Surf Forecasts:
The Desert surf forecast from 18 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 20 Sep, 12PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 9s period, SSW swell with cross-shore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 20 Sep, 9PM (local time) - 18ft (5.5m), 12s period, SSW swell with 9,277 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 19 Sep, 3AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 14s period with SSW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for The Desert this week:
The surf forecast for The Desert over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Sep 19) at 3AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.3m and 14s period with a secondary swell of 0.9m and 12s. Another secondary swell of 0.3m and 6s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at The Desert in the next 16 days are 5.5m 12s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Sep 20) at 9PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 3.0m 7s period and expected on Sunday (Sep 20) at 12AM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 3AM (Sat 19th Sep) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 14s |
| Best Surf | 12PM (Sun 20th Sep) | 11ft (3.5m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 9PM (Sun 20th Sep) | 18ft (5.5m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Desert over the next 16 days.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 3mm), mostly falling on Sat night. Very mild (max 15°C on Sat morning, min 6°C on Sun night). Winds increasing (calm on Fri afternoon, strong winds from the NW by Sat night). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 12mm), heaviest on Tue morning. Very mild (max 14°C on Mon afternoon, min 6°C on Tue night). Winds increasing (calm on Mon afternoon, strong winds from the SSW by Wed afternoon). | |||||||||||||||||||
Fri 18 | Saturday 19 | Sunday 20 | Monday 21 | Tuesday 22 | Wednesday 23 | Thursday 24 | ||||||||||||||
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) | SE 12 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 8 | SSW 10 | SSW 13 | SSW 11 | S 13 | S 13 | SSW 12 | S 7 | S 8 | SSW 17 | SSW 6 | SSW 9 | SSW 8 | SSW 8 | S 8 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 303 | 610 | 1450 | 982 | 389 | 1334 | 3778 | 8551 | 2456 | 2288 | 1070 | 343 | 453 | 377 | 601 | 454 | 1496 | 1299 | 1123 | 546 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | cross | off | off | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | glassy | off | cross-on | cross-on | off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross |
High Tide | 10:49PM1.53m | 11:10AM1.57m | 11:30PM1.49m | 11:53AM1.54m | 00:10AM1.45m | 12:35PM1.52m | 00:52AM1.42m | 1:16PM1.51m | 1:36AM1.40m | 1:57PM1.50m | 2:22AM1.39m | 2:42PM1.49m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 4:55PM0.49m | 5:01AM0.53m | 5:38PM0.48m | 5:41AM0.53m | 6:17PM0.47m | 6:19AM0.52m | 6:56PM0.46m | 6:56AM0.51m | 7:33PM0.47m | 7:36AM0.50m | 8:12PM0.48m | 8:19AM0.50m | 8:55PM0.50m | |||||||
 |  |  | |  | | | | | |  |  |  | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 6:13 | — | — | 6:11 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — |
 | 6:09 | — | — | 6:10 | — | — | 6:12 | — | — | 6:14 | — | — | 6:15 | — | — | 6:15 | — | — | 6:16 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 2 | — | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — |
Temp °C | 13 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
Feels °C | 12 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 12 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | S 13 | S 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 17 | S 8 | SSW 17 | SE 11 | SSW 14 | SW 15 | SW 15 | S 8 |
| kJ | 303 | 610 | 1450 | 982 | 389 | 47 | 39 | 7552 | 2456 | 2288 | 1070 | 343 | 202 | 377 | 601 | 19 | 303 | 54 | 33 | 546 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 10 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 11 | ESE 11 | NE 8 | NE 8 | — | SE 10 | WNW 5 | ESE 13 | SE 13 | SE 12 | SSW 16 | W 4 | E 9 | ESE 11 | ESE 9 | E 9 | SSW 14 |
| kJ | 71 | 273 | 195 | 126 | 82 | 10 | 10 | — | 16 | 11 | 17 | 42 | 23 | 322 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 134 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 16 | NE 6 | NE 7 | NE 6 | SSW 17 | NE 8 | NE 11 | — | ENE 10 | ENE 10 | ESE 10 | SW 15 | WNW 6 | SE 12 | SE 11 | — | — | ESE 10 | SE 10 | SSW 11 |
| kJ | 164 | 9 | 23 | 9 | 119 | 10 | 5 | — | 10 | 10 | 10 | 57 | 3 | 36 | 33 | — | — | 10 | 4 | 24 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | NNE 7 | NW 5 | WNW 7 | SSW 8 | SSW 10 | SSW 13 | — | — | NW 6 | NW 7 | S 7 | — | S 7 | SSW 6 | SSW 9 | SSW 8 | SSW 8 | — |
| kJ | — | — | 41 | 66 | 896 | 1334 | 3778 | 8551 | — | — | 80 | 481 | 453 | — | 113 | 454 | 1496 | 1299 | 1123 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 100 | 69 | 88 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 132 | 0 | 132 | 134 | 132 | 110 | 220 | 8 |
Best forecast wave conditions in The Wairarapa | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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 The Desert 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 The Desert Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for The Desert provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at The Desert can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our The Desert 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 (The Desert) 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 The Desert 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.
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