The Spit Surf Break

Lat Long: 27.94° S 153.43° E

The Spit Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 9 am 16 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's The Spit sea temperature is
19.8° C
1.0° 

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


The Spit surf forecast from 16 Aug 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Thursday 20 Aug, 10PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 8s period, E swell with glassy winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Tuesday 18 Aug, 7AM (local time) - 6.5ft (2.0m), 8s period, ESE swell with 489 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 20 Aug, 10PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 8s 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 (Aug 20) at 10PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.1m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 0.7m and 6s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at The Spit in the next 16 days are 2.0m 8s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 18) at 7AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.5m 3s period and expected on Saturday (Aug 22) at 4AM.

Wave TypeTime (AEST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+)10PM (Thu 20th Aug)3.5ft (1.1m) 8s
Best Surf10PM (Thu 20th Aug)3.5ft (1.1m) 8s
Most Powerful 7AM (Tue 18th Aug)6.5ft (2.0m) 8s

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


The Lowdown

G’day, it’s Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next two weeks at The Spit are looking pretty ordinary. We’ve got a long stretch of poor surf ahead, and honestly, you might want to find something else to do for most of it. The swell’s hanging around, but the wind and direction are just not doing us any favors. The water’s sitting at 68° and that’s a bit colder than normal for this time of year, so you’ll want the wetsuit on if you do go out.

We kick off Sunday the 16th with a fresh SSE breeze making things lumpy and cross-shore. There’s about 4ft of short-period swell but it’s messy, and the energy is weak at 138. The whole of Sunday is a write-off. Monday and Tuesday the 17th and 18th see the swell bump up to 5ft with moderate to fresh cross-onshore winds chopping it up. Still no good. The energy comes up a bit to around 265-286, but it’s all for nothing when it’s that messy.

Wednesday the 19th drops slightly to 5ft but it’s still cross-onshore and choppy. Thursday the 20th gets a bit weaker with a 3ft swell in the morning and a 4ft in the afternoon, but still that cross-shore chop. It’s not until Friday the 21st that we get a glimmer. Friday morning is glassy with a NW wind at 5 km/h, and we’ve got a clean 3ft easterly swell. It’s surfable, but ordinary. The energy is weak at 111, and the period is only 8 seconds, so it’s not going to be powerful. It’s about the best of a bad bunch.

Saturday the 22nd has a clean afternoon with an offshore WSW breeze, but the swell is down to 3ft and weak. Sunday the 23rd is back to poor and messy. Monday the 24th has another glassy morning with 4ft of swell, but the period is only 6 seconds and the energy is a bit higher at 184, but still weak. It’s another ordinary, surfable morning.

From Tuesday the 25th through to Friday the 28th, the swell just fades. It’s a lot of nothing, under 3ft, with cleaning winds at times but hardly any waves to ride. The energy drops into the 30s and 50s, which is weak.

Then we get a little pulse for the final days of the month. Saturday the 29th morning is glassy with a 5ft NE swell, but the period is a short 6 seconds. It’s surfable, but that short period won’t have any push. Sunday the 30th morning is also glassy with 4ft, but the afternoon pulls in a bigger 5ft NNE swell with a 7-second period. The energy jumps to 323, which is moderate. It’s promising, but still short-period and at this spot that could be a bit walled. Still, it’s probably the standout of the whole window, just on the sheer size and clean conditions. The 31st is back to poor again with fresh cross-onshore winds.

So, best on offer? Friday the 21st morning for a clean, small wave, and that Sunday the 30th morning looks like the pick of the bunch – a bit more size and glassy conditions. The Spit (The-Spit) is a river break, and with that short-period windswell, it won’t be grinding, but it’ll be something. Unless things change, this is a pretty flat and messy run.

Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Light rain (total 9mm), mostly falling on Sun night. Very mild (max 19°C on Sun morning, min 16°C on Sun night). Mainly fresh winds.

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Some drizzle, heaviest during Wed night. Very mild (max 19°C on Fri morning, min 15°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light.

Sunday
16
Monday
17
Tuesday
18
Wednesday
19
Thursday
20
Friday
21
Saturday
22
AM
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
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
1.1
SE
7
1.1
SE
6
1.5
ESE
7
1.6
ESE
7
1.6
ESE
8
1.6
ESE
8
1.6
ESE
7
1.6
ESE
8
1.9
ESE
8
1.4
E
7
1.3
E
7
0.8
ESE
10
0.8
ESE
9
1.1
E
8
1
E
8
1
E
8
1
E
8
1
E
7
0.9
E
7
0.9
E
7
0.9
E
8
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
99
98
205
261
276
266
268
276
476
209
166
120
101
138
114
111
110
106
88
88
90
Wind (km/h)
30
SSE
30
SSE
30
SSE
25
ESE
25
SE
20
ESE
25
SE
30
SE
15
SE
20
SSE
20
SE
15
S
20
SSE
15
SE
5
SW
5
NW
15
NNE
15
NW
15
NW
10
WSW
25
S
Wind State
cross
cross-on
cross-on
on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross
cross-on
cross-on
cross-off
glassy
cross-on
cross-off
cross-off
off
cross
High Tide
10:43AM1.29m
10:51PM1.38m
11:26AM1.27m
11:27PM1.22m
12:12PM1.23m
00:04AM1.08m
1:04PM1.20m
00:45AM0.95m
2:07PM1.18m
1:41AM0.84m
3:23PM1.20m
3:04AM0.79m
4:32PM1.25m
Low Tide
4:40PM0.29m
5:11AM0.21m
5:28PM0.39m
5:47AM0.27m
6:21PM0.49m
6:24AM0.32m
7:28PM0.58m
7:08AM0.37m
8:57PM0.61m
8:04AM0.41m
10:29PM0.58m
9:09AM0.42m
11:31PM0.50m
clear
clear
rain showers
part cloud
part cloud
rain showers
rain showers
clear
clear
clear
clear
rain showers
clear
clear
part cloud
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
clear
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:16
6:16
6:15
6:13
6:13
6:11
6:11
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:23
5:24
5:24
5:25
5:25
5:27
5:27
 mm
5
2
2
1
Temp °C
19
19
17
18
18
17
17
18
18
17
18
16
17
18
17
19
19
18
23
21
18
Feels °C
13
13
11
13
12
12
13
12
14
13
15
14
14
16
17
17
17
17
20
19
17
  • 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 Spit:

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 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.

Nearest locationNearest