Surf Forecasts:
The Spit surf forecast from 14 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 17 Sep, 7AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 9s period, SSE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 17 Sep, 7AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 9s period, SSE swell with 1,469 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 16 Sep, 4AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 6s period with NE 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 16) at 4AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.7m and 6s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 10s. The wind is predicted to be 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 Thursday (Sep 17) at 7AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.3m 3s period and expected on Wednesday (Sep 16) at 1AM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 4AM (Wed 16th Sep) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 7AM (Thu 17th Sep) | 10ft (3.0m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 7AM (Thu 17th Sep) | 10ft (3.0m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Spit over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the next couple of weeks at The Spit. Straight up, I’m not going to sugarcoat it – this is a grim run. We’re looking at a long stretch with hardly anything to get excited about, and for the first many days there’s just no surf worth paddling out for.
The pattern is flat and small, with the wind pretty much never playing ball. From Monday the 14th right through the rest of September, the waves are either tiny or blown out. The best you’ll see is a bit of a bump around Wednesday the 16th afternoon when the swell pushes up to 6ft, but it’s coming from the SE with a short 7 second period and a strong cross-onshore wind at 25 mph. That’s a messy, lumpy mess – not for paddling, honestly looks more like a kite day if anything. The combined swell energy hits 313 (moderate) but the quality is poor.
There is one day that stands out as the best of a bad lot: Friday morning the 18th. The swell is 6ft from the SSE with a 9 second period, giving a combined energy of 700 (moderate to strong). Wind is a gentle cross-onshore from the SE at 9 mph, so it’s not clean but it’s the least ugly option. Still, the wave comment says marginal at best. If you’re desperate, that’s your window, but don’t expect much.
After that, it drops right off again. The rest of the run into the end of September is tiny – mostly under 3ft – with onshore or cross-shore winds. Crowds are listed as "often" at The Spit, but honestly, with surf this poor, there won’t be many out. The water temp is 70°, which is about normal for the time of year.
So, to wrap it up: there’s no real standout. Friday the 18th morning is the only time the swell has any size and the wind is lightest, but it’s still not good. Otherwise, it’s a long, flat, choppy wait. Forecasts can change, so don’t write it off completely, but right now it’s a tough stretch.
- Rusty
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Mon morning, min 13°C on Wed night). Winds increasing (light winds from the N on Mon night, fresh winds from the SSE by Wed afternoon). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Sat morning, min 15°C on Thu morning). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the SSE on Thu afternoon, calm by Fri night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 14 | Tuesday 15 | Wednesday 16 | Thursday 17 | Friday 18 | Saturday 19 | Sunday 20 | |||||||||||||||
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) | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | ENE 6 | SSE 4 | SE 7 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | NNE 4 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 32 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 17 | 43 | 21 | 309 | 667 | 322 | 446 | 821 | 575 | 113 | 84 | 56 | 30 | 23 | 16 | 9 | 12 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | on | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | on | off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 10:12AM1.40m | 10:16PM1.23m | 10:52AM1.36m | 10:50PM1.09m | 11:34AM1.31m | 11:26PM0.97m | 12:22PM1.26m | 00:11AM0.86m | 1:19PM1.21m | 1:14AM0.78m | 2:28PM1.20m | 2:47AM0.75m | 3:40PM1.23m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 4:20PM0.29m | 4:22AM0.19m | 5:05PM0.38m | 4:54AM0.25m | 5:57PM0.48m | 5:30AM0.32m | 7:03PM0.55m | 6:13AM0.39m | 8:30PM0.57m | 7:11AM0.45m | 9:59PM0.53m | 8:26AM0.49m | 10:56PM0.45m | ||||||||
 | |  | | | |  | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 5:46 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:43 | — | — | 5:43 | — | — | 5:41 | — | — | 5:39 | — | — | 5:39 | — | — |
 | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:38 | — | — | 5:38 | — | — | 5:39 | — | — | 5:39 | — | — | 5:40 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 20 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 18 |
Feels °C | 19 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 16 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | E 13 | NE 13 | SE 10 | E 13 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 10 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 |
| kJ | 32 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 17 | 43 | 21 | 4 | 7 | 322 | 3 | 176 | 122 | 17 | 84 | 56 | 30 | 23 | 16 | 9 | 2 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 11 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SSE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | E 14 | — | — | NE 13 | NE 16 | E 12 | E 12 | E 15 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | NE 3 | E 8 | E 8 | E 7 |
| kJ | 4 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 4 | — | — | 7 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | SE 7 | E 15 | — | — | — | — | — | E 16 | — | E 12 | E 14 | SE 18 | SE 11 | ESE 10 | E 16 | SE 10 | SE 11 |
| kJ | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | — | 3 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | NNE 4 | NW 3 | SSE 4 | SE 7 | SE 10 | S 3 | SE 10 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | ESE 8 | — | — | NE 3 | — | NNW 4 | NNE 4 | NNE 4 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | 14 | 309 | 667 | 5 | 446 | 821 | 575 | 113 | — | — | 2 | — | 3 | 8 | 12 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 28 | 28 | 18 | 43 | 149 | 66 | 176 | 1391 | 302 | 28 | 348 | 14 | 22 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 516 | 18 | 102 | 983 | 66 |
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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