Woolgoolga Back Beach Surf Break

Lat Long: 30.12° S 153.21° E

Woolgoolga Back Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 9 am 16 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Woolgoolga Back Beach sea temperature is
19.4° C
0.6° 

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


Woolgoolga Back Beach surf forecast from 16 Aug 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Wednesday 19 Aug, 7PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 10s period, ESE swell with glassy winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Wednesday 19 Aug, 1PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 10s period, ESE swell with 353 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 19 Aug, 7PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 10s period with ESE swell.

Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Woolgoolga Back Beach this week:

The surf forecast for Woolgoolga Back Beach over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 7PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.3m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.8m and 6s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Woolgoolga Back Beach in the next 16 days are 1.3m 10s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 1PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.0m 5s period and expected on Friday (Aug 21) at 7PM.

Wave TypeTime (AEST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+) 7PM (Wed 19th Aug)4.5ft (1.3m) 10s
Best Surf 7PM (Wed 19th Aug)4.5ft (1.3m) 10s
Most Powerful 1PM (Wed 19th Aug)4.5ft (1.3m) 10s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Woolgoolga Back Beach over the next 16 days.


The Lowdown

G’day, it’s Rusty here. Straight up, this stretch for Woolgoolga Back Beach is a tough one. I’ve looked through the whole 16 days, and there’s no real swell event, no solid size, and plenty of messy wind. You’ll be scratching for anything decent, and even then, it’s pretty ordinary.

Water’s at 19°, so that’s normal for the time of year. But the surf itself? Weak. The combined energy is mostly weak to moderate, sitting in that 50–400 range, so there’s no power in the water.

Starting Sunday the 16th, it’s poor—around 5ft of short-period SSE slop with a cross-on breeze mucking it up. Not worth the effort. Monday’s slightly bigger at around 6ft, but the period’s still short and the wind’s onshore, so it’s messy. The energy is moderate, but that’s about as good as it gets, and it’s still poor.

Midweek, it drops off quickly. Tuesday and Wednesday sit around 4 to 5ft, but it’s still bumpy and onshore. Thursday the 20th morning is the first small tease—glassy conditions with a light NE wind, but the swell is only about 4ft with a short period and weak energy. It’s surfable if you’re keen, but it’s pretty average. Friday and Saturday see it shrink to around 3ft or less, so it’s tiny, though a few windows are clean with offshore/cross-off winds. Still, nothing to shout about.

There’s a slight bump around Sunday the 23rd—about 4ft with a slightly longer period, but it’s cross-on again, so let’s call it a miss. The following week is even weaker, mostly under 3ft, with only the very tail end showing a hint. Around Friday the 28th and Saturday the 29th, the period stretches out to 11–12 seconds, which is a proper groundswell signal, but the height is only about 3 to 4ft. The energy picks up a bit, but it’s still cross-on or onshore, and the size just doesn’t give you anything to work with.

The only real moments worth noting are Thursday the 20th morning and Sunday the 30th morning when it goes glassy, but the swell is tiny—about 4ft and 3ft respectively. Those will be clean, but wave-less. Not standouts, just the least-bad options.

If you’re a kitesurfer, honestly, the onshore and cross-on winds mid-week are more your game than a paddle surfer’s. But for a surfer, this is a blank run. The only long-range hope is that final weekend—Friday 28th and Saturday 29th—where the period gets long, so there’s a flicker of groundswell potential, but it’s still small and onshore. I’d wait it out, mate.

This is Rusty, signing off.

Short Range Forecast

Moderate rain (total 18mm), heaviest on Sun afternoon. Very mild (max 17°C on Sun morning, min 14°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light.

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Some drizzle, heaviest during Wed morning. Warm (max 21°C on Fri morning, min 13°C on Thu night). Winds increasing (calm on Wed afternoon, fresh winds from the NNE by Fri afternoon).

Sunday
16
Monday
17
Tuesday
18
Wednesday
19
Thursday
20
Friday
21
Saturday
22
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
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
2
1
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
1.5
SSE
7
1.3
SSE
6
1.7
SE
7
1.7
ESE
7
1.6
ESE
7
1.6
ESE
8
1.5
ESE
8
1.1
SE
8
1.1
SE
9
1.2
ESE
8
1.3
ESE
10
0.9
E
9
1.2
ESE
8
1
ESE
7
1
E
7
1
E
7
0.9
E
7
1
E
7
0.8
ENE
7
0.7
ENE
7
0.9
S
6
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
200
128
279
297
279
277
274
160
176
154
339
134
151
114
103
100
79
92
62
51
56
Wind (km/h)
25
SSW
20
SSE
15
S
15
S
10
SE
15
ESE
10
SE
15
ESE
5
S
15
S
10
ESE
10
W
5
NE
15
NE
10
NW
15
NNW
30
NNE
15
NNW
10
NW
10
S
30
SSW
Wind State
cross-on
on
cross-on
cross-on
on
cross-on
on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-off
glassy
cross
off
cross-off
cross-off
off
off
cross-on
cross
High Tide
10:29AM1.34m
10:34PM1.42m
11:12AM1.33m
11:12PM1.24m
11:58AM1.31m
11:53PM1.08m
12:49PM1.27m
00:41AM0.94m
1:49PM1.23m
1:46AM0.84m
2:58PM1.23m
3:12AM0.80m
4:07PM1.26m
Low Tide
4:25PM0.20m
4:53AM0.10m
5:13PM0.30m
5:26AM0.18m
6:07PM0.41m
6:02AM0.26m
7:10PM0.50m
6:44AM0.35m
8:31PM0.55m
7:39AM0.41m
10:01PM0.53m
8:51AM0.44m
11:11PM0.47m
part cloud
light rain
rain showers
clear
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
clear
rain showers
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
clear
clear
part cloud
cloud
rain showers
rain showers
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:20
6:18
6:18
6:16
6:16
6:15
6:13
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:22
5:22
5:23
5:23
5:24
5:24
5:25
 mm
5
3
1
3
3
3
1
2
1
Temp °C
17
16
17
17
16
17
17
17
17
16
17
16
17
17
15
21
19
16
18
17
15
Feels °C
13
12
12
14
14
14
15
14
15
14
16
16
15
14
14
17
14
15
16
16
11
  • 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 Woolgoolga Back Beach:

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 Woolgoolga Back Beach 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 Woolgoolga Back Beach Surf forecast

The above surf forecast table for Woolgoolga Back Beach provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Woolgoolga Back Beach can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Woolgoolga Back 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 (Woolgoolga Back 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 Woolgoolga Back 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.

Nearest locationNearest