Surf Forecasts:
The Spit surf forecast from 8 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 11 Sep, 1AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 9s period, SSE swell with cross-shore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 11 Sep, 1AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 9s period, SSE swell with 1,233 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 9 Sep, 7AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 9s period with SE 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 (Sep 09) at 7AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.7m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 9s. 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 3.0m 9s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Sep 11) at 1AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.3m 3s period and expected on Sunday (Sep 13) at 7AM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 7AM (Wed 9th Sep) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 1AM (Fri 11th Sep) | 10ft (3.0m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 1AM (Fri 11th Sep) | 10ft (3.0m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Spit over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for The Spit over the next couple of weeks.
Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – it's not looking great. The Spit is a river mouth setup, exposed to the east, and it's gonna be a battle against the wind for most of this period. We're looking at a long, drawn-out run of poor conditions. There's a gap of about a week from the start of the forecast where you'd be better off doing literally anything else. The first sniff of anything surfable doesn't come until Tuesday the 15th of September, and even then, it's a bit of a stretch.
That Tuesday morning, the 15th, is our one true standout, and it's a real "if you're desperate" situation. The wind finally goes glassy, dead calm, with a slight air. The swell is tiny, only 2ft from the ENE, and the period is a short 6 seconds, so the combined energy is weak at 47. The water temp is about 70°, which is pretty normal for this time of year. You'll get some small, crumbly waves, but it's the only window of clean conditions. The break is a beginner-friendly river mouth, but it's also consistently crowded, so expect a few bodies out there for the scraps.
Wednesday morning the 16th sees the wind flip back onshore, and we're back to choppy, lumpy junk. There's a slight chance on the morning of the 19th of September with a clean cross-offshore breeze from the NNW, but the swell is still tiny at 2ft and weak (54 energy). It's surfable, but very ordinary.
The real kicker is the afternoon of the 20th of September. The swell direction swings to the ESE with a very long period of 13 seconds, but it's only 0.7ft and the combined energy is a measly 36. That long period groundswell at a beach/river break like this will just close out and straighten up, so it's a total tease. For the rest of the run, it's strong winds and messy cross-chop. Honestly, with the significant wind and poor surf quality, this setup would be more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.
Signing off, Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Wed night. Warm (max 20°C on Tue afternoon, min 14°C on Thu night). Mainly fresh winds. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 13mm), heaviest on Sat afternoon. Warm (max 20°C on Sun morning, min 16°C on Fri night). Mainly fresh winds. | |||||||||||||||||||
Tue 8 | Wednesday 9 | Thursday 10 | Friday 11 | Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | ||||||||||||||
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) | SE 4 | SSE 9 | SE 9 | SE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | SE 10 | SSE 9 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | SE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 6 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | ENE 6 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 42 | 506 | 78 | 58 | 217 | 292 | 673 | 1233 | 344 | 306 | 180 | 158 | 153 | 247 | 73 | 66 | 47 | 45 | 44 | 37 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | on | glassy |
High Tide | 6:25PM1.63m | 6:54AM1.16m | 7:12PM1.65m | 7:37AM1.27m | 7:53PM1.64m | 8:17AM1.34m | 8:32PM1.57m | 8:56AM1.39m | 9:08PM1.48m | 9:34AM1.41m | 9:43PM1.36m | 10:12AM1.40m | 10:16PM1.23m | |||||||
Low Tide | 1:00AM0.19m | 12:37PM0.18m | 1:39AM0.13m | 1:26PM0.13m | 2:14AM0.09m | 2:11PM0.11m | 2:48AM0.09m | 2:54PM0.14m | 3:20AM0.10m | 3:37PM0.20m | 3:51AM0.14m | 4:20PM0.29m | ||||||||
 |  | | |  |  | | |  | |  | | |  | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:47 | — | — | 5:46 | — | — |
 | 5:35 | — | — | 5:36 | — | — | 5:36 | — | — | 5:36 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 20 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 |
Feels °C | 14 | 13 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 8 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 8 | SE 9 | ESE 10 | E 14 | SE 9 | S 22 | E 14 | E 14 | SE 10 | SE 11 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | SE 10 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | ENE 6 |
| kJ | 9 | 132 | 78 | 58 | 62 | 73 | 4 | 388 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 117 | 73 | 4 | 47 | 45 | 44 | 37 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 8 | E 8 | — | E 15 | E 14 | S 21 | SE 10 | E 15 | E 14 | SE 11 | SE 10 | SE 18 | E 10 | E 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 |
| kJ | 7 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 6 | — | 4 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 7 | NE 7 | NE 7 | SE 10 | ESE 12 | E 15 | — | SE 23 | — | — | — | E 12 | — | E 14 | SE 20 | E 13 | SE 11 | SE 10 | E 10 | E 10 |
| kJ | 4 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 14 | 4 | — | 21 | — | — | — | 3 | — | 4 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 4 | SSE 9 | — | — | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | SE 10 | SSE 9 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | SE 7 | — | ESE 6 | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 42 | 506 | — | — | 217 | 292 | 673 | 1233 | 344 | 306 | 180 | 158 | 153 | 247 | — | 66 | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 28 | 12 | 28 | 176 | 17 | 348 | 348 | 22 | 22 | 28 | 17 | 28 | 28 | 17 | 28 | 28 | 17 | 28 | 28 | 0 |
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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