Beach forecast for Mount Cook
Today, Thursday, October 29, 2026 · local time (GMT+13) · Wellington, New Zealand Today, Thu, Oct 29 · GMT+13- Swimming
- Use care · 6.7 ft
- Water
- 59 °F · very cold
- Max UV
- 7 · SPF 50
- Low tide
- 1:45 am and 2:31 pm
Today, Thursday, October 29, it's not a beach day in Mount Cook (0/10). The best day this week is Wednesday, November 4, at 2/10.
Beach forecast for the next 7 days
| Day | Rating | Best hours | Swimming | Water | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 0Not a beach day | Not today | Use care · 6.7 ft | 59 °F | 7 |
| Fri 30 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Dangerous · 6.9 ft | 59 °F | 7 |
| Sat 31 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Dangerous · 12 ft | 58 °F | 6 |
| Sun 1 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Dangerous · 6.6 ft | 58 °F | 8 |
| Mon 2 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Calm · 5.8 ft | 58 °F | 7 |
| Tue 3 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Calm · 4.0 ft | 59 °F | — |
| Wed 4 | 2Not a beach day | No good window | Calm · 2.5 ft | 60 °F | — |
Each rating comes from sun, temperature, rain, wind, waves, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide.
Today in detail
- Mostly sunny
- UV 7 (high): SPF 50 sunscreen
- Low tide at 2:31 pm: more sand
- Feels like 53 °F: chilly for the beach
- Rain (0.01 in)
- Strong offshore wind (26 mph): it blows floats and inflatables out to sea
Today, hour by hour
- Swimming Use care · 6.7 ft
6.7 ft waves every 6 s: swim with care and stay where you can stand. Low rip current risk. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
- Water 59 °F
Very cold: ease in and keep swims short.
- Sun & sunscreen UV 7 · SPF 50
Max UV 7 (high): SPF 50 sunscreen, reapplied every 2 hours.
- Wind 26 mph
Strong offshore wind (26 mph): blowing sand. Skip the inflatables: offshore wind carries them out to sea.
- Tide & sand 2:31 pm
Low tide at 1:45 am and 2:31 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide at 7:59 am and 8:33 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 | Clear sky | 47 °F | 25 mph | 6.5 ft | 0 |
| 8:00 am | 0 | Mainly clear | 48 °F | 25 mph | 6.6 ft | 1 |
| 9:00 am | 0 | Mainly clear | 48 °F | 26 mph | 6.6 ft | 2 |
| 10:00 am | 0 | Mainly clear | 49 °F | 26 mph | 6.7 ft | 4 |
| 11:00 am | 0 | Light drizzle | 51 °F | 25 mph | 6.5 ft | 6 |
| 12:00 pm | 0 | Light drizzle | 52 °F | 23 mph | 6.2 ft | 7 |
| 1:00 pm | 0 | Light drizzle | 53 °F | 21 mph | 6.0 ft | 4 |
| 2:00 pm | 0 | Partly cloudy | 53 °F | 21 mph | 5.9 ft | 5 |
| 3:00 pm | 0 | Mainly clear | 52 °F | 21 mph | 5.7 ft | 5 |
| 4:00 pm | 0 | Clear sky | 51 °F | 21 mph | 5.6 ft | 4 |
| 5:00 pm | 0 | Clear sky | 50 °F | 20 mph | 5.3 ft | 2 |
| 6:00 pm | 0 | Clear sky | 49 °F | 19 mph | 5.1 ft | 1 |
Beach hours only: from one hour after sunrise to half an hour before sunset.
Beaches near Mount Cook
Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Freyberg Beach 1.1 mi · NE
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Parking
- Oriental Beach 1.2 mi · NE
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Parking
- Hātaitai Beach 1.3 mi · E
- Restrooms
- Lyall Bay Beach 2.3 mi · SE
- Lifeguard
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Parking
- Worser Bay Beach 2.9 mi · E
- Restrooms
- Parking
- Scorching Bay Beach 3.1 mi · E
- Restrooms
- Parking
- Ōwhiro Bay Beach 3.1 mi · S
- Parking
- Seatoun Beach 3.3 mi · SE
- Restrooms
- Parking
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 Mount Cook
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 3 of 3, warmth 0 of 4, calm sea 1 of 1, water 0 of 1 and tide 0 of 1; minus cold 4, wind 4.5 and cold water 1; 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 Mount Cook
Is it a beach day in Mount Cook today?
Not a beach day: 0/10. No good beach time today.
What are the swimming conditions in Mount Cook today?
6.7 ft waves every 6 s: swim with care and stay where you can stand. Low rip current risk. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
How warm is the water in Mount Cook?
About 59 °F today: very cold. That's the sea surface temperature offshore; it can differ a little at the shoreline.
How much sun protection do I need in Mount Cook today?
UV reaches 7 (high): SPF 50 sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat.
When is low tide in Mount Cook?
Today low tide is at 1:45 am and 2:31 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide is at 7:59 am and 8:33 pm.
What about tomorrow? Will it be a beach day in Mount Cook?
Tomorrow, Friday, October 30: not a beach day (0/10).
What beaches are near Mount Cook?
Freyberg Beach (1.1 mi), Oriental Beach (1.2 mi), Hātaitai Beach (1.3 mi), Lyall Bay Beach (2.3 mi) and Worser Bay Beach (2.9 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 Mount Cook 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 Wellington (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