Ward Beach Surf Forecast

/ Kaikoura and Marlborough (12 surf breaks) /

New Zealand (466 surf breaks) / Lat Long: (41.85° S 174.18° E)

Surf Forecasts:

Ward Beach surfForecast / Kaikoura and Marlborough / New Zealand

12 Day Weather and Surf, issued 5 am Friday 19 Sep 2025 NZST

Forecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent

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

Today's Ward Beach sea temperature is 11.3° C
(Which is normal for this time of year)

Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Ward Beach this week:

The surf forecast for Ward Beach over the next 12 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Sep 24) at 3AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.5m and 11s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 4s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Ward Beach in the next 12 days are 2.3m 10s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Sep 26) at 9AM. Winds are predicted to be glassy at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 3.0m 7s period and expected on Sunday (Sep 21) at 6AM.

Wave Type	Time (NZST) & Date	Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+)	3AM (Wed 24th Sep)	1.5ft (0.5m) 11s
Best Surf	6AM (Fri 26th Sep)	8ft (2.4m) 7s
Most Powerful	9AM (Fri 26th Sep)	7.5ft (2.3m) 10s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Ward Beach over the next 12 days.

Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent

12 Days Hourly

Print Table

	Short Range Forecast Light rain (total 7mm), mostly falling on Sun night. Very mild (max 14°C on Sat afternoon, min 6°C on Fri night). Winds increasing (light winds from the NE on Fri afternoon, near gales from the NNW by Sun afternoon).									Days 3-6 Weather Summary Moderate rain (total 11mm), heaviest on Wed night. Very mild (max 17°C on Wed morning, min 10°C on Tue night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the N on Mon morning, calm by Tue night).
	Friday 19			Saturday 20			Sunday 21			Monday 22			Tuesday 23			Wednesday 24			Thursday 25
	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	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) & direction (?)	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	SSW	ENE	ENE	S	ENE	ENE	ENE	E	E	E	E	E	E
Period(s) (?)	9	9	10	13	12	13	11	10	15	8	8	14	8	9	9	10	14	13	13	11	12
Wave Graph (?)
kJ (?)	977	503	407	928	678	473	114	34	21	14	24	16	24	26	26	55	250	407	383	723	555
Wind (km/h)	SSW	SSE	N	N	NNW	NNW	NNW	NNW	NNW	N	N	N	S	S	SSW	N	NNW	N	N	N	SSW
Wind State (?) onshore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore offshore glassy	cross- on	on	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- on	cross- on	cross	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross
High Tide / height (m)		3:12PM 1.37		3:39AM 1.23	4:08PM 1.34		4:35AM 1.22	5:01PM 1.32		5:28AM 1.24	5:53PM 1.31		6:18AM 1.27		6:42PM 1.31	7:06AM 1.31		7:28PM 1.31	7:51AM 1.34		8:13PM 1.31
Low Tide / height (m)	9:02AM 0.20		9:46PM 0.22	10:02AM 0.22		10:42PM 0.21	10:59AM 0.21		11:34PM 0.20	11:52AM 0.20		12:22AM 0.18		12:41PM 0.18	1:06AM 0.17		1:28PM 0.17	1:48AM 0.17		2:12PM 0.16	2:28AM 0.17

	Friday 19			Saturday 20			Sunday 21			Monday 22			Tuesday 23			Wednesday 24			Thursday 25
Sunrise	6:18	-	-	6:16	-	-	6:15	-	-	6:13	-	-	6:11	-	-	6:09	-	-	6:07	-	-
Sunset	-	6:15	-	-	6:16	-	-	6:17	-	-	6:19	-	-	6:20	-	-	6:21	-	-	6:22	-

Rain (mm)	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	5	3	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	6	4	-	5
Temp. °C	7	7	6	13	14	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	13	12	11	17	17	12	13	16	11
Feels °C (?)	-1	2	1	3	3	1	3	3	7	7	7	8	10	8	8	11	11	7	7	10	6

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Recent Eyeball Surf Reports for Kaikoura and Marlborough

Wind Update The wind is still cross-on at Ward Beach (fresh winds from the SSW at CapeCampbellAws 15 km from Ward Beach). A 2.6m swell from the S is too big for here
42 minutes ago Ward Beach

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Actual: 42 min ago

35 km/h

SSW

Cross-On

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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 Ward Beach 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 Ward Beach Surf forecast

The above surf forecast table for Ward Beach provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 12 days. A general guide to surfing at Ward Beach can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Ward Beach 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 (Ward Beach) 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 Ward Beach 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.