Surf Forecasts:
Cactus surf forecast from 15 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 21 Aug, 12AM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 16s period, SW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 22 Aug, 6PM (local time) - 7.5ft (2.3m), 16s period, SW swell with 2,668 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 16 Aug, 12AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 15s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Cactus this week:
The surf forecast for Cactus over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Sunday (Aug 16) at 12AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.4m and 15s period. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Cactus in the next 16 days are 2.3m 16s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 22) at 6PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.9m 4s period and expected on Tuesday (Aug 18) at 3PM.
| Wave Type | Time (ACST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 12AM (Sun 16th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 15s |
| Best Surf | 12AM (Fri 21st Aug) | 6ft (1.8m) 16s |
| Most Powerful | 6PM (Sat 22nd Aug) | 7.5ft (2.3m) 16s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Cactus over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Hey mates, Rusty here. Let’s break down what this local zone is offering. There’s a decent mix of clean swells and some real rough ones to dodge. The first proper surf shows up this Saturday afternoon.
Saturday 15 August afternoon: A solid SW groundswell hits – 5ft, long 16-second period, with proper grunt behind it (1265 combined energy). Wind is cross-off from the NNE at 9 mph, keeping it clean. This one’s for the experienced – the swell’s got some power. Water temp sits at 59°, right around normal for this time of year.
Sunday 16 August morning: The better call of the day – 4ft SW, 14-second period, light E breeze at 6 mph. Clean as. The arvo gets a 12 mph SE wind and rain showers – messy. Monday 17 August morning is the real standout: offshore wind from the ENE at 9 mph, with a tidy 3ft SW swell, 16-second period. Glassy, lined-up, picture-perfect. The afternoon stays nice with a light ESE cross-off.
Tuesday 18 August gets nasty – NNE wind at 19 mph, then 25 mph from the NNW in the arvo. Swell drops to 3ft but the chop is chaos. Wednesday 19th is onshore junk. Then Thursday 20 August morning brings pure gold: glass, a 4ft SW groundswell with 16-second period, and ENE wind at just 3 mph. That’s as good as it gets at Cactus (reef).
Friday 21 August sees the swell jump to 7ft to 7ft SW with strong onshore winds – that’s kite territory, not paddle. Saturday 22 August holds around 8ft with lighter cross-shore wind, less gnarly but still big. The long-range gem is Sunday 23 August morning: clean, offshore NNE at 6 mph, with a 6ft SW swell, 14-second period. Powerful and clean – for the experienced crowd. Monday 24 August morning also delivers: 5ft SW with a clean offshore. The afternoon bumps to 6ft, still clean.
The last week fades. Thursday 27 August has a 20-second period swell, but it’s tiny at 3ft and the wind hammers from the north. Not worth the struggle. End of the month just gets breezy and small.
So the picks are Monday 17 August morning for that glassy gem, and Sunday 23 August morning for the bigger, clean groundswell. Don’t sleep on ‘em.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Sat night. Very mild (max 17°C on Mon afternoon, min 13°C on Mon morning). Winds increasing (light winds from the E on Sat night, strong winds from the NNE by Tue morning). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Tue afternoon, min 13°C on Wed night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the WSW on Tue afternoon, calm by Thu night). | |||||||||||||||||||
Sat 15 | Sunday 16 | Monday 17 | Tuesday 18 | Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | ||||||||||||||
PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 1265 | 836 | 668 | 659 | 428 | 314 | 619 | 520 | 679 | 482 | 448 | 447 | 365 | 360 | 636 | 954 | 1613 | 2657 | 2349 | 2443 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross | on | cross-on | on | cross | glassy | cross-on | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 1:39AM1.08m | 1:39PM1.18m | 1:58AM1.12m | 1:49PM1.13m | 2:19AM1.13m | 1:59PM1.07m | 2:40AM1.10m | 2:07PM0.99m | 3:00AM1.03m | 2:07PM0.91m | 3:19AM0.92m | 1:48PM0.84m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 7:42PM0.07m | 7:34AM0.10m | 7:51PM0.03m | 7:53AM0.16m | 8:02PM0.01m | 8:12AM0.23m | 8:15PM0.01m | 8:30AM0.33m | 8:28PM0.06m | 8:43AM0.44m | 8:36PM0.13m | 8:44AM0.56m | 8:33PM0.21m | |||||||
 |  | |  |  |  | | | |  |  | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 7:13 | — | — | 7:13 | — | — | 7:11 | — | — | 7:11 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — |
 | 6:09 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:10 | — | — | 6:12 | — | — | 6:12 | — | — | 6:13 | — | — | 6:14 | — |
mm | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 13 |
Feels °C | 11 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 6 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 16 | SW 14 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | — | — | — |
| kJ | 1265 | 836 | 668 | 659 | 428 | 205 | 619 | 346 | 679 | 482 | 448 | 447 | 365 | 360 | 636 | 954 | 1613 | — | — | — |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | SW 16 | SW 22 | SW 19 | — | — | — | W 4 | WSW 5 | SW 18 | — | — | SW 20 | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | 314 | 163 | 520 | — | — | — | 10 | 9 | 201 | — | — | 190 | — | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | SW 23 | — | S 10 | — | — | — | — | SW 20 | SSW 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | 86 | — | 19 | — | — | — | — | 99 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | ESE 2 | SE 4 | SE 5 | — | SE 4 | NNE 4 | NNW 4 | NNW 4 | — | SW 5 | — | — | SW 16 | — | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 |
| kJ | — | — | — | 1 | 10 | 10 | — | 6 | 11 | 24 | 20 | — | 1 | — | — | 711 | — | 2657 | 2349 | 2443 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 651 | 503 | 564 | 648 | 1035 | 0 | 0 | 500 | 0 | 1045 | 1227 | 940 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Nullarbor | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Cactus surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Cactus Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Cactus provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Cactus can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Cactus surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Cactus) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Cactus may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Are you planning a holiday in Nullarbor? If you are looking for accommodation near Cactus, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Nullarbor, consider staying in Thevenard which is 63 km (39 miles) away.
Nearest