Lennox Head surf report and forecast
Forecast for the selected hour
Now · 2am
5–6 ft · sets to 8
Fair-GoodBest today 6am–2pm
The swell is the limiting factor.
The wave field solved for this hour on the real seafloor, playing forward. A model, not a camera.
Loads when it comes into view.The wave field solved for this hour on the real seafloor, playing forward. A model, not a camera.
This hour
The 2am readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water
- Swell5.3 ft · 8 s · EMakes the wave: 88% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- 2.0 ft · 9 s · SESecondary: 12% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- Wind1 mph from the ENEOnshore to a shoreline facing 84°Light
- Tide-0.6 ft, risingNext high 0.1 ft at 4:41am · NAVD88, TICON brunswick_heads-202403-aus-bom predicted (no observed source in AU)
- BreakerSpillingBreaks in about 10 ft of water
- Energy182 kJHeight² × period²Moderate
- Water73° · air — · UV 0
High confidence.
Best window6am–2pm
Against what Lennox Head likesWhy it is Fair-Good, not Good
Preferred tide and swell are surfer-consensus notes for this spot, not yet reviewed against measurements. Wind is judged by the general rule (light or offshore helps). No percent match: these are plain states and reasons.
Nearby at 2amBroken Head, The Pass and 3 more
The break
The seafloorCobble and boulder over a rock point
Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.
- Bottomcobble and boulder over a rock point
- DepthNSW Marine LiDAR Topo-Bathy 2018 (5 m, AHD). Depth shown is below the selected hour’s tide.
- CoverageRock reef and headland shapes resolve well. Nearshore sandbars are interpolated flat in this dataset, so a beachbreak’s bar is not in the picture. A tile’s year is its publication, not the survey date.
Why it breaks like thisTwo swells at once, the seafloor is neutral here, where it trips
Read from the current hour (today at 2am). Each number, and what it does to the wave.
Two swells at once
5.3 ft at 8s from the E carrying 88% of the energy, plus 2.0 ft at 9s from the SE (12%).
The shorter, steeper train is carrying most of the energy here, so expect a choppier, less organised lineup than the longest period in the list would suggest on its own. Why period matters more than height
The seafloor is neutral here
Kr 0.99 · 92% of modelled rays break.
Energy arrives roughly as it left deep water: this bottom neither concentrates the swell nor fans it out, so what the buoy sees is close to what you get. Why two breaks a mile apart differ
Where it trips
-0.6 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 10 ft of water.
A wave breaks when the water gets shallow enough relative to its height, so that depth is a contour on the seafloor, and the tide slides the whole break up and down it through the day. Same swell, different spot, a few hours apart. How the tide moves the break
Barely any wind
1 mph from the ENE, against a shoreline facing 84°.
Too light to shape the face either way. At this speed the wave's own texture wins, whatever the direction.
How Lennox Head worksOne of the great Australian points
One of the great Australian points: a long, fast right over round cobblestones that runs from the boulders down toward the beach. It wants size and a straight swell, the take-off is over rock, and the paddle out from the boulder field is its own problem.
- Best tidemid to low
- Best swellSE–E groundswell
- Suitsadvanced
2 swell trains in the current hour · How this is calculated
Common questions4 questions about Lennox Head
- What is the best tide for Lennox Head?
- Lennox Head works best on mid to low tide. Tide matters because depth is what trips a wave: as the water fills in, the break slides shoreward onto a different part of the bottom, and over a shallow bank enough water stops it breaking at all. Our forecast solves each hour at that hour's real water level rather than assuming one.
- What swell direction is best for Lennox Head?
- SE–E groundswell suits Lennox Head best. The direction that matters is the one at the break, not the one on the buoy: the seafloor bends swell on its way in, so a spot can work on an angle the open coast is missing. We model that bending for each break rather than reporting the offshore direction.
- Is Lennox Head good for beginners?
- Lennox Head suits advanced surfers, over cobble and boulder over a rock point. That is the wave this bottom makes on an average day, and it moves: the same break is a different proposition on a bigger swell or a different tide, so read the day's forecast rather than the label.
- What is the bottom like at Lennox Head?
- cobble and boulder over a rock point. It is the reason this break behaves the way it does: the shape of the seabed decides where the swell focuses, where it trips, and whether it spills or pitches. We model Lennox Head on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.