Surf Forecasts:
Tawharanui surf forecast from 10 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 11 Sep, 3AM (local time) - 1ft (0.3m), 13s period, NE swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 10 Sep, 9PM (local time) - 1ft (0.3m), 14s period, NE swell with 31 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 11 Sep, 3AM (local time) - 1ft (0.3m), 13s period with NE 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 Friday (Sep 11) at 3AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.3m and 13s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 5s. Another secondary swell of 0.2m and 8s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Tawharanui in the next 16 days are 0.3m 14s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Sep 10) at 9PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.2m 4s period and expected on Saturday (Sep 12) at 6AM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 3AM (Fri 11th Sep) | 1ft (0.3m) 13s |
| Best Surf | 3AM (Fri 11th Sep) | 1ft (0.3m) 13s |
| Most Powerful | 9PM (Thu 10th Sep) | 1ft (0.3m) 14s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Tawharanui over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, surfers. Rusty here with the outlook for the Tawharanui area.
Look, mates, I'm gonna be straight with you: this whole 16-day window is a tough one. It’s not just quiet, it’s barely a whisper at Tawharanui. The whole first week and a bit is basically flat with tiny, weak waves. We’re looking at a solid 9-day gap where you can leave the board in the shed. The swell energy is laughably low, often bouncing around between 7 and 50 – that’s barely enough to tickle a sea anemone. Most of that time, the wind is either howling offshore or cross-off, which would be great if there was any swell to work with, but at less than 1ft, it’s just a wind chop show. The water temp sits around 59°, which is pretty normal for this time of year down here.
Then, finally, on the morning of Saturday the 19th, we see a little bump, with some 4ft swell from the NNW at a short period of 5 seconds. Combined energy hits 91 – still weak. This is not worth getting excited about; it’s poor surf conditions.
The one true standout – and I mean the *only* ray of light in this whole forecast – is the morning of Sunday the 20th of September. We’ve got a solid 8ft swell rolling in from the north, with a 7-second period. The combined energy jumps right up to 679, which is strong wave energy. That said, it’s a short-period swell, so it’ll be a bit fat and dumpy, not a thing of beauty. The wind is a gentle offshore from the WSW at 9 mph, which will keep the faces glassy. But I gotta be real with you: at 8ft and short period, this is strictly for the experienced crew. Beginners, stay out of the water that day. The afternoon drops back to 4ft and the energy halves, so the window is narrow.
That’s it. One morning of proper, expert-level waves in over two weeks. After that, it’s back to tiny, blown-out leftovers.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Thu afternoon. Very mild (max 15°C on Thu morning, min 11°C on Thu night). Winds increasing (light winds from the WNW on Thu afternoon, strong winds from the SW by Sat morning). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 16°C on Mon afternoon, min 11°C on Tue night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the SW on Sun morning, calm by Mon morning). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 10 | Friday 11 | Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | Tuesday 15 | Wednesday 16 | |||||||||||||||
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) | NE 14 | NE 14 | NE 14 | NNE 14 | NE 9 | NE 12 | ENE 9 | NNE 12 | NNE 13 | NNE 13 | NNE 13 | NNE 13 | NNE 12 | NNE 12 | NNE 12 | NNE 12 | NNE 12 | NE 13 | NW 4 | NE 12 | N 6 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 30 | 31 | 30 | 20 | 18 | 24 | 8 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 24 | 17 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | off | off | off | off | off | off | off | off | off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off |
High Tide | 6:18PM2.68m | 6:46AM2.61m | 7:06PM2.74m | 7:35AM2.66m | 7:51PM2.75m | 8:21AM2.69m | 8:36PM2.72m | 9:06AM2.67m | 9:19PM2.66m | 9:49AM2.62m | 10:01PM2.57m | 10:31AM2.54m | 10:43PM2.46m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 12:17PM0.51m | 00:47AM0.53m | 1:07PM0.44m | 1:35AM0.47m | 1:53PM0.41m | 2:19AM0.43m | 2:36PM0.42m | 3:01AM0.43m | 3:17PM0.47m | 3:42AM0.46m | 3:59PM0.54m | 4:22AM0.52m | 4:42PM0.64m | ||||||||
 |  |  |  | |  | | | | | |  | | | | | | |  |  | | |
 | 6:28 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — |
 | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:08 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:10 | — | — | 6:10 | — |
mm | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 10 | — |
Temp °C | 15 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 11 |
Feels °C | 11 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 7 | NE 8 | NNW 5 | NE 9 | NE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | NNE 12 | NNE 13 | NNE 13 | NNE 13 | NNE 13 | NNE 12 | NNE 12 | NNE 12 | NNE 12 | NNE 12 | NE 11 | NE 13 | NE 12 | N 6 |
| kJ | 8 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 24 | 17 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 14 | NE 14 | NE 14 | NNE 14 | NNE 13 | NE 12 | NE 12 | ENE 9 | NE 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 8 | E 8 | N 13 | E 8 | E 9 | N 12 | NE 13 | NE 11 | N 11 | NE 12 |
| kJ | 30 | 31 | 30 | 20 | 18 | 24 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | NE 16 | ENE 8 | ENE 13 | NE 13 | NNE 13 | NE 13 | NE 13 | N 16 | N 14 | N 14 | N 14 | N 13 | E 8 | — | N 12 | E 9 | N 12 | N 11 | E 8 | NE 10 |
| kJ | — | 10 | 6 | 16 | 7 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | NW 3 | SW 3 | S 3 | SW 4 | SW 4 | SW 4 | SW 4 | SW 4 | SW 4 | SW 4 | SW 4 | S 4 | — | — | W 2 | W 3 | W 3 | NW 4 | NW 4 | SW 3 |
| kJ | — | 1 | 4 | 8 | 21 | 39 | 49 | 36 | 35 | 28 | 24 | 15 | 4 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 9 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 22 | 13 | 59 | 13 | 105 | 22 | 162 | 115 | 78 | 22 | 78 | 183 | 73 | 66 | 202 | 66 | 66 | 66 | 371 | 371 | 115 |
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