
Surf Forecasts:
Little Austi and Main Beach surf forecast from 8 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 11 Sep, 7PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 10s period, SSE swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 11 Sep, 4PM (local time) - 5.5ft (1.7m), 10s period, SSE swell with 574 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 8 Sep, 10PM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 7s period with SE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Little Austi and Main Beach this week:
The surf forecast for Little Austi and Main Beach over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Sep 08) at 10PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 7s period. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Little Austi and Main Beach in the next 16 days are 1.7m 10s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Sep 11) at 4PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 4.0m 10s period and expected on Wednesday (Sep 09) at 10PM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 10PM (Tue 8th Sep) | 3ft (0.9m) 7s |
| Best Surf | 7PM (Fri 11th Sep) | 5ft (1.6m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 4PM (Fri 11th Sep) | 5.5ft (1.7m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Little Austi and Main Beach over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G'day, Rusty here. Look, I've been staring at Little Austi and Main Beach for the next couple of weeks, and I gotta be straight with you – it's a tough stretch. The forecast is pretty grim for most of it, with not a lot of real quality on offer. We're looking at a long, frustrating run of poor surf conditions, with only a few tiny windows where you might get something half-decent. The water temp is sitting right on average for this time of year at 64°, so no wetsuit drama there.
The whole period kicks off with a real dud. Tuesday the 8th, the morning is tiny with a 0.7ft easterly swell and a cross-on southerly breeze at 12 mph, just choppy and messy. The afternoon bumps up to 7ft from the SSE, which sounds promising, but it's a short-period 8-second windswell, and the wind is onshore, making it a marginal, questionable affair. It's one to skip.
Wednesday the 9th is a write-off. Thursday and Friday are no better, with tiny, weak swells and cross-on winds all day. The combined energy is barely registering, with values like 24, 22, and 24 – that's basically flat. Friday afternoon the 11th sees a bit more size at 6ft from the SSE, but again, it's onshore and marginal.
Now, here's a little glimmer. Saturday morning the 12th is our first real standout. The swell drops to 4ft from the SSE, but the wind swings to a light northerly at 6 mph, giving us a clean, cross-off breeze. The combined energy is a solid moderate 382. It's not huge, but it's the cleanest wave we'll see for a while. The water is still 64°, feels about normal. Crowds are "sometimes" a problem here, so for a clear Saturday morning with clean conditions, expect a few people out. After that, it's back to the doldrums.
The rest of the week is a mess. The 13th, 14th, and 15th are all tiny or blown out. Monday the 14th has a light offshore wind in the morning, but the swell is only 2ft – you'd be fighting for knee-high slop. The 16th and 17th aren't much better.
We get another tiny window on Wednesday the 18th. The morning has a light westerly cross-off, and the swell is a meagre 3ft from the NE. Afternoon picks up a little to 4ft from the NE, with a combined energy of 116 (moderate), but it's still just "surfable but very ordinary." It's a paddle for the sake of a paddle.
Looking further ahead to the second week, the 22nd and 23rd of September show some more size. Tuesday the 22nd has a 5ft NE swell in the morning, but it's cross-shore with light wind and a poor surf rating. The afternoon hits 6ft from the NE, but the wind is up to 12 mph from the same direction, creating a cross-chop, and it's rated poor. This is where the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, to be honest.
Then, finally, Wednesday morning the 23rd is our other standout. The swell is a solid 5ft from the NE, with a period of 8 seconds, and the wind is a light NNE at 9 mph, giving us a clean cross-off. The combined energy is a strong 229. This is the best-looking session in the whole forecast. The swell is coming from the NE, which is the optimum direction for this spot. It's a good one for the experienced crew, but at 5ft it's still manageable for strong intermediates. The afternoon, though, the wind gets cross and messy again.
So, to sum it up: don't bother until Saturday the 12th morning for a clean, small window. The real two standouts are Saturday the 12th morning and Wednesday the 23rd morning. The rest of the time, you're better off doing something else. The gaps between decent surf are several days long, so don't hold your breath.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 16°C on Tue morning, min 9°C on Tue night). Winds increasing (light winds from the NE on Tue afternoon, fresh winds from the S by Wed afternoon). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 23°C on Sun morning, min 11°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 8 | Wednesday 9 | Thursday 10 | Friday 11 | Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | |||||||||||||||
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 11 | SSE 8 | SE 7 | SE 7 | ESE 13 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | ENE 15 | ENE 15 | SSE 10 | ENE 13 | SSE 11 | ENE 4 | ENE 13 | NE 5 | NE 5 | NE 6 | NE 6 | NE 6 | NE 5 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
9 | 534 | 67 | 50 | 17 | 41 | 19 | 17 | 21 | 22 | 574 | 18 | 363 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 53 | 54 | 38 | 38 | 29 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | on | off | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | on | cross-off | cross-off | cross | off | cross-off | cross | off | off | cross-off | off |
High Tide | 5:56PM1.59m | 6:46AM1.18m | 6:46PM1.62m | 7:28AM1.27m | 7:32PM1.61m | 8:08AM1.35m | 8:15PM1.56m | 8:46AM1.41m | 8:57PM1.46m | 9:23AM1.44m | 9:37PM1.35m | 9:59AM1.44m | 10:18PM1.22m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 11:28AM0.35m | 00:42AM0.07m | 12:24PM0.27m | 1:23AM0.03m | 1:15PM0.21m | 2:01AM0.03m | 2:02PM0.17m | 2:37AM0.06m | 2:48PM0.16m | 3:10AM0.12m | 3:33PM0.18m | 3:42AM0.20m | 4:18PM0.23m | ||||||||
6:05 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | |
— | 5:42 | — | — | 5:42 | — | — | 5:43 | — | — | 5:44 | — | — | 5:44 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:45 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 16 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 20 | 18 | 13 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 27 | 26 | 20 |
Feels °C | 12 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 24 | 24 | 18 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 11 | SSE 8 | S 9 | S 8 | ESE 13 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | S 22 | ENE 15 | S 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 9 | S 10 | NE 6 | S 12 | S 11 | NE 5 |
9 | 534 | 247 | 108 | 17 | 41 | 19 | 227 | 21 | 813 | 574 | 378 | 363 | 223 | 151 | 113 | 141 | 54 | 174 | 116 | 29 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | E 10 | SE 7 | SE 7 | ENE 9 | SSW 16 | S 23 | ESE 9 | S 22 | ENE 15 | ENE 14 | S 18 | S 19 | S 18 | S 19 | NE 5 | ENE 13 | S 10 | NE 6 | ENE 13 | S 11 |
— | 8 | 67 | 50 | 8 | 53 | 92 | 17 | 9 | 22 | 19 | 25 | 110 | 164 | 184 | 15 | 17 | 100 | 38 | 17 | 82 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | N 9 | E 10 | ENE 9 | E 17 | NE 16 | E 16 | E 16 | E 10 | E 10 | ENE 14 | ENE 13 | ENE 14 | ENE 14 | ENE 13 | S 16 | ENE 13 | S 13 | ENE 13 | S 15 | ENE 12 |
— | 2 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 47 | 17 | 51 | 17 | 5 | 15 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 8 | — | NW 2 | SW 3 | S 8 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | — | — | — | — | ENE 4 | NE 5 | NNE 5 | NE 5 | — | WNW 2 | NE 6 | WNW 3 |
766 | — | 1 | 6 | 1075 | 2559 | 1389 | 1514 | 1124 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 17 | 28 | 53 | — | 1 | 38 | 1 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 50 | 34 | 0 | 13 | 819 | 7 | 76 | 121 | 2 | 5 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 92 | 1 | 8 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Illawarra | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Little Austi and Main Beach Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Little Austi and Main Beach provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Little Austi and Main Beach can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Little Austi and Main Beach 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 (Little Austi and Main Beach) 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 Little Austi and Main Beach 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 Illawarra? If you are looking for accommodation near Little Austi and Main Beach, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Illawarra, consider staying in Wollongong which is 15 km (9 miles) away. Other places in and around Illawarra where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Port Kembla which is 22 km (14 miles) away, Engadine, Caringbah and Cronulla.










