Surf Forecasts:
The Pass surf forecast from 22 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 28 Aug, 7AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 10s period, SSE swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 27 Aug, 10AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 8s period, ENE swell with 268 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 23 Aug, 10AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 8s period with ENE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for The Pass this week:
The surf forecast for The Pass over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Sunday (Aug 23) at 10AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 8s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at The Pass in the next 16 days are 1.4m 8s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 27) at 10AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.1m 6s period and expected on Thursday (Aug 27) at 7PM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 10AM (Sun 23rd Aug) | 3ft (0.9m) 8s |
| Best Surf | 7AM (Fri 28th Aug) | 3ft (0.9m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 10AM (Thu 27th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 8s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Pass over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s coming up at The Pass.
We’ve got a slow start, but things start to look up towards the end of the month and into the first few days of September. The overall pattern is pretty mellow, with small, clean windows to make the most of what’s on offer.
The best surf in the whole run looks to be on Monday the 31st of August. That morning, the swell kicks up to a solid 5 ft from the SSE, with moderate wave energy (493) behind it. The wind is a gentle cross-off breeze from the SSW, keeping it clean. That’s your standout session—bigger, stronger, and clean. The afternoon of the same day still has a ton of energy (495), but the swell drops right off to 3 ft and the period stretches out to a very long 17 seconds. That long period will make the wave more suited to a point break like The Pass, but with that drop in size, the morning is the clear winner.
Before that, it’s pretty ordinary. The first week is all small swell, mostly around 2 ft to 4 ft from the ENE. The wind is often cross-off or offshore, so conditions stay clean, but the waves are just too small to get excited about. Thursday the 27th of August sees a little bump to 5 ft from the ENE (268 energy) with a cross-off breeze, but it’s still just surfable, not special.
After the 31st, the first few days of September look interesting. Wednesday the 2nd of September is glassy in the morning with 2 ft from the SSE, a very long 13-second period, and good shape potential (286 energy). That’s a sweet, clean, long-period groundswell window, but the size is tiny. Friday the 4th of September also has a glassy start with 2 ft from the ENE.
Don’t bother with the second week—the 5th through the 7th—it’s just messy onshore wind and tiny scraps. By Monday the 7th, the swell is down to 3 ft from the NNE with a pathetic 5-second period and almost no energy (94). A complete dud.
Water temp is about average for the time of year, no major anomaly to report.
So, if you’re picking one day, it’s Monday the 31st of August morning. The swell direction is SSE, and The Pass is exposed to ENE—so it’s not a perfect match on direction, but the size, the moderate energy, and the clean offshore wind make it the obvious call. Just know this place gets crowded often, so get in early.
That’s the story.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Sun morning. Warm (max 21°C on Tue morning, min 14°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 12mm), heaviest on Tue night. Warm (max 21°C on Wed morning, min 16°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 23 | Monday 24 | Tuesday 25 | Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | ||||||||||||||
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 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | SSE 12 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | NE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | E 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | SSE 13 | ENE 8 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 56 | 98 | 84 | 73 | 87 | 108 | 99 | 113 | 157 | 171 | 124 | 123 | 95 | 268 | 223 | 130 | 113 | 156 | 92 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | cross-off | off | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off |
High Tide | 4:25AM0.83m | 5:11PM1.35m | 5:23AM0.89m | 5:54PM1.45m | 6:06AM0.97m | 6:31PM1.55m | 6:44AM1.05m | 7:04PM1.62m | 7:18AM1.13m | 7:36PM1.67m | 7:52AM1.21m | 8:08PM1.69m | |||||||
Low Tide | 11:16PM0.51m | 10:07AM0.38m | 00:01AM0.41m | 11:04AM0.31m | 00:36AM0.32m | 11:49AM0.23m | 1:08AM0.23m | 12:29PM0.16m | 1:38AM0.16m | 1:06PM0.10m | 2:07AM0.10m | 1:42PM0.07m | 2:36AM0.05m | ||||||
 |  | |  |  | | | | | | |  | | | |  | | | | |
 | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — |
 | — | — | 5:25 | — | — | 5:25 | — | — | 5:27 | — | — | 5:27 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:28 | — |
mm | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
Temp °C | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 17 |
Feels °C | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 21 | 21 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 17 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | S 10 | SSE 10 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | E 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | S 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | S 12 |
| kJ | 56 | 98 | 84 | 73 | 68 | 108 | 99 | 113 | 56 | 32 | 124 | 123 | 95 | 268 | 223 | 115 | 113 | 85 | 274 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 7 | ESE 8 | S 9 | S 11 | SSE 6 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | SE 5 | S 16 | S 10 | NE 8 | NE 8 | S 11 | S 11 | ENE 8 | S 10 | S 10 | ENE 8 |
| kJ | 5 | 6 | 1 | 88 | 39 | 89 | 106 | 74 | 1 | 20 | 16 | 22 | 51 | 10 | 9 | 130 | 125 | 96 | 92 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 9 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SSE 4 | SSE 12 | S 8 | SE 6 | SE 5 | S 18 | NE 16 | SSE 16 | S 10 | S 9 | — | — | NE 8 | SE 6 | SSE 13 | NE 7 |
| kJ | 7 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 87 | 31 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 25 | 7 | 6 | — | — | 33 | 16 | 156 | 14 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | SSE 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ENE 8 | NE 7 | — | — | SSE 3 | S 5 | SSE 5 | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | 157 | 171 | — | — | 3 | 37 | 37 | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 257 | 13 | 1 | 163 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in North Coast - New South Wales | |||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||
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 The Pass 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 Pass Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for The Pass provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at The Pass can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our The Pass 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 Pass) 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 Pass 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.
The Pass is 26 km (16 miles) from Ballina. If you plan a holiday in North Coast - New South Wales, look for hotels and other accommodation in Ballina. Ballina has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest