Surf Forecasts:
The Desert surf forecast from 4 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 5 Aug, 6PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 12s period, S swell with cross-onshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 5 Aug, 12AM (local time) - 18ft (5.5m), 12s period, SSW swell with 8,508 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 5 Aug, 6PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 12s period with S 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 Wednesday (Aug 05) at 6PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 3.5m and 12s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 18s. The wind is predicted to be cross-onshore 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 Wednesday (Aug 05) at 12AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 2.0m 7s period and expected on Friday (Aug 07) at 9PM.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 6PM (Wed 5th Aug) | 11ft (3.5m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 6PM (Wed 5th Aug) | 11ft (3.5m) 12s |
| Most Powerful | 12AM (Wed 5th Aug) | 18ft (5.5m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Desert over the next 16 days.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 7mm), mostly falling on Tue afternoon. Very mild (max 10°C on Fri morning, min 5°C on Thu night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the SSW on Tue night, light winds from the W by Thu afternoon). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Sat night. Very mild (max 13°C on Sat morning, min 9°C on Sun night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the NW on Fri night, light winds from the SW by Sun morning). | |||||||||||||||||||
Tue 4 | Wednesday 5 | Thursday 6 | Friday 7 | Saturday 8 | Sunday 9 | Monday 10 | ||||||||||||||
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) | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | S 12 | S 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | SE 10 | S 10 | S 15 | S 14 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | SSE 11 | SSE 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 9303 | 8508 | 5605 | 3826 | 1102 | 731 | 562 | 332 | 1104 | 1304 | 738 | 485 | 448 | 346 | 284 | 326 | 430 | 298 | 713 | 630 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on |
High Tide | 9:39PM1.53m | 9:57AM1.57m | 10:27PM1.56m | 10:45AM1.64m | 11:15PM1.59m | 11:35AM1.70m | 00:04AM1.61m | 12:27PM1.75m | 00:56AM1.62m | 1:22PM1.78m | 1:52AM1.61m | 2:17PM1.81m | 2:51AM1.60m | |||||||
Low Tide | 3:25PM0.46m | 4:00AM0.46m | 4:17PM0.43m | 4:46AM0.43m | 5:08PM0.40m | 5:32AM0.39m | 5:58PM0.36m | 6:19AM0.35m | 6:49PM0.32m | 7:07AM0.31m | 7:40PM0.29m | 7:59AM0.28m | 8:34PM0.27m | |||||||
 |  |  |  |  | |  |  | |  | | | | | | | | | |  | |
 | — | — | 7:22 | — | — | 7:20 | — | — | 7:20 | — | — | 7:18 | — | — | 7:16 | — | — | 7:16 | — | — |
 | 5:24 | — | — | 5:25 | — | — | 5:27 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:29 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — |
mm | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2 | — | 2 |
Temp °C | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Feels °C | -4 | -2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | NE 12 | SE 19 | S 12 | SSE 11 | SSW 11 | SE 10 | S 10 | S 15 | S 14 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | SSE 11 | SSW 16 | SW 15 | SSE 8 |
| kJ | — | 6 | 14 | 3826 | 992 | 731 | 562 | 332 | 1104 | 1304 | 738 | 485 | 448 | 346 | 284 | 326 | 430 | 25 | 55 | 630 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | SE 19 | SE 18 | SSW 12 | SE 10 | S 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 12 | SE 11 | S 14 | SE 11 | WNW 5 | SSE 13 | SSE 13 | E 12 | E 12 | NE 8 | SE 12 |
| kJ | — | — | 14 | 12 | 1102 | 486 | 332 | 322 | 229 | 281 | 127 | 107 | 44 | 23 | 154 | 168 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 38 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | SE 16 | S 10 | SSW 10 | SE 12 | SSW 10 | WNW 6 | NE 15 | SE 12 | SW 16 | SSE 14 | SW 16 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | NE 5 | E 12 | SSW 14 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 91 | 52 | 121 | 122 | 209 | 43 | 8 | 71 | 11 | 18 | 62 | 37 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 20 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | S 12 | — | — | — | — | — | NW 4 | WNW 6 | NW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 5 | — | WSW 4 | SSW 6 | SW 3 | SSE 7 | SSE 8 | — |
| kJ | 9303 | 8508 | 5605 | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | 120 | 245 | 75 | 67 | — | 29 | 60 | 3 | 298 | 713 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 300 | 248 | 132 | 219 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 79 | 19 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 50 | 82 | 132 | 162 | 110 |
Best forecast wave conditions in The Wairarapa | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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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