Surf Forecasts:
The Spit surf forecast from 2 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 3 Sep, 4AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 9s period, E swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 6 Sep, 1AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 6s period, N swell with 138 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 3 Sep, 4AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 9s period with E 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 Thursday (Sep 03) at 4AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.4m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.7m and 5s. 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 1.4m 6s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Sep 06) at 1AM. 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 5s period and expected on Thursday (Sep 03) at 4AM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 4AM (Thu 3rd Sep) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 4AM (Thu 3rd Sep) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 1AM (Sun 6th Sep) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 6s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Spit over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve gotta be straight with you – it’s been a tough run lately, and this 16-day window ain’t gonna throw us any bones. The pattern is flat, weak, and messy. We’ve got a long stretch of nothing to barely-anything coming up, with most days offering poor surf conditions and low energy. The swell is tiny, the wind is often onshore or cross-shore, and it’s just not doing us any favours.
Let’s start from the beginning. The first real chance to even wet a line comes on Saturday, 5th September. The Spit is a river break, consistent, exposed to the east, and it’s a beginner-friendly spot, but it’s not exactly firing. Saturday morning we’ve got a tiny 1 ft east swell, period around 9 seconds, with a light north wind blowing cross-offshore. The water temp is sitting at 69°, and the anomaly is -0.9°, so it’s bang on average for this time of year. The combined energy is a weak 47 (point-nine-nine), so it’s barely a ripple. Conditions are clean, but the waves are just surfable with very ordinary conditions. It’s a one-out-of-ten kind of morning. Saturday afternoon? The wind swings north and kicks up to 19 mph, cross-shore, lumpy, and the swell drops to 3 ft of short-period junk from the NNE. Forget it.
Sunday, 6th September, sees a slight bump. The Spit in the morning offers a 4 ft swell from the north, period only 6 seconds, and the combined energy climbs to 116 (moderate energy). The wind is light northwesterly, cross-offshore, and it’s clean. But honestly, the wave quality is still ‘very ordinary’ – it’s a short-period, windswell mess. The afternoon turns cross-onshore from the southeast, and it’s choppy.
From Monday, 7th September, through to Thursday, 10th September, it’s a dead zone. Tiny swells, onshore or cross-onshore winds, and scores of zero across the board. The Spit is offering nothing. Friday, 11th September, brings a slight increase in size – 5 ft in the morning, 4 ft in the afternoon – but it’s from the southeast with a short period of 6 seconds, and the wind is a fresh 19 mph cross-onshore, making it lumpy and poor. The combined energy is 239, which is moderate, but the conditions are just not worth it.
The rest of the second week follows the same script. Saturday, 12th September, offers 3 ft, cross-onshore, choppy. Sunday the 13th, 3 ft, onshore. Monday the 14th, 4 ft, onshore, with rain showers. The only slight glimmer comes on Tuesday, 15th September. The Spit in the morning sees a glassy calm – wind from the northeast at only 3 mph, flat calm. The swell is a tiny 2 ft from the ENE, period 6 seconds, energy a weak 52. It’s clean, but it’s barely surfable, just very ordinary. That’s the best of the whole run, and it’s not saying much.
Honestly, there’s no standout here. The entire 16-day period is a gap of poor-to-mediocre surf. Nothing is over 5 ft, so it’s not even big or dangerous, just rubbish. The wind is almost always wrong for The Spit, and the swell direction (mostly east or southeast) doesn’t match the optimum east direction all that well when the wind’s on it. If you’re desperate, the glassy Tuesday morning, 15th September, is your only chance for a clean, small wave. But crowds at The Spit are often an issue, so expect a few others waiting for the same crumb.
Rusty out.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 26°C on Thu morning, min 17°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 27°C on Sun morning, min 17°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Wed 2 | Thursday 3 | Friday 4 | Saturday 5 | Sunday 6 | Monday 7 | Tuesday 8 | ||||||||||||||
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) | E 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | NE 6 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | NNE 4 | N 6 | N 6 | NNE 6 | E 10 | SE 11 | E 9 | NE 8 | SE 4 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 |
Wave Graph | ||||||||||||||||||||
47 | 42 | 27 | 29 | 32 | 28 | 27 | 15 | 15 | 26 | 138 | 78 | 22 | 18 | 19 | 15 | 21 | 15 | 31 | 26 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-on | on | off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross |
High Tide | 11:32PM1.17m | 12:24PM1.40m | 00:28AM1.03m | 1:33PM1.39m | 1:43AM0.92m | 2:57PM1.41m | 3:25AM0.88m | 4:23PM1.48m | 5:01AM0.94m | 5:31PM1.56m | 6:05AM1.05m | 6:25PM1.63m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 5:42PM0.40m | 5:40AM0.28m | 6:54PM0.49m | 6:36AM0.34m | 8:29PM0.53m | 7:48AM0.39m | 10:10PM0.48m | 9:14AM0.39m | 11:24PM0.38m | 10:35AM0.34m | 00:17AM0.27m | 11:41AM0.26m | 1:00AM0.19m | |||||||
— | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | |
5:31 | — | — | 5:32 | — | — | 5:32 | — | — | 5:34 | — | — | 5:34 | — | — | 5:35 | — | — | 5:35 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 21 | 18 | 26 | 24 | 21 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 27 | 22 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 18 |
Feels °C | 17 | 15 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 24 | 21 | 16 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 17 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | E 9 | NE 5 | E 9 | NE 6 | NE 6 | E 9 | E 9 | NE 5 | E 9 | NNE 6 | NNE 6 | NNE 6 | NNE 6 | NE 5 | NE 5 | NE 8 | E 9 | ENE 9 | SSE 8 |
47 | 42 | 13 | 27 | 32 | 16 | 27 | 15 | 7 | 15 | 41 | 19 | 22 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 21 | 15 | 28 | 23 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 11 | SE 10 | E 9 | SE 10 | E 9 | E 9 | NE 6 | NE 5 | E 9 | SE 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | NE 8 | NE 6 | ENE 9 |
11 | 4 | 27 | 4 | 28 | 28 | 8 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 26 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 11 | NE 11 | SE 11 | NE 7 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SSE 6 | SSE 11 | E 15 | SE 11 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | SE 11 | SSE 10 | ESE 4 | — | E 6 | NNE 7 |
5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 11 | 2 | — | 1 | 4 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNE 4 | NNE 5 | NW 2 | NNE 4 | — | — | ESE 4 | — | NNE 5 | NNE 4 | N 6 | N 6 | — | SE 4 | SE 5 | ESE 5 | — | SE 4 | SE 4 | E 4 |
18 | 18 | 1 | 29 | — | — | 5 | — | 14 | 26 | 138 | 78 | — | 18 | 12 | 8 | — | 13 | 31 | 10 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 288 | 66 | 66 | 164 | 0 | 28 | 28 | 17 | 0 | 288 | 66 | 0 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 176 | 17 | 28 | 28 | 14 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Gold Coast | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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.











