Surf Forecasts:
Cowries surf forecast from 16 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Saturday 22 Aug, 7PM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 8s period, S swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 22 Aug, 7PM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 8s period, S swell with 331 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 17 Aug, 1AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 10s 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 Monday (Aug 17) at 1AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.8m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.8m and 6s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Cowries in the next 16 days are 1.5m 8s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 22) at 7PM. Winds are predicted to be offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.9m 6s period and expected on Saturday (Aug 22) at 1PM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 1AM (Mon 17th Aug) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 7PM (Sat 22nd Aug) | 5ft (1.5m) 8s |
| Most Powerful | 7PM (Sat 22nd Aug) | 5ft (1.5m) 8s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Cowries over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G’day, it’s Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you—looking at the next couple of weeks, it’s a slow grind for most of it, but there are a couple of little windows that could make it worth paddling out. We’re starting with weak, short-period junk, so don’t get your hopes up for the first week. But hang tight, because towards the end of the month, things start to wake up.
First up, the standout is Cowries. This reef and point break is our main focus, and it’s a fairly consistent setup, though it’s a beginner-friendly wave, so don’t expect anything too gnarly. The water temp is sitting at 64.2°F, which is about average for this time of year—nothing weird going on there.
The next few days are pretty grim. From Sunday the 16th through to the 23rd, the swell is tiny—we're talking 1.3ft to 4.3ft at best—and the period is mostly under 8 seconds, so it’s just messy, weak windswell. The energy is weak, with values mostly in the 30s to 250s. The wind is all over the shop, mostly cross or onshore, so the surface is chopped up. There’s a brief moment on Monday morning the 17th with a clean 2.3ft swell, but it’s really ordinary. Honestly, for a solid week, it’s not worth your time unless you’re desperate for a splash.
There’s a stretch from the 20th to the 26th where the energy drops right off—values down to 26 to 126—and the swell stays under 3.3ft. It’s a real lull, and I wouldn’t bother. The wind does go offshore a few times, like on the 25th, but the swell is just too weak to push through. We’re talking 3.3ft at 8 seconds, which is pretty gutless.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. The first real highlight is on Friday the 28th of August. The morning session at Cowries is looking good—swell jumps to 4.6ft from the south with an 11-second period. That’s proper groundswell energy, a big step up. The combined energy is strong, at 475, which is a serious push. The wind is light and cross-off, so it should be clean. This is the best surf of the first ten days, no question. It’s a bit bigger, so it might be pushing it for the absolute beginners, but for the rest of us, it’s game on.
Then, the big one. Saturday the 29th of August, in the morning—this is the standout of the whole forecast. Cowries is going to see 6.9ft of northeast swell with an 8-second period. Now, that period is a bit short, so it won’t have the same grunt as the longer period stuff, but the energy is massive at 755. And the wind is dead glassy. It’s going to be clean and pushy. Fair warning: this is over 4.9ft, so it’s too big for beginners, and just under the 8.2ft mark, so it’s still manageable for most. The direction is northeast, which is not the optimum angle for this spot—it prefers ENE—but with that much energy and glassy conditions, it’s going to be the pick of the fortnight. If you can only get out once, make it this one.
After that, the surf fades back into small, ordinary conditions for the 30th and 31st, just 1.6ft to 3.3ft and weak energy. So, the plan is: grit your teeth through the first 12 days, then hit the Friday the 28th morning and the Saturday the 29th morning. Those are your two windows. I’ll see you out there.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Mon night. Very mild (max 15°C on Sun morning, min 12°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 7mm), mostly falling on Thu afternoon. Warm (max 20°C on Thu morning, min 12°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 16 | Monday 17 | Tuesday 18 | Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SE 6 | S 11 | S 10 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 6 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | ESE 6 | E 9 | E 6 | E 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 7 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
136 | 191 | 122 | 81 | 62 | 67 | 56 | 75 | 100 | 80 | 57 | 125 | 38 | 27 | 48 | 33 | 29 | 26 | 18 | 232 | 82 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | on | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 10:43AM1.33m | 10:48PM1.35m | 11:25AM1.33m | 11:33PM1.19m | 12:09PM1.31m | 00:20AM1.05m | 12:57PM1.28m | 1:17AM0.93m | 1:52PM1.25m | 2:28AM0.86m | 2:55PM1.25m | 3:49AM0.84m | 3:59PM1.27m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 4:43PM0.29m | 5:05AM0.20m | 5:35PM0.35m | 5:40AM0.30m | 6:32PM0.42m | 6:17AM0.40m | 7:36PM0.47m | 7:00AM0.48m | 8:51PM0.49m | 7:55AM0.53m | 10:06PM0.48m | 9:02AM0.56m | 11:09PM0.43m | ||||||||
6:35 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:33 | — | — | 6:33 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — | 6:30 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | |
— | 5:24 | — | — | 5:25 | — | — | 5:27 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:29 | — | — | 5:30 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 15 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 20 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 11 |
Feels °C | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 5 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 8 | S 11 | ESE 6 | ESE 7 | S 9 | ESE 6 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 6 | ESE 6 | E 9 | E 6 | E 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 7 |
30 | 191 | 54 | 68 | 55 | 67 | 56 | 51 | 55 | 57 | 57 | 125 | 38 | 27 | 48 | 33 | 29 | 26 | 18 | 232 | 82 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 12 | SE 7 | S 10 | S 9 | S 12 | S 8 | S 11 | S 10 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | S 8 | E 11 | E 10 | S 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | ENE 7 | NE 7 |
29 | 12 | 122 | 81 | 27 | 35 | 55 | 54 | 100 | 80 | 50 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 11 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 18 | ENE 10 | ENE 10 | E 10 | ENE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 13 | S 10 | S 8 | S 8 | — | S 14 | S 13 | E 10 | — | SE 7 | SE 6 | — | S 18 | S 16 |
60 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 60 | 29 | 22 | 10 | — | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | 2 | 2 | — | 6 | 5 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 6 | ESE 6 | — | — | ESE 7 | — | — | ESE 7 | — | — | NE 3 | NNW 3 | NW 2 | NE 4 | — | WNW 2 | NW 2 | WSW 3 | SSW 3 | — | — |
136 | 55 | — | — | 62 | — | — | 75 | — | — | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | — | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | — | — | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 10 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 395 | 18 | 0 | 67 | 0 | 10 | 272 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 146 | 9 | 10 |
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)
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.











