Wategos Surf Break

Lat Long: 28.64° S 153.63° E

Wategos Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 3 am 16 Sep 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Wategos sea temperature is
20.8°C
0.4° 

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


Wategos surf forecast from 15 Sep 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Saturday 19 Sep, 10AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 9s period, SE swell with glassy winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Wednesday 23 Sep, 10AM (local time) - 5.5ft (1.7m), 7s period, SE swell with 248 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 19 Sep, 10AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 9s period with SE 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 Saturday (Sep 19) at 10AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.1m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 3s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Wategos in the next 16 days are 1.7m 7s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Sep 23) at 10AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 4.0m 10s period and expected on Wednesday (Sep 16) at 10PM.

Wave TypeTime (AEST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+)10AM (Sat 19th Sep)3.5ft (1.1m) 9s
Best Surf10AM (Sat 19th Sep)3.5ft (1.1m) 9s
Most Powerful10AM (Wed 23rd Sep)5.5ft (1.7m) 7s

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


The Lowdown

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve got to be straight with you – Wategos is pretty quiet for the next week and a half. The whole 16-day window is a bit of a mixed bag, with mostly tiny, messy conditions. There’s a long dry spell through the first week, with hardly any rideable surf. The first real pulse of energy doesn’t show until Saturday the 19th of September, but even then, it’s only just surfable. The standout window is actually mid-week the following week, around Wednesday the 23rd of September, when a solid south-east groundswell rolls in.

Let’s start with that first mention of surf. On Saturday morning the 19th of September, we get a tiny SE swell at 4 ft, with a period of 9 seconds and moderate combined energy of 190. The wind is glassy – dead calm – so the surface will be clean as a whistle. But the swell is tiny, and it’s only a brief window before the afternoon gets choppy. The water temp is 69°F, which is about average for this time of year (the anomaly is -0.7°F), so nothing unusual there.

Then we have a real gap. Nothing worth paddling out for until Wednesday the 23rd. Most mornings after that are blown out or cross-shore, and the energy stays low.

The best session of the whole period is Wednesday afternoon the 23rd of September. The swell bumps up to 6 ft from the SE, with a period of 7 seconds (a short period swell, so it’ll be a bit sectiony and not that grunty), but the combined energy is a solid 284 – moderate to strong. The wind swings to a light breeze from the E, cross-offshore, and it’s clean. This is the one to book in. The point break at Wategos will handle it well enough, and the cross-off will keep the faces tidy. The break is very consistent and always has crowd potential, so expect company.

After that, Thursday the 24th holds similar size – 5 ft to 6 ft SE swell – but the wind picks up to a moderate breeze, making it less appealing. The rest of the window into the start of October is mostly cross-shore, onshore, or just messy. The swell stays around 5 ft to 6 ft, but the combined energy gets high (even hitting 539 on Sunday the 27th), but the wind direction is cross or onshore, so the quality is poor. For beginners, the 5 ft+ days in the second week might be a bit much, and over 8 ft doesn’t happen, so no expert-only days.

Honestly, it’s not a classic run. The one real standout is that Wednesday afternoon the 23rd – get on it if you can. For the rest, you’re better off waiting for a better forecast.

Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Light rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Wed morning. Very mild (max 19°C on Fri morning, min 12°C on Wed night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the S on Wed night, light winds from the NW by Fri night).

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Mostly dry. Warm (max 24°C on Mon morning, min 17°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light.

Wednesday
16
Thursday
17
Friday
18
Saturday
19
Sunday
20
Monday
21
Tuesday
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
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.5
NE
6
0.1
E
13
0.1
NE
13
0.1
NE
8
0.2
ENE
8
0.1
E
12
0.1
NE
16
0.1
E
8
1.1
SE
8
1.1
SE
9
0.8
SE
9
0.6
SE
8
0.4
SE
8
0.4
SE
8
0.7
N
4
0.5
N
5
0.5
N
5
0.7
N
5
0.7
N
5
0.4
NNE
5
0.1
N
10
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
16
4
7
2
7
3
10
1
177
186
112
51
23
22
16
11
10
21
28
8
2
Wind (km/h)
35
S
35
SSE
35
SSW
30
S
30
S
15
S
10
S
10
ENE
10
NW
5
NNE
15
NE
10
WSW
5
ESE
20
NE
20
NNW
5
N
20
NNE
20
NNW
15
S
25
S
15
SSE
Wind State
off
off
off
off
off
off
off
cross
cross-on
glassy
cross-on
cross-off
glassy
cross-on
on
glassy
on
on
off
off
cross-off
High Tide
11:03AM1.36m
10:58PM1.00m
11:54AM1.29m
11:46PM0.89m
12:58PM1.22m
1:01AM0.81m
2:17PM1.20m
2:42AM0.79m
3:31PM1.25m
4:02AM0.85m
4:28PM1.33m
4:55AM0.93m
5:12PM1.42m
Low Tide
5:24PM0.43m
4:59AM0.30m
6:26PM0.52m
5:44AM0.39m
7:51PM0.57m
6:49AM0.45m
9:27PM0.54m
8:16AM0.47m
10:34PM0.47m
9:34AM0.43m
11:17PM0.37m
10:32AM0.36m
11:52PM0.28m
light rain
clear
cloud
rain showers
part cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
clear
thunderstorm
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
5:43
5:41
5:41
5:39
5:37
5:37
5:35
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:37
5:37
5:38
5:38
5:39
5:39
5:40
 mm
2
2
17
Temp °C
18
18
17
17
17
17
19
18
17
23
21
20
22
22
19
24
23
19
21
21
20
Feels °C
13
11
8
11
11
13
17
16
15
21
19
20
20
19
16
22
21
18
20
19
19
  • 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 Wategos:

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 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 locationNearest