Beach forecast for New Brighton
Today, Wednesday, October 28, 2026 · local time (GMT+2) · Eastern Cape, South Africa Today, Wed, Oct 28 · GMT+2- Swimming
- Use care · 4.1 ft
- Water
- 66 °F · cool
- Max UV
- 9 · SPF 50
- Low tide
- 10:31 am and 11:03 pm
Today, Wednesday, October 28, it's a poor beach day in New Brighton (4/10). The best hours are from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm: sunshine and low tide at 10:31 am, though with light offshore wind, some waves and very high UV. The best day this week is Thursday, October 29, at 6/10.
Beach forecast for the next 7 days
| Day | Rating | Best hours | Swimming | Water | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 4Poor beach day | 10:00 am–12:00 pm | Use care · 4.1 ft | 66 °F | 9 |
| Thu 29 | 6Fair beach day | 11:00 am–3:00 pm | Use care · 6.9 ft | 67 °F | 11 |
| Fri 30 | 3Poor beach day | No good window | Dangerous · 7.5 ft | 67 °F | 10 |
| Sat 31 | 2Not a beach day | No good window | Dangerous · 6.6 ft | 67 °F | 6 |
| Sun 1 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Use care · 7.2 ft | 68 °F | 7 |
| Mon 2 | 1Not a beach day | No good window | Use care · 6.6 ft | 68 °F | — |
| Tue 3 | 4Poor beach day | No good window | Use care · 5.6 ft | 69 °F | — |
Each rating comes from sun, temperature, rain, wind, waves, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide.
Today in detail
- Sunny
- Feels like 73 °F: mild
- Water at 66 °F (cool)
- Low tide at 10:31 am: more sand
- Light offshore wind (10 mph): it blows floats and inflatables out to sea
- Swim with care: 4.1 ft waves every 7 s; moderate rip current risk
Today, hour by hour
- Swimming Use care · 4.1 ft
4.1 ft waves every 7 s: swim with care and stay where you can stand. Moderate rip current risk. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
- Water 66 °F
Cool: refreshing on a hot day.
- Sun & sunscreen UV 9 · SPF 50
Max UV 9 (very high): SPF 50 sunscreen, reapplied every 2 hours. Seek shade 11:00 am–1:00 pm (very high UV).
- Wind 12 mph
Offshore breeze (12 mph). Watch floats and inflatables: offshore wind carries them out to sea.
- Tide & sand 10:31 am
Low tide at 10:31 am and 11:03 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide at 4:33 am and 4:51 pm. Coefficient 103 (spring tides): little sand left at high tide.
The best window, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, brings sunshine and low tide at 10:31 am, though with light offshore wind, some waves and very high UV.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00 am | 0 | Overcast | 62 °F | 3 mph | 4.4 ft | 0 |
| 7:00 am | 1 | Overcast | 65 °F | 6 mph | 4.3 ft | 1 |
| 8:00 am | 1 | Overcast | 67 °F | 9 mph | 4.2 ft | 3 |
| 9:00 am | 2 | Partly cloudy | 68 °F | 9 mph | 4.2 ft | 5 |
| 10:00 am | 4 | Mainly clear | 71 °F | 9 mph | 4.1 ft | 8 |
| 11:00 am | 5 | Clear sky | 73 °F | 10 mph | 4.1 ft | 9 |
| 12:00 pm | 4 | Mainly clear | 74 °F | 11 mph | 4.2 ft | 9 |
| 1:00 pm | 3 | Partly cloudy | 74 °F | 12 mph | 4.2 ft | 6 |
| 2:00 pm | 1 | Overcast | 73 °F | 12 mph | 4.3 ft | 7 |
| 3:00 pm | 0 | Overcast | 72 °F | 12 mph | 4.2 ft | 5 |
| 4:00 pm | 0 | Partly cloudy | 70 °F | 10 mph | 4.2 ft | 2 |
| 5:00 pm | 1 | Mainly clear | 69 °F | 9 mph | 4.1 ft | 1 |
Beach hours only: from one hour after sunrise to half an hour before sunset.
Beaches near New Brighton
Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap contributors
- King's Beach 5.4 mi · SE
- 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 New Brighton
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 2.5 of 3, warmth 2 of 4, calm sea 0 of 1, water 0.5 of 1 and tide 1 of 1; minus wind 0.5, waves 1 and UV 0.3; 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 New Brighton
Is it a beach day in New Brighton today?
A poor beach day: 4/10. Best from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, with sunshine and low tide at 10:31 am, though with light offshore wind, some waves and very high UV.
What are the swimming conditions in New Brighton today?
4.1 ft waves every 7 s: swim with care and stay where you can stand. Moderate rip current risk. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
How warm is the water in New Brighton?
About 66 °F today: cool. That's the sea surface temperature offshore; it can differ a little at the shoreline.
How much sun protection do I need in New Brighton today?
UV reaches 9 (very high): SPF 50 sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat, and seek shade from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.
When is low tide in New Brighton?
Today low tide is at 10:31 am and 11:03 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide is at 4:33 am and 4:51 pm. Coefficient 103 (spring tides): little sand left at high tide.
What about tomorrow? Will it be a beach day in New Brighton?
Tomorrow, Thursday, October 29: a fair beach day (6/10), best from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.
What beaches are near New Brighton?
King's Beach (5.4 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 New Brighton 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 Port Elizabeth (TICON-4) and the sun from astronomy-engine. Slackwater database (https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database). Source: Hart-Davis, M., Dettmering, D., Seitz, F. (2025), TICON-4: TIdal CONstants based on GESLA-4 sea-level records, SEANOE, https://doi.org/10.17882/109129. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Modified: see https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database#modifications-to-source-data