Surf Forecasts:
Cunns surf forecast from 26 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 27 Aug, 6PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 18s period, SW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 28 Aug, 12AM (local time) - 5.5ft (1.7m), 17s period, SW swell with 1,722 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 26 Aug, 6PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 12s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Cunns this week:
The surf forecast for Cunns over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 6PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.8m and 12s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 16s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Cunns in the next 16 days are 1.7m 17s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Aug 28) at 12AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.8m 5s period and expected on Wednesday (Sep 02) at 6AM.
| Wave Type | Time (ACST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 6PM (Wed 26th Aug) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 6PM (Thu 27th Aug) | 5ft (1.6m) 18s |
| Most Powerful | 12AM (Fri 28th Aug) | 5.5ft (1.7m) 17s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Cunns over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, grab ya board and listen up. It’s Rusty here, and I’ve had a good look at what’s cookin’ for our stretch of coast. It’s gonna be a patient man’s game for the most part, but there are a couple of proper windows in the longer range that have got me pretty amped.
To start with, the surf in the immediate near-term is pretty average. We're looking at small, short-period SW swell, and the wind is mostly gonna be a cross-shore breeze messing it up. There's surf on offer, but it’s gonna be a bit lumpy and lack that real push. The water temp is sitting at 60.1°F, which is pretty much normal for this time of year.
Wednesday (26 August) kicks things off with a small 3.6ft SW swell in the morning, but a 9 mph cross-shore wind is gonna put some chop on it. Not great. The afternoon cleans up a fair bit though. The wind drops to a glassy 3 mph from the NE, and we get a clean 3ft of swell. It's small, but it might be worth a paddle on the longboard if you're keen. The wave energy is weak to moderate here at around 350.
Thursday (27 August) sees the morning ruined by a fresh 19 mph north wind. The swell picks up a little in the afternoon to 3ft but the period jumps to 19 seconds, which is a long-period groundswell. This kind of swell can sometimes just stand up and close out at a beach break, but for Cunns (a reef setup), it could be interesting. The energy is strong at 1157, but the cross-shore wind keeps it from being a standout.
Friday (28) is more of the same, with a moderate cross-shore breeze and a slightly bigger 4.9ft SW swell. The period is still a solid 16 seconds, so there's some push. It’s rideable but nothing to write home about. The wind follows the same pattern on Saturday (29) , but by the afternoon it swings offshore (ESE) at 12 mph. That's a big positive. The swell drops to 2.6ft, but it’ll be clean. This is your best bet for the first few days.
Sunday (30 August) is where I start to get interested. The wind goes offshore in the afternoon (ESE, 9 mph) and the swell pulses back up to 3.6ft with a long 19-second period. The energy reads 887, which is moderate, but combined with the light offshore breeze and clean conditions, this is going to be the pick of the first week. Expect good, lined-up waves on the reef.
Then we hit a bit of a lull again. Monday (31st) has the size up to 4.9ft, but a 16 mph cross-shore wind messes it up. Tuesday (1 September) is blown out with a fresh cross-onshore wind and drops quickly. The first few days of September look pretty ordinary, with poor winds.
Keep an eye on Wednesday morning (2 September) – the wind drops right out to nearly nothing, S at 3 mph, and we have a clean 3.6ft SW swell. The period is a fun 15 seconds. This is another clean window, but the swell is on the smaller side. The conditions are way better than the size.
Now, for the real standout. It’s a bit further out, so don't lock your plans in just yet, but the charts are showing something promising for the start of the second week. Saturday morning (5 September) sees a proper pulse of SW groundswell, with the swell height jumping to 6.6ft and the period at 16 seconds. The combined energy is reading a strong 3368, which is a big jump. The wind is a clean cross-offshore from the south. This is looking like the best wave of the whole period. It’s a solid size, but Cunns is an advanced reef, so it should handle it.
The quality continues into Sunday (6th) with a 5.2ft swell and clean conditions, but Saturday is the day to circle. A bit further out, Tuesday and Wednesday (8-9 September) also look like they have some serious size, with 6.9ft and a very strong energy reading of 4832 on Tuesday afternoon. But the winds are forecast to be a bit more cross-off, and the size is getting into that territory where it’s only for the very experienced.
Don’t get too excited about the tail end of the forecast – things turn messy by Wednesday (9th) and Thursday (10th) with strong winds and a jump in size. The swell is pushing 9.8ft on Thursday morning, but with a fresh cross-onshore wind, it’s gonna be a washing machine. At that size and with that wind, the setup might actually be more interesting for the kite crew than for us paddle surfers.
So, to sum it up: the beginning is small and a bit junky. There are a few clean windows but the size is lacking. The real standout is that Saturday 5th of September swell – it's got size, period, and light wind. That’s your target. And keep an eye on the 8th as a backup, but treat that one as promising but less certain. Patience is the key here.
Stay stoked.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 24°C on Thu afternoon, min 11°C on Wed morning). Winds increasing (calm on Wed afternoon, fresh winds from the N by Thu morning). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 24°C on Mon afternoon, min 17°C on Sun morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | Tuesday 1 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 19 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 17 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 18 | SW 16 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
431 | 260 | 297 | 466 | 614 | 1722 | 1144 | 989 | 536 | 331 | 208 | 193 | 236 | 887 | 940 | 1358 | 1312 | 909 | 635 | 304 | 728 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | glassy | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | off | cross-off | off | off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross |
High Tide | 12:06PM1.30m | 00:22AM0.89m | 12:24PM1.38m | 00:36AM1.00m | 12:43PM1.41m | 00:53AM1.09m | 1:03PM1.40m | 1:13AM1.18m | 1:22PM1.34m | 1:34AM1.23m | 1:40PM1.24m | 1:55AM1.26m | 1:54PM1.12m | 2:17AM1.24m | |||||||
Low Tide | 6:40PM0.08m | 5:57AM0.09m | 6:51PM0.02m | 6:21AM0.00m | 7:04PM-0.02m | 6:45AM-0.05m | 7:18PM-0.05m | 7:10AM-0.06m | 7:32PM-0.05m | 7:36AM-0.03m | 7:45PM-0.04m | 8:01AM0.06m | 7:57PM-0.01m | ||||||||
7:03 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 6:58 | — | — | 6:58 | — | — | 6:56 | — | — | 6:56 | — | — | |
— | 6:16 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:17 | — | — | 6:19 | — | — | 6:19 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:20 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 15 | 19 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 25 | 29 | 27 |
Feels °C | 12 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 24 | 22 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 15 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 12 | SW 19 | SW 17 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 14 | SW 16 |
431 | 260 | 297 | 466 | 543 | 1722 | 1144 | 989 | 536 | 331 | 208 | 193 | 230 | 887 | 940 | 1358 | 1312 | 909 | 635 | 297 | 728 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SW 16 | SW 23 | SW 20 | SW 19 | — | — | W 5 | W 4 | ESE 3 | SW 20 | SW 21 | SW 19 | — | SW 21 | — | — | — | — | SW 18 | W 4 |
— | 90 | 21 | 198 | 614 | — | — | 4 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 160 | 236 | — | 162 | — | — | — | — | 304 | 7 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SW 23 | SW 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 21 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNE 2 | — | NE 3 | N 4 | — | — | — | — | ESE 3 | — | SE 3 | SE 4 | E 3 | SE 3 | SE 4 | NNE 2 | — | — | N 4 | NW 4 | SW 16 |
1 | — | 2 | 13 | — | — | — | — | 5 | — | 3 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 14 | 7 | 90 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 401 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 652 | 500 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Nullarbor | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Cunns Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Cunns provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Cunns can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Cunns 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 (Cunns) 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 Cunns 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.
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