Lennox Head • Surf Spot Statistics

Best Surf Season (April - August)

As autumn transitions into winter, the South Pacific High drifts north and the westerly storm track tightens across the Tasman Sea, firing East Coast Lows and long-period southern hemisphere groundswell at the NSW coast. Average wave periods climb from 8.6s in January to 9.2s by April and peak at 9.6s in June and July, while ideal offshore wind jumps from 25% in January to 50-72% through April-August. Swell direction becomes more SSE/SE during these months-not quite the pure ENE/E sweet spot-but the eruption of west-southwest offshore wind more than makes up for it. Water temps cool from 24.5°C in April to 20.0°C in August, rainfall dries out to 1.3-1.8 mm/day in July and August, and average surf size locks in at 1.5-1.7m (5-6ft, 1.5-1.8m). This is the window when Lennox Head becomes the clean, groomed point that surfers dream about.

Fair Surf Season (March & September - October)

March and September/October are the changing of the guard. Ideal wind sits in the 32-52% range, average periods hover around 8.5-9.1s, and the swell mix is a battle between summer easterlies and winter southern hemisphere groundswell. Some days bring pure glass and east-swell perfection; others devolve into afternoon NE sea breeze slop. These are the months where patience and dawn patrols are rewarded.

Low Surf Season (November - February)

Summer at Lennox is a game of timing. The NE sea breeze becomes the dominant wind, ideal offshore conditions drop to just 25-32%, and average wave periods fall to 8.2-8.6s. The good news is that ENE/E/ESE swell is abundant-often more than 40-50% of the wave rose-so there is plenty of raw material. The bad news is that much of that east swell gets chopped up by NE/ENE/E/ESE onshore flow. Water temps peak at 25.4°C and rainfall climbs to 4-5.7 mm/day. It is far from flat, but quality windows are generally limited to early mornings, southerly changes or tropical cyclone events that inject long-period easterly groundswell into the Tasman Sea.