Surf Forecasts:
Thirroul surf forecast from 24 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 27 Aug, 4AM (local time) - 7ft (2.1m), 8s period, S swell with cross-offshore 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★+): Tuesday 25 Aug, 10AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 6s period with ENE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Thirroul this week:
The surf forecast for Thirroul over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 25) at 10AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 6s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 9s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Thirroul in the next 16 days are 2.5m 9s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 29) at 4AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.5m 3s period and expected on Tuesday (Aug 25) at 1PM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 10AM (Tue 25th Aug) | 3ft (0.9m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 4AM (Thu 27th Aug) | 7ft (2.1m) 8s |
| Most Powerful | 4AM (Sat 29th Aug) | 8ft (2.5m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Thirroul over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G’day, it’s Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the table for Thirroul over the next couple weeks. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, but there are a couple moments that’ll get the heart pumping.
The water temp is sittin’ around 64°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year down here, nothing too unusual.
Tuesday the 25th and Wednesday the 26th are pretty ordinary. We’ve got small messy swell with cross-off or cross winds, and the energy is weak to moderate – those numbers around 110 to 266 tell the story. Not worth paddlin’ out for.
But then Thursday the 27th morning – this is where it starts to get interesting. Glassy conditions with that south swell coming in around 6ft at 9 seconds. The energy jumps to 507 (moderate), and with nobody around, it’s lookin’ clean. That’s a solid shout for a morning session.
Friday the 28th morning is another highlight. Clear skies, light cross-off wind from the southwest, and a 5ft SSE groundswell at 11 seconds. The combined energy is 620 (moderate) – good shape, clean faces, and that longer period will mean better waves. This is the standout of the first week.
Saturday the 29th morning sees the swell bump up to 7ft from the south, but the period drops to 8 seconds and it’s a light cross-on wind. The energy is strong at 1146, but that size is gettin’ into expert territory, and it’s a bit junky. Kite surfers might dig it more than paddlers.
Sunday the 30th and Monday the 31st mornings are clean and smaller – around 3ft to 2ft – with glassy or light cross-off winds. The energy is moderate, but it’s more of a fun small-wave session.
Tuesday the 1st of September stays clean with offshore winds and 3ft to 3ft SSE groundswell. Nice and lined up, but small.
Now, the big one: Thursday the 3rd of September. This is the standout of the whole outlook. Morning and afternoon both score top marks. We’ve got a 4ft to 5ft SSE groundswell with a massive 20-second period – that’s very long-period groundswell. The combined energy on Thursday afternoon is 1800 (strong), with a clean offshore wind from the WNW. This is a real clean, powerful groundswell hitting the beach-and-reef set-up. It’ll be a ripper for experienced surfers, but that long period can make beach breaks a bit straight – still, Thirroul’s reef should handle it nicely. Crowds are listed as sometimes, so you might have some company, but it’s worth it.
Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th of September drop off a bit – still reasonable swell around 5ft to 6ft, but the winds turn cross-on or onshore, and the quality dips. Sunday the 6th has a clean 4ft south swell with offshore wind, but the energy is down.
From Monday the 7th onward it fades into small, weak surf with weak energy (down to 64 on Tuesday the 8th) and ordinary conditions. Not much to get excited about.
Best calls: Thursday morning 27th August for the glassy 6ft south swell, and Thursday 3rd September for that powerful, clean 5ft groundswell with 20-second period and offshore wind. That second one is the real gem.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 10mm), heaviest on Tue night. Very mild (max 18°C on Tue afternoon, min 10°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 16°C on Fri morning, min 9°C on Sat 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 | |
Swell Height Map | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 6 | NE 7 | NE 8 | NE 8 | S 6 | S 8 | S 9 | S 9 | S 8 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | S 8 | SSE 10 | SE 10 | S 9 | SE 9 | SSE 19 | SSE 18 | SSE 15 | SSE 13 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
74 | 122 | 140 | 86 | 184 | 447 | 442 | 263 | 161 | 521 | 373 | 790 | 630 | 540 | 192 | 150 | 135 | 210 | 243 | 92 | 239 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross | cross-on | cross | glassy | cross-on | off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | on | off | glassy | on | off | cross-off | cross | off |
High Tide | 6:26PM1.45m | 7:08AM1.06m | 7:04PM1.50m | 7:42AM1.13m | 7:41PM1.53m | 8:16AM1.21m | 8:16PM1.53m | 8:51AM1.27m | 8:52PM1.50m | 9:26AM1.33m | 9:30PM1.43m | 10:03AM1.38m | 10:11PM1.34m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 11:56AM0.43m | 1:12AM0.23m | 12:39PM0.37m | 1:44AM0.17m | 1:19PM0.32m | 2:15AM0.13m | 1:59PM0.28m | 2:45AM0.11m | 2:40PM0.25m | 3:16AM0.11m | 3:22PM0.25m | 3:48AM0.13m | 4:08PM0.25m | ||||||||
6:24 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | |
— | 5:31 | — | — | 5:32 | — | — | 5:32 | — | — | 5:34 | — | — | 5:35 | — | — | 5:35 | — | — | 5:36 | — | |
mm | 1 | — | 7 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 17 | 18 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 19 | 14 |
Feels °C | 14 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 12 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 6 | NE 7 | NE 8 | NE 8 | ENE 8 | SSE 8 | S 9 | S 9 | S 8 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | SSE 10 | S 9 | S 9 | SE 9 | S 8 | SSE 18 | S 9 | SSE 13 |
74 | 122 | 140 | 86 | 80 | 324 | 442 | 263 | 161 | 521 | 373 | 525 | 412 | 540 | 159 | 150 | 135 | 58 | 243 | 37 | 239 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 11 | S 11 | NE 8 | ENE 8 | NE 8 | ENE 9 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | NE 8 | SE 9 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | S 8 | SE 8 | SE 7 | SSE 15 | ENE 9 |
27 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 64 | 43 | 30 | 30 | 40 | 26 | 16 | 88 | 25 | 192 | 113 | 84 | 78 | 33 | 92 | 16 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 9 | SSE 16 | SE 16 | S 16 | — | — | SSE 15 | SSE 14 | SSE 14 | S 14 | S 12 | — | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | SSE 19 | S 8 | SE 7 | E 12 |
9 | 25 | 10 | 5 | — | — | 22 | 38 | 37 | 59 | 25 | — | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 210 | 47 | 15 | 3 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNW 3 | N 3 | — | S 4 | S 6 | S 8 | — | — | — | — | — | SSE 9 | S 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ENE 3 | NE 4 |
1 | 6 | — | 14 | 184 | 447 | — | — | — | — | — | 790 | 630 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 9 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 48 | 5 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 86 | 0 | 5 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 94 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Illawarra | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Thirroul Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Thirroul provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Thirroul can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Thirroul 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 (Thirroul) 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 Thirroul 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 Thirroul, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Illawarra, consider staying in Wollongong which is 12 km (7 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 19 km (12 miles) away, Engadine, Cronulla and Caringbah.











