | 45 | 175 | 8 | 15 | 9 | 1 | — | 6 | — | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 7 | 7 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 7 | 27 | 100 | 65 | 7 | 7 | 22 | 22 | 28 | 64 | 22 | 22 | 66 | 202 | 359 | 295 | 202 | 183 | 161 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Northland | |||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
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 Tawharanui 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.
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.
Nearest