Cowries Surf Break

Lat Long: 34.58° S 150.88° E

Cowries Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 3 am 25 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Cowries sea temperature is
18.0°C
0.8° 

Cowries surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


Cowries surf forecast from 24 Aug 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Thursday 27 Aug, 7AM (local time) - 7.5ft (2.3m), 9s period, S swell with glassy winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Saturday 29 Aug, 4AM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 9s period, S swell with 1,148 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 26 Aug, 1AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 8s period with NE 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 Wednesday (Aug 26) at 1AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.1m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 9s. 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 2.5m 9s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 29) 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 1.2m 5s period and expected on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 1PM.

Wave TypeTime (AEST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+) 1AM (Wed 26th Aug)3.5ft (1.1m) 8s
Best Surf 7AM (Thu 27th Aug)7.5ft (2.3m) 9s
Most Powerful 4AM (Sat 29th Aug)8ft (2.5m) 9s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Cowries over the next 16 days.


The Lowdown

Alright mate, Rusty here. Let’s have a proper look at the next couple of weeks for Cowries.

First thing to flag – the water temp is sitting at 64°, which is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The pattern for the first week is pretty bleak. We’ve got a run of poor surf kicking off Tuesday morning (25th August) through Wednesday afternoon, with messy wind and small, weak swell. The wave energy is low, around 100 to 168, and the conditions just aren’t friendly. Thursday the 27th is only marginally better – a 6ft south swell with 9-second period, energy jumping to 507, but a cross shore wind messes it up. Friday morning the 28th shows some promise with clean conditions and a 5ft SSE swell, period 11 seconds, and moderate wave energy at 620. That’s about the best of the first week.

The standout for the whole period is Saturday morning the 29th of August. Clear skies, a light cross-offshore breeze from the south, and a solid 7ft south swell rolling in with an 8-second period. The wave energy is strong – 1146 – and it’s gonna be powerful. That said, at 7ft it’s pushing into bigger territory, so it’s more for experienced paddlers. The combination of size and clean wind makes this the session to point for.

Sunday morning the 30th is also nice – glassy conditions, a clean 3ft south swell, 9-second period, energy at 279. That’s a perfect small-wave window if you want an easy, clean paddle.

The middle of the week (31st Aug – 2nd Sept) drops right off. Tiny swell, often poor wind, and wave energy down to 150 or less. Not worth getting wet for.

Then, on Thursday the 3rd of September, we get another serious pulse. Thursday morning (3rd September) is the other standout. Cloudy, glassy wind, a 4ft SSE swell carrying a massive 20-second period. The energy is huge – 1687. This is proper groundswell, very long period, which means it’ll be super clean and powerful at this reef and point setup, but the sets will be spread out. It’s only for experienced surfers at this size and period. Thursday afternoon holds similar quality with a 5ft swell and energy at 1800.

After that, the following weekend (4th-5th Sept) drops back to marginal conditions with onshore or cross-onshore wind and moderate energy. The swell stays around 5-6ft but the wind isn’t your friend. Sunday the 6th afternoon sees a clean, moderate offshore wind from the WSW, with a 4ft south swell and 10-second period – that’s a rideable, clean afternoon.

The final few days (7th-9th Sept) are small and generally poor, though Monday morning the 7th has glassy 3ft surf if you’re desperate.

So, to sum it up: the first half of this stretch is mostly rubbish, with a real gem on Saturday morning the 29th, and then another proper groundswell window on Thursday the 3rd of September. Mark those two in your calendar.

Crowds are possible at Cowries, so keep that in mind for the standouts.

Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Light rain (total 6mm), mostly falling on Tue night. Very mild (max 18°C on Tue morning, min 10°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light.

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Mostly dry. Very mild (max 16°C on Fri morning, min 10°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light.

Tuesday
25
Wednesday
26
Thursday
27
Friday
28
Saturday
29
Sunday
30
Monday
31
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
1
0
0
3
1
1
1
2
0
3
3
0
2
2
0
2
1
0
2
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.9
ENE
6
1.1
NE
7
1.1
NE
8
0.9
NE
8
1.5
S
6
1.9
S
8
1.7
S
9
1.3
S
9
1.1
S
8
1.5
SSE
11
1.4
SSE
10
2.3
SSE
9
2.1
S
8
1.7
SSE
10
1
SE
10
1
S
9
0.9
SE
9
0.5
SSE
19
0.6
SSE
18
0.4
SSE
15
0.8
SSE
13
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
74
122
140
86
184
447
442
263
161
521
373
790
630
540
192
150
135
210
243
92
239
Wind (km/h)
15
N
15
N
5
NW
25
SSW
20
S
10
SSW
5
SSE
10
SE
10
NW
10
SSW
20
SSE
15
SW
5
S
10
SE
5
WNW
0
SSW
10
E
10
NW
10
NNE
25
NNE
10
WNW
Wind State
cross-on
cross-on
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross
cross-on
cross-off
cross-off
cross
off
cross-off
cross-on
cross-off
glassy
cross-on
cross-off
cross-on
cross-on
cross-off
High Tide
6:26PM1.44m
7:08AM1.05m
7:04PM1.49m
7:43AM1.13m
7:41PM1.52m
8:17AM1.20m
8:17PM1.52m
8:51AM1.27m
8:53PM1.49m
9:26AM1.33m
9:31PM1.42m
10:03AM1.37m
10:12PM1.33m
Low Tide
11:55AM0.44m
1:12AM0.24m
12:39PM0.38m
1:45AM0.18m
1:20PM0.33m
2:16AM0.14m
2:00PM0.29m
2:46AM0.12m
2:41PM0.26m
3:17AM0.12m
3:23PM0.25m
3:49AM0.14m
4:09PM0.26m
cloud
light rain
light rain
light rain
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:24
6:24
6:22
6:20
6:20
6:18
6:18
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:31
5:32
5:32
5:34
5:35
5:35
5:36
 mm
2
3
1
Temp °C
18
18
15
16
16
14
14
14
12
16
16
13
15
14
11
16
14
12
21
19
15
Feels °C
15
17
14
12
12
11
13
12
10
12
12
10
12
11
9
13
12
10
15
14
12
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for Cowries:

join our community of surf reporters

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 locationNearest