Surf Forecasts:
Wategos surf forecast from 16 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 21 Jul, 10PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 10s period, E swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 18 Jul, 7PM (local time) - 15ft (4.5m), 10s period, SE swell with 4,226 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 21 Jul, 10PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 10s period with E swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Wategos this week:
The surf forecast for Wategos over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Jul 21) at 10PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.6m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.9m and 10s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Wategos in the next 16 days are 4.5m 10s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Jul 18) at 7PM. Winds are predicted to be offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 4.0m 9s period and expected on Thursday (Jul 16) at 1PM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 10PM (Tue 21st Jul) | 5ft (1.6m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 10PM (Tue 21st Jul) | 5ft (1.6m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 7PM (Sat 18th Jul) | 15ft (4.5m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Wategos over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Righto, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – we’re looking at a pretty bleak stretch ahead for the Cape Byron region. The next week and a half is gonna be a write-off for any decent paddle surfing. We’ve got a big gap from now until late July with hardly anything worth paddling out for.
The real story starts way down the line. From Saturday the 19th of July, a solid swell starts showing up, but it’s hammered by nasty, strong SSE winds. We’re talking 25 mph winds and 15 ft surf at times. That’s expert-only territory, and even then, the wind’s gonna make it a battle. The wave energy is massive – hitting 3815 on Saturday afternoon and staying well above 1000 for days – but it’s raw, unruly, and more suited to kite gear than a surfboard. The water temp is sitting around 69°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year.
The one glimmer, and I mean a faint one, comes around Wednesday the 23rd of July. Wategos (Cape Byron) will have a brief window of glassy conditions in the morning. The swell drops right down to 4 ft from the E with a period of 9 seconds, and with that light SSW breeze, the surface will be clean. Don’t get excited though – the energy’s only 233, so it’s small and weak. It’s about as ordinary as it gets, but it’s the only time in the whole run where you’ll even think about it. The swell direction is from the E, which is off the optimum NE direction for this point, so don’t expect any magic.
Crowds are always a problem here, but with conditions this average, you might actually have some space.
After that, it’s back to tiny, wind-affected slop until the end of the month. Honest truth? Nothing here is a standout. It’s a long, dry spell. We’ll have to hope for a change in the models.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 63mm), heaviest during Thu afternoon. Very mild (max 18°C on Fri morning, min 16°C on Thu afternoon). Mainly strong winds. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 19mm), heaviest on Sun afternoon. Very mild (max 19°C on Sun night, min 17°C on Tue night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the SSE on Sun morning, light winds from the S by Tue night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 16 | Friday 17 | Saturday 18 | Sunday 19 | Monday 20 | Tuesday 21 | Wednesday 22 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | NE 8 | NE 8 | NE 7 | SE 16 | SSE 9 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | E 10 | ESE 9 | E 10 | E 9 | E 10 | E 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 0 | 0 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 3815 | 3694 | 2936 | 2539 | 2529 | 1878 | 1527 | 1205 | 961 | 484 | 500 | 367 | 273 | 305 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | off | off | off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | glassy |
High Tide | 9:40PM1.89m | 10:03AM1.16m | 10:23PM1.77m | 10:51AM1.18m | 11:04PM1.60m | 11:42AM1.19m | 11:44PM1.42m | 12:36PM1.20m | 00:25AM1.23m | 1:35PM1.20m | 1:11AM1.07m | 2:40PM1.22m | 2:09AM0.94m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 2:59PM-0.03m | 4:21AM0.02m | 3:46PM0.05m | 5:00AM0.06m | 4:35PM0.16m | 5:38AM0.11m | 5:26PM0.30m | 6:16AM0.16m | 6:22PM0.44m | 6:55AM0.22m | 7:31PM0.56m | 7:39AM0.28m | 8:57PM0.61m | ||||||||
 |  |  |  | |  |  | |  | | | | |  |  |  | |  | | |  | |
 | 6:35 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:33 | — | — |
 | — | 5:06 | — | — | 5:06 | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:08 | — |
mm | 6 | 7 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
Feels °C | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | NE 8 | NE 8 | NE 7 | SE 16 | S 21 | S 22 | S 21 | S 24 | E 11 | S 17 | S 14 | SSE 13 | SSE 12 | E 10 | ESE 9 | E 10 | E 9 | E 10 | E 10 |
| kJ | — | — | 11 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 36 | 37 | 76 | 11 | 319 | 91 | 60 | 34 | 57 | 961 | 484 | 500 | 367 | 273 | 305 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | S 19 | SE 18 | SE 18 | — | — | — | E 18 | S 24 | — | S 18 | — | — | — | SSE 12 | E 10 | ENE 10 | ENE 10 | ENE 9 | SSE 10 |
| kJ | — | — | 7 | 13 | 13 | — | — | — | 6 | 11 | — | 6 | — | — | — | 46 | 212 | 120 | 57 | 90 | 19 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | S 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | ENE 9 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 100 | 40 | 38 | 33 | 32 | 16 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | — | — | — | — | SSW 3 | — |
| kJ | 2138 | 2327 | 1191 | 700 | 653 | 1137 | 2911 | 3815 | 3694 | 2936 | 2539 | 2529 | 1878 | 1527 | 1205 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 229 | 408 | 389 | 53 | 574 | 58 | 598 | 720 | 229 | 552 | 389 | 274 | 92 | 92 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in North Coast - New South Wales | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Wategos 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 Wategos Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Wategos provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Wategos can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Wategos 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 (Wategos) 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 Wategos 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.
Wategos is 27 km (17 miles) from Ballina. If you plan a holiday in North Coast - New South Wales, look for hotels and other accommodation in Ballina. Ballina has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest