Surf Forecasts:
Third Reef surf forecast from 25 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 30 Aug, 5AM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 16s period, SSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 29 Aug, 11AM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 18s period, SSW swell with 887 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 25 Aug, 8AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 17s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Third Reef this week:
The surf forecast for Third Reef over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 25) at 8AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.7m and 17s period. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Third Reef in the next 16 days are 1.2m 18s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 29) at 11AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.6m 13s period and expected on Tuesday (Aug 25) at 8AM.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8AM (Tue 25th Aug) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 17s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Sun 30th Aug) | 4ft (1.2m) 16s |
| Most Powerful | 11AM (Sat 29th Aug) | 4ft (1.2m) 18s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Third Reef over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it.
Honestly, looking at the next two weeks for Third Reef, it’s a pretty grim stretch. This is a spot that’s exposed to the WNW, and it likes a bit of size, but the wind and swell are just not lining up for most of the run. You’ll be staring at a lot of cross-onshore wind and small, messy swell. The combined wave energy is weak to moderate at best, mostly in the 385 to 500 range. The water temp is about average for the time of year, so nothing dramatic there.
We don’t see any real hope until we hit the first weekend in September. The first few days of September are a total write-off – poor surf and gnarly wind. The waiting game begins.
The real standout, the one to circle on your calendar, is Saturday, the 5th of September. The whole morning is still a bit marginal, but by Saturday afternoon, something special happens. The wind swings to glassy, just a slight air, and the swell is coming from the SSW at 4ft with a 16-second period. That’s a long-period groundswell with moderate energy. For a reef like Third Reef, that long period means the waves will have some real shape and power, and the glassy wind will make it *clean*. This is the best on offer, no question.
Right after that, Sunday, the 6th of September afternoon also looks good. Again, glassy wind, 3ft swell from the SSW at 14 seconds, and the energy is up to 800. It’s a solid, fun option, though not quite the standout of Saturday.
Then we get a few more decent-looking windows. Monday, the 7th of September afternoon has glassy conditions with 3ft at 14 seconds, and Tuesday, the 8th of September afternoon is dead calm with 2ft swell. These are small but clean.
The last entry, for the morning of the 9th of September, shows a bump in size to 5ft, but it’s a short-period swell (8 seconds) from the NW, with onshore wind. That’s a messy, lumpy combo, likely more for the dedicated crew or maybe kite surfers if the wind picks up.
So, nutshell: the next week and a half is a drought. The only real window of quality is from Saturday the 5th of September through to Tuesday the 8th of September, with Saturday afternoon being the absolute pick. Get out there then.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 21°C on Wed afternoon, min 12°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 17°C on Fri morning, min 10°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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) | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SSW 16 | SW 17 | SSW 19 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 326 | 214 | 206 | 203 | 201 | 186 | 134 | 171 | 164 | 339 | 284 | 319 | 887 | 877 | 627 | 733 | 546 | 405 | 400 | 325 | 204 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | on | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 11:19AM1.42m | 10:05PM1.88m | 11:46AM1.49m | 10:47PM1.90m | 12:12PM1.57m | 11:29PM1.89m | 12:37PM1.64m | 00:11AM1.84m | 1:02PM1.71m | 00:55AM1.76m | 1:28PM1.78m | 1:42AM1.66m | 1:56PM1.84m | 2:34AM1.53m | |||||||
Low Tide | 4:11PM0.89m | 5:12AM-0.02m | 4:54PM0.79m | 5:43AM-0.02m | 5:34PM0.67m | 6:13AM0.02m | 6:14PM0.55m | 6:41AM0.11m | 6:54PM0.44m | 7:10AM0.23m | 7:37PM0.33m | 7:39AM0.38m | 8:23PM0.24m | ||||||||
 | |  |  |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:39 | — | — | 6:39 | — | — | 6:39 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — |
 | — | 7:59 | — | — | 7:57 | — | — | 7:55 | — | — | 7:53 | — | — | 7:52 | — | — | 7:51 | — | — | 7:49 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 15 | 16 | 15 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 14 |
Feels °C | 14 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 13 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | NW 9 | SSW 16 | SW 17 | NW 6 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 |
| kJ | 326 | 214 | 206 | 203 | 201 | 186 | 134 | 171 | 77 | 339 | 284 | 64 | 887 | 877 | 627 | 733 | 546 | 405 | 400 | 325 | 204 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | W 13 | W 12 | W 7 | S 13 | S 12 | SW 14 | NW 9 | SW 13 | SSW 19 | S 10 | S 9 | NW 7 | W 11 | W 11 | W 10 | SW 20 | W 10 | NW 8 |
| kJ | 126 | 126 | 125 | 89 | 46 | 26 | 86 | 75 | 164 | 79 | 88 | 319 | 31 | 15 | 73 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 9 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NW 6 | W 15 | W 14 | S 12 | SSW 12 | W 12 | W 11 | W 12 | S 11 | S 12 | S 11 | SW 13 | S 10 | — | W 10 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | SW 19 | W 10 |
| kJ | 14 | 72 | 102 | 75 | 48 | 69 | 59 | 43 | 63 | 72 | 64 | 88 | 17 | — | 18 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 17 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | NW 4 | NW 4 | NW 4 | NW 4 | NW 4 | WNW 8 | WNW 5 | NW 5 | WNW 5 | NW 6 | NW 6 | NW 6 | NW 6 | NW 7 | NW 7 | NW 6 | NW 6 | NW 8 | NW 5 | NW 4 |
| kJ | — | 12 | 15 | 2 | 42 | 3 | 90 | 74 | 20 | 17 | 128 | 136 | 97 | 175 | 189 | 119 | 161 | 53 | 72 | 56 | 3 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 211 | 195 | 0 | 195 | 84 | 0 | 195 | 385 | 0 | 195 | 385 | 0 | 195 | 385 | 0 | 211 | 386 | 0 | 385 | 195 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Humboldt County | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
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 Third Reef 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 Third Reef Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Third Reef provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Third Reef can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Third Reef 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 (Third Reef) 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 Third Reef 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.
Third Reef is 85 km (53 miles) from Eureka. If you plan a vacation in Humboldt County, look for hotels and other accommodation in Eureka. Eureka has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest