Surf Forecasts:
The Trough surf forecast from 8 Aug 2026:
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 12 Aug, 12PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 8s period, WSW swell with 881 kJ wave energy.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for The Trough this week:
The most powerful waves expected at The Trough in the next 16 days are 3.0m 8s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 12) at 12PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.6m 5s period and expected on Sunday (Aug 09) at 9PM.
| Wave Type | Time (ACST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | - | - |
| Best Surf | - | - |
| Most Powerful | 12PM (Wed 12th Aug) | 10ft (3.0m) 8s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Trough over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here. Let's get into what's on offer at The Trough.
To be straight with you, this 16-day stretch is looking pretty bleak. There’s barely a window worth paddling out for. The water’s running about 57° right now, which is just about average for this time of year.
The first half-decent chance to get wet doesn’t come until Thursday, August 20th. The morning shows a 3ft swell from the WSW, with a period of about 5 seconds. The combined energy is weak (67), but the wind is glassy, so it’ll be clean. It’s surfable, but only just. That’s the only session in the whole run that gets a thumbs up. The afternoon fades fast.
Before that, it’s a rough stretch. On Wednesday, August 12th, the swell picks up to 8ft from the W, with combined energy hitting 632. That’s a lot of power, but the onshore wind is strong, making it a total mess. The Trough is a beach and reef setup, so with that much swell and that wind, it’s more of a kite-surfing show than a paddle-surfing one.
After the 20th, it’s back to tiny, weak junk, with periods often under 8 seconds, all the way to the 23rd. The 23rd shows a little bump—4ft from the north—but the cross-shore wind chops it up again.
So, if you’re desperate, Thursday morning the 20th is your only real option. It’s not much, but it’s the best of a bad lot. Keep an eye on it, though—forecasts shift.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 21mm), heaviest during Sat night. Very mild (max 15°C on Sat afternoon, min 10°C on Sun afternoon). Mainly strong winds. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 9mm), mostly falling on Tue night. Very mild (max 14°C on Tue afternoon, min 10°C on Tue night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the WNW on Wed morning, light winds from the W by Thu night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 8 | Sunday 9 | Monday 10 | Tuesday 11 | Wednesday 12 | Thursday 13 | Friday 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) | N 4 | N 4 | N 5 | NNW 5 | NNW 5 | WSW 4 | SW 6 | WSW 5 | W 4 | NW 5 | NNW 5 | W 7 | W 7 | WSW 8 | WSW 6 | WSW 5 | W 5 | W 5 | WSW 8 | WSW 8 | WSW 4 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 19 | 27 | 46 | 78 | 92 | 11 | 261 | 50 | 17 | 99 | 94 | 589 | 632 | 637 | 84 | 32 | 23 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 7 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross | cross | on | on | cross-on | on | on | on | on | cross-on | on | cross |
High Tide | 1:48PM1.38m | 7:08AM1.02m | 3:10PM1.59m | 5:27AM1.02m | 3:50PM1.76m | 5:11AM1.12m | 4:22PM1.88m | 5:13AM1.26m | 4:49PM1.93m | 5:24AM1.43m | 5:14PM1.93m | ||||||||||
Low Tide | 11:36PM0.42m | 10:57PM0.29m | 7:56AM1.02m | 10:56PM0.18m | 9:20AM0.81m | 11:05PM0.11m | 9:57AM0.60m | 11:16PM0.07m | 10:29AM0.41m | 11:27PM0.05m | 10:59AM0.27m | 11:39PM0.03m | |||||||||
 |  |  |  | |  | | |  | | |  |  |  | | | | | | | | |
 | 7:05 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:00 | — | — | 6:58 | — | — |
 | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:38 | — | — | 5:39 | — | — | 5:39 | — | — | 5:40 | — | — | 5:42 | — | — | 5:43 | — |
mm | — | — | 10 | 1 | 5 | 5 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 14 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
Feels °C | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 10 | SW 9 | SW 10 | SW 13 | SW 10 | NNW 4 | — | WSW 10 | WSW 9 | — | W 6 | — | S 19 | — | WSW 10 | SW 9 | WSW 9 | WSW 9 | WSW 5 | WSW 8 | WSW 4 |
| kJ | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 6 | — | 38 | 17 | — | 33 | — | 7 | — | 36 | 22 | 16 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 16 | S 15 | SW 14 | — | SW 13 | S 20 | — | — | — | — | WSW 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | WSW 8 | S 17 | WSW 8 |
| kJ | 5 | 4 | 8 | — | 6 | 7 | — | — | — | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | 5 | 7 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | S 17 | — | S 16 |
| kJ | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | — | 5 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 4 | N 4 | N 5 | NNW 5 | NNW 5 | WSW 4 | SW 6 | WSW 5 | W 4 | NW 5 | NNW 5 | W 7 | W 7 | WSW 8 | WSW 6 | WSW 5 | W 5 | W 5 | — | WSW 5 | — |
| kJ | 19 | 27 | 46 | 78 | 92 | 11 | 261 | 50 | 14 | 99 | 94 | 589 | 632 | 637 | 84 | 32 | 23 | 17 | — | 5 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 485 | 613 | 842 | 38 | 381 | 613 | 900 | 1046 | 1046 | 620 | 614 | 620 | 38 | 126 | 450 | 39 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Adelaide | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our The Trough 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 The Trough Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for The Trough provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at The Trough can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our The Trough 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 (The Trough) 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 The Trough 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.
The Trough is 11 km (7 miles) from the very large city of Morphett Vale. If you plan a holiday in Adelaide, look for hotels and other accommodation in Morphett Vale. Morphett Vale has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as cheap car hire and transport links.
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