Surf Forecasts:
The Spit surf forecast from 24 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 30 Aug, 10AM (local time) - 7.5ft (2.3m), 9s period, SSE swell with cross-shore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 30 Aug, 10AM (local time) - 7.5ft (2.3m), 9s period, SSE swell with 909 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 26 Aug, 7AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 7s period with ENE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for The Spit this week:
The surf forecast for The Spit over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 7AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.0m and 7s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 10s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at The Spit in the next 16 days are 2.3m 9s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Aug 30) at 10AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.4m 3s period and expected on Sunday (Aug 30) at 7AM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 7AM (Wed 26th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 7s |
| Best Surf | 10AM (Sun 30th Aug) | 7.5ft (2.3m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 10AM (Sun 30th Aug) | 7.5ft (2.3m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Spit over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s break down what’s heading our way.
First off, it’s a long dry spell. From Tuesday 25th August right through the end of the month, The Spit is looking flat and messy. The swell is tiny, mostly under 3 feet, with weak, short-period energy. The winds are almost always cross or cross-onshore, creating lumpy, choppy conditions. There’s a real gap here—days where you’d be better off doing anything else.
Then Sunday 30th August morning throws a wild card. Swell jumps to 8ft from the SSE with a 9-second period, and the combined swell energy hits 1164—that’s powerful stuff. But with a fresh cross-shore wind blowing 30 km/h and the break being a river mouth exposed to east swell, this is gonna be a washing machine. Too big for most, strictly for experts, and even then it’ll be rough. Not the kind of day you bring your log out.
After that, we sink back into nothing. Monday 31st August through to Tuesday 8th September is more of the same—tiny waves, poor wind, no quality. There are a couple of glassy mornings on Friday 28th August and Tuesday 1st September, but the waves are only 2ft to 3ft with weak energy (85 in brackets). Surfable, but very ordinary.
The last possible spark is Wednesday 9th September morning, with a little 3ft SE swell and a 9-second period. But the wind is still cross, not clean, and the energy is weak (114). Nothing to drive across town for.
The water temp is 20°, which is about 2° cooler than average for this time of year. You’ll feel it after a long session. The break is consistent, but the quality is missing. If you’re hankering for a paddle, those glassy mornings might give you a few ankle-biters, but don’t get your hopes up.
Hang tight, keep an eye on the charts. This stretch won’t last forever.
– Rusty
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Tue night. Warm (max 22°C on Wed afternoon, min 16°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 3mm), mostly falling on Fri night. Warm (max 20°C on Fri morning, min 14°C on Sat night). Winds increasing (calm on Fri morning, fresh winds from the S by Sun morning). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 25 | Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | |||||||||||||||
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) | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | E 8 | E 7 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | SE 7 | SE 8 | SSE 9 | SE 10 | SSE 9 | SE 9 | SE 8 | SE 8 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 85 | 110 | 123 | 78 | 81 | 71 | 85 | 68 | 95 | 70 | 57 | 50 | 51 | 131 | 113 | 909 | 355 | 644 | 152 | 159 | 201 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross | glassy | on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross |
High Tide | 6:43PM1.48m | 7:06AM1.03m | 7:17PM1.54m | 7:40AM1.11m | 7:50PM1.57m | 8:13AM1.20m | 8:23PM1.58m | 8:46AM1.27m | 8:56PM1.56m | 9:20AM1.33m | 9:31PM1.51m | 9:58AM1.38m | 10:07PM1.42m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 11:57AM0.31m | 1:19AM0.26m | 12:39PM0.26m | 1:48AM0.20m | 1:18PM0.21m | 2:16AM0.15m | 1:55PM0.18m | 2:45AM0.13m | 2:33PM0.17m | 3:15AM0.13m | 3:13PM0.19m | 3:45AM0.14m | 3:56PM0.23m | ||||||||
 | |  |  | |  | | |  | | |  | | | | | |  | | | | |
 | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — |
 | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:29 | — | — | 5:29 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — |
mm | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 21 | 21 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 18 |
Feels °C | 19 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 17 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | E 8 | E 7 | SSE 7 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | SE 10 | E 9 | SE 10 | E 9 | E 9 | ESE 7 |
| kJ | 85 | 110 | 123 | 78 | 81 | 71 | 85 | 68 | 95 | 70 | 5 | 50 | 51 | 36 | 37 | 213 | 42 | 241 | 24 | 13 | 50 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | S 10 | E 14 | E 13 | E 13 | E 12 | SSE 7 | SE 7 | NE 7 | SE 11 | SE 10 | NE 7 | SE 10 | E 9 | N 12 | ENE 9 | SE 20 | E 11 | E 11 |
| kJ | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 2 | 33 | 42 | 3 | 26 | 16 | 9 | 58 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 5 | SE 5 | E 16 | E 15 | W 3 | — | NE 12 | NE 12 | E 12 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 6 | NE 7 | NE 11 | E 10 | — | — | E 13 | E 12 | SE 20 | SSE 8 |
| kJ | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | — | 6 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 3 | 3 | 15 | 7 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | N 4 | WNW 2 | — | — | SE 5 | SE 4 | — | — | E 8 | — | SE 5 | SE 7 | SE 8 | SSE 9 | SE 10 | SSE 9 | SE 9 | SE 8 | SE 8 |
| kJ | — | — | 21 | 1 | — | — | 11 | 27 | — | — | 57 | — | 17 | 131 | 113 | 909 | 355 | 644 | 152 | 159 | 201 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 4 | 516 | 139 | 4 | 81 | 0 | 68 | 28 | 14 | 0 | 28 | 14 | 68 | 28 | 22 | 68 | 166 | 28 | 24 | 28 | 8 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Gold Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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 Spit 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 Spit Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for The Spit provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at The Spit can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our The Spit 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 Spit) 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 Spit 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 Spit is 4 km (2 miles) from the city of Southport. If you plan a holiday in Gold Coast, look for hotels and other accommodation in Southport. Southport has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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