The Reef Surf Break

Lat Long: 26.78° S 153.15° E

The Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 3 pm 21 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's The Reef sea temperature is
20.0° C
1.0° 

The Reef surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


The Reef surf forecast from 21 Aug 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Saturday 22 Aug, 4AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 7s period, E swell with cross-offshore winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Thursday 27 Aug, 10AM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 8s period, ENE swell with 280 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 22 Aug, 4AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 7s period with E swell.

Best Forecast Surf Conditions for The Reef this week:

The surf forecast for The Reef over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 22) at 4AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 7s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 14s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at The Reef in the next 16 days are 1.5m 8s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 27) at 10AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives.

Wave TypeTime (AEST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+) 4AM (Sat 22nd Aug)3ft (0.9m) 7s
Best Surf 4AM (Sat 22nd Aug)3ft (0.9m) 7s
Most Powerful10AM (Thu 27th Aug)5ft (1.5m) 8s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Reef over the next 16 days.


Short Range Forecast

Light rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Sun night. Very mild (max 19°C on Fri afternoon, min 15°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light.

Days 5-7 Weather Summary

Light rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Tue night. Warm (max 22°C on Wed afternoon, min 17°C on Mon afternoon). Wind will be generally light.

Fri
21
Saturday
22
Sunday
23
Monday
24
Tuesday
25
Wednesday
26
Thursday
27
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
1
E
7
0.9
E
7
0.9
E
7
1
E
7
1
E
7
1
ENE
8
0.9
ENE
8
0.9
ENE
7
0.7
E
8
0.7
E
8
0.9
ENE
8
0.9
ENE
8
1
E
8
1
E
8
1
E
8
1
E
8
1.2
E
8
1.5
ENE
8
1.1
NE
8
0.9
E
8
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
104
81
81
109
106
127
99
78
55
60
112
112
134
121
124
127
190
280
136
107
Wind (km/h)
5
ENE
10
N
5
W
10
SE
10
SW
15
S
10
SE
10
ESE
10
SE
5
E
5
SE
10
SE
10
NE
15
NNW
10
SW
10
NNE
10
SW
20
SSE
20
SE
15
ESE
Wind State
cross-on
cross
glassy
cross-on
cross-off
cross
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
on
glassy
cross-on
cross-on
cross-off
cross-off
cross
cross-off
cross
cross-on
cross-on
High Tide
3:10AM0.84m
4:35PM1.45m
4:37AM0.87m
5:22PM1.53m
5:34AM0.95m
6:00PM1.62m
6:17AM1.05m
6:35PM1.71m
6:54AM1.17m
7:08PM1.78m
7:28AM1.28m
7:39PM1.82m
Low Tide
10:44PM0.69m
9:00AM0.46m
11:42PM0.60m
10:06AM0.44m
00:18AM0.50m
11:01AM0.40m
00:48AM0.40m
11:48AM0.35m
1:15AM0.32m
12:30PM0.30m
1:42AM0.25m
1:09PM0.26m
2:09AM0.20m
clear
part cloud
cloud
cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
light rain
cloud
light rain
part cloud
clear
clear
rain showers
part cloud
clear
clear
part cloud
clear
part cloud
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:11
6:09
6:09
6:07
6:07
6:05
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:29
5:29
5:30
5:30
5:30
5:30
5:31
 mm
4
2
3
Temp °C
19
17
19
18
18
19
19
18
18
17
18
20
20
19
20
22
19
19
19
18
Feels °C
18
16
19
17
18
18
17
18
18
18
19
21
21
20
20
21
18
17
17
16
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for The Reef:

join our community of surf reporters

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 Reef 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 Reef Surf forecast

The above surf forecast table for The Reef provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at The Reef can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our The Reef 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 Reef) 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 Reef 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 Reef is 2 km (1 miles) from Caloundra. If you plan a holiday in Sunshine Coast, look for hotels and other accommodation in Caloundra. Caloundra has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.

Nearest locationNearest