Beach forecast for Whangarei Heads
Today, Thursday, October 29, 2026 · local time (GMT+13) · Northland, New Zealand Today, Thu, Oct 29 · GMT+13- Swimming
- Calm · 1.4 ft
- Water
- 63 °F · cold
- Max UV
- 7 · SPF 50
- Low tide
- 4:14 am and 4:41 pm
Today, Thursday, October 29, it's not a beach day in Whangarei Heads (1/10). The best day this week is Sunday, November 1, at 3/10.
Beach forecast for the next 7 days
| Day | Rating | Best hours | Swimming | Water | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 1Not a beach day | Not today | Calm · 1.4 ft | 63 °F | 7 |
| Fri 30 | 1Not a beach day | No good window | Calm · 1.9 ft | 63 °F | 6 |
| Sat 31 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Calm · 1.0 ft | 62 °F | 6 |
| Sun 1 | 3Poor beach day | No good window | Calm · 1.2 ft | 62 °F | 6 |
| Mon 2 | 1Not a beach day | No good window | Calm · 2.4 ft | 62 °F | 4 |
| Tue 3 | 1Not a beach day | No good window | Calm · 2.1 ft | 63 °F | — |
| Wed 4 | 2Not a beach day | No good window | Calm · 3.3 ft | 63 °F | — |
Each rating comes from sun, temperature, rain, wind, waves, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide.
Today in detail
- Calm for swimming: 1.4 ft waves
- UV 7 (high): SPF 50 sunscreen
- Low tide at 4:41 pm: more sand
- Cloudy (100% cloud cover)
- Feels like 65 °F: a bit cool
- Rain (0.04 in)
Today, hour by hour
- Swimming Calm · 1.4 ft
1.4 ft waves: calm for swimming. Low rip current risk. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
- Water 63 °F
Cold: ease in slowly.
- Sun & sunscreen UV 7 · SPF 50
Max UV 7 (high): SPF 50 sunscreen, reapplied every 2 hours.
- Wind 16 mph
Moderate onshore wind (16 mph).
- Tide & sand 4:41 pm
Low tide at 4:14 am and 4:41 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide at 10:36 am and 10:51 pm.
We don't have data on jellyfish, sargassum or beach closures: ask the lifeguard or check with the local beach authority.
Today, hour by hour
| Time | Rating | Sky | Feels like | Wind | Waves | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7:00 am | 0 | Overcast | 51 °F | 10 mph | 0.7 ft | 0 |
| 8:00 am | 0 | Light drizzle | 53 °F | 12 mph | 0.8 ft | 1 |
| 9:00 am | 0 | Light drizzle | 56 °F | 14 mph | 1.0 ft | 2 |
| 10:00 am | 0 | Light drizzle | 58 °F | 15 mph | 1.1 ft | 3 |
| 11:00 am | 0 | Light drizzle | 61 °F | 16 mph | 1.2 ft | 5 |
| 12:00 pm | 0 | Light drizzle | 64 °F | 16 mph | 1.2 ft | 7 |
| 1:00 pm | 1 | Light drizzle | 65 °F | 16 mph | 1.2 ft | 7 |
| 2:00 pm | 2 | Overcast | 65 °F | 16 mph | 1.3 ft | 6 |
| 3:00 pm | 0 | Overcast | 63 °F | 16 mph | 1.3 ft | 5 |
| 4:00 pm | 0 | Overcast | 62 °F | 15 mph | 1.4 ft | 3 |
| 5:00 pm | 0 | Overcast | 61 °F | 14 mph | 1.4 ft | 2 |
| 6:00 pm | 0 | Overcast | 60 °F | 12 mph | 1.3 ft | 1 |
Beach hours only: from one hour after sunrise to half an hour before sunset.
Beaches near Whangarei Heads
Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Smugglers Bay Beach 3.3 mi · SE
- Ocean Beach 3.4 mi · E
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Parking
- Peach Cove 4.5 mi · SE
- Restrooms
Named beaches within 6.2 mi, nearest first. Amenities from OpenStreetMap: some may be missing or out of date. View on OpenStreetMap · Add or fix on OpenStreetMap
Beaches and amenities: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Webcams near Whangarei Heads
Webcams provided by windy.com — add a webcam
How we rate a beach day
We rate every beach hour from 0 to 10 with simple, fixed rules:
- Adds: sunshine (up to 3 points, fewer with more clouds), warmth (up to 4, from the feels-like temperature; ideal between 81 °F and 91 °F), a calm sea (1), water at 70 °F or warmer (1; from 64 °F, half) and low or mid tide (1: more sand). Anything without data is left out and the rest is scaled to 10.
- Takes away: cold (feels-like below 64 °F, 1 to 4 points), rain (half a point if likely, up to 6 if it rains; thunderstorms, 8), wind from force 4, about 12 mph (1 to 6 points; half a point more if offshore, which blows inflatables out to sea, or onshore, which churns the water), waves (1 to swim with care, 4 if dangerous, 1 more for high rip current risk), very high UV (half a point; extreme, 1), water below 59 °F (1) and spring high tides (1: little sand left).
- Swimming: calm, use care (waves from 2.6 ft, or long swell) or dangerous (from 6.6 ft, or 4.9 ft with a long period), based on how much of the wave reaches this shore given the way it faces. In the U.S., today's and tomorrow's rip current risk comes from the National Weather Service surf zone forecast when it issues one; otherwise we estimate it from the waves.
- Best windows: runs of 2 to 5 hours rated 4 or more and close to the best hour, at least one hour apart.
- Day rating: the average of the best window; a 2-hour window keeps 85% of it and a 3-hour window 95%.
Today, in the best window: sun 0 of 3, warmth 1 of 4, calm sea 1 of 1, water 0 of 1 and tide 1 of 1; minus wind 1.5; short window: the rating keeps 85%.
It's a guide, not a guarantee: weather changes and every beach is different. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
Questions about the beach in Whangarei Heads
Is it a beach day in Whangarei Heads today?
Not a beach day: 1/10. No good beach time today.
What are the swimming conditions in Whangarei Heads today?
1.4 ft waves: calm for swimming. Low rip current risk. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
How warm is the water in Whangarei Heads?
About 63 °F today: cold. That's the sea surface temperature offshore; it can differ a little at the shoreline.
How much sun protection do I need in Whangarei Heads today?
UV reaches 7 (high): SPF 50 sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat.
When is low tide in Whangarei Heads?
Today low tide is at 4:14 am and 4:41 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide is at 10:36 am and 10:51 pm.
What about tomorrow? Will it be a beach day in Whangarei Heads?
Tomorrow, Friday, October 30: not a beach day (1/10).
What beaches are near Whangarei Heads?
Smugglers Bay Beach (3.3 mi), Ocean Beach (3.4 mi) and Peach Cove (4.5 mi). See below for amenities and water quality.
Are there jellyfish or sargassum today?
We don't know: there's no open data on jellyfish, sargassum or closures for each beach. Ask the lifeguard, check the flags or the local beach authority's website.
How is the rating worked out?
From the hourly forecast: sun and clouds, feels-like temperature, rain, wind (and whether it blows onshore or offshore), waves and their period, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide. Each factor adds or takes away a fixed number of points and the rating sums them up out of 10.
More about Whangarei Heads today
Learn more
Our own calculation, using the Open-Meteo forecast (ECMWF, NOAA GFS, Météo-France, Copernicus Marine and CAMS, CC BY 4.0), the tide from Marsden Point (LINZ) and the sun from astronomy-engine. Slackwater database (https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database). This work is based on Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand data which are licensed by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Modified: see https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database#modifications-to-source-data