Surf Forecasts:
Cowries surf forecast from 5 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 11 Aug, 4AM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 9s period, S swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 11 Aug, 4AM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 9s period, S swell with 392 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 6 Aug, 10AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 8s period with S swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Cowries this week:
The surf forecast for Cowries over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 06) at 10AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 9s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Cowries in the next 16 days are 1.5m 9s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 11) at 4AM. Winds are predicted to be offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.3m 5s period and expected on Monday (Aug 10) at 7PM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 10AM (Thu 6th Aug) | 3ft (0.9m) 8s |
| Best Surf | 4AM (Tue 11th Aug) | 5ft (1.5m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 4AM (Tue 11th Aug) | 5ft (1.5m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Cowries over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for the coming weeks.
The first bit of the forecast is a bit of a write-off, but don't let that get you down. The real action starts to build towards the middle of the month. The water is currently sitting at 65°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so you might get away with a thinner spring suit.
The first few days are a bit of a struggle. Wednesday the 5th has tiny waves, only 1ft from the east, and while the wind is offshore, there's just not enough juice to get excited about. The combined energy is a weak 36. Thursday the 6th sees a little more life in the water – a 3ft southerly swell with glassy conditions in the morning, but the period is a short 8 seconds, so it'll be a bit lumpy. The energy is moderate at 112. The morning of Friday the 7th is your best bet early on, with a clean 2ft swell from the SSE and a light offshore breeze, but it's still a very ordinary wave.
We hit a dry patch over the weekend. Saturday the 8th is tiny and clean in the morning, but a strong onshore wind kicks up in the afternoon. Sunday the 9th is a messy one, with a building 3ft ENE swell but poor conditions all day. The energy is picking up to 206, but the wind is all wrong.
Now, hold on to your board. The 11th of August, Tuesday, is where things start to get interesting. A solid 5ft swell from the south, with a 9-second period, and a moderate offshore wind from the west. The combined energy is a strong 377. This is the first real standout. The conditions are clean, and the swell has some push. Cowries is a reef and point, so it should handle this direction well. This is the best on offer in the early part of the forecast.
The 13th of August, Thursday morning, is another solid window. Another 5ft south swell, but this time with a light cross-offshore wind and a combined energy of 272. The waves might be a bit less consistent, but it will be clean. Friday the 14th morning is also a good call, with a 5ft south swell and a clean cross-offshore breeze. The energy is up to 359. This is a good run of surf.
The second week gets a bit more mixed. The 18th of August, Tuesday morning, looks promising with a 5ft SSE swell, a 10-second period, and clean cross-offshore winds. The energy is a strong 489. The 19th of August, Wednesday, also has a clean morning with a 4ft SE swell and a long 12-second period, which will give it some real power and shape at the point, with a combined energy of 381.
Overall, the standout window is from the 11th to the 14th of August, with the 11th being the pick of the bunch for clean, solid waves. The 18th and 19th also look good in the second week, but keep an eye on the forecast as it gets closer.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 17°C on Wed morning, min 9°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Sun night. Very mild (max 17°C on Sun morning, min 10°C on Sat night). Winds increasing (calm on Sat morning, strong winds from the W by Mon afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 5 | Thursday 6 | Friday 7 | Saturday 8 | Sunday 9 | Monday 10 | Tuesday 11 | |||||||||||||||
AM | 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) | E 10 | E 9 | SSE 11 | S 8 | S 8 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | ENE 7 | E 8 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | S 8 | S 9 | S 10 | S 8 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 18 | 15 | 23 | 103 | 108 | 38 | 86 | 84 | 47 | 31 | 31 | 46 | 146 | 151 | 99 | 381 | 231 | 76 | 332 | 319 | 144 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | off | off | glassy | on | cross-off | off | cross | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | off | off | cross-off |
High Tide | 12:54PM1.32m | 1:03AM1.09m | 1:52PM1.36m | 2:17AM1.00m | 2:58PM1.41m | 3:40AM0.97m | 4:05PM1.48m | 4:59AM0.98m | 5:09PM1.57m | 6:06AM1.03m | 6:08PM1.66m | 7:02AM1.10m | 7:01PM1.72m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 7:14PM0.42m | 7:09AM0.32m | 8:31PM0.40m | 8:08AM0.37m | 9:51PM0.34m | 9:16AM0.40m | 11:05PM0.25m | 10:26AM0.38m | 00:08AM0.14m | 11:31AM0.34m | 1:02AM0.05m | 12:29PM0.28m | 1:50AM-0.01m | ||||||||
 | |  |  | | | | | | | |  |  | |  | | | | | | | |
 | 6:47 | — | — | 6:46 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — |
 | — | 5:16 | — | — | 5:17 | — | — | 5:19 | — | — | 5:20 | — | — | 5:20 | — | — | 5:21 | — | — | 5:22 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 17 | 17 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 17 | 13 |
Feels °C | 12 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 11 | 9 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | E 9 | SSE 11 | S 8 | S 8 | S 7 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | S 8 | SSE 9 | E 8 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | S 8 | S 9 | S 10 | S 8 |
| kJ | 18 | 15 | 23 | 103 | 108 | 26 | 86 | 84 | 47 | 19 | 29 | 46 | 146 | 151 | 84 | 381 | 231 | 76 | 332 | 319 | 144 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 7 | S 10 | E 8 | E 9 | E 9 | SSE 10 | E 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 7 | SSE 9 | E 8 | NE 4 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | E 14 | S 13 | S 13 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 11 | ENE 10 |
| kJ | 4 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 38 | 6 | 15 | 18 | 31 | 22 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 56 | 34 | 44 | 58 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 13 | SE 5 | — | E 12 | E 12 | S 9 | NE 7 | E 15 | S 8 | ENE 7 | S 7 | SSE 8 | E 14 | SE 10 | SE 9 | — | — | E 13 | NE 8 | NNE 8 | NE 7 |
| kJ | 14 | 1 | — | 3 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 19 | 8 | 23 | 4 | 4 | 3 | — | — | 4 | 11 | 6 | 2 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 3 | SSW 4 | WSW 3 | W 3 | — | — | W 3 | — | — | — | ENE 7 | — | — | NE 5 | NE 6 | NW 4 | WSW 5 | WSW 4 | — | W 2 | NW 2 |
| kJ | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | 31 | — | — | 45 | 99 | 12 | 63 | 15 | — | 1 | 1 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 36 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 228 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 255 | 190 | 144 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Illawarra | |||||||||||||||||||||
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)
Latest Updates
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 Cowries 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 Cowries Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Cowries provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Cowries can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Cowries 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 (Cowries) 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 Cowries 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.
Cowries is 10 km (6 miles) from the city of Port Kembla. If you plan a holiday in Illawarra, look for hotels and other accommodation in Port Kembla. Port Kembla has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest