Manly Beach Surf Season
Sydney, NSW, Australia · part of the Manly Beach spot guide
Manly works year-round but the prime window is autumn through winter, roughly March to August, when Tasman and Southern Ocean lows and east-coast lows drive the biggest, cleanest south-to-southeast swells. Summer and early autumn add Coral Sea cyclone pulses from the east and northeast. Regionally the biggest waves come in April to June, and the water is warmest in the warm-season northeast-swell months.
Where the swell comes from
Tasman and Southern Ocean lows plus east-coast lows for the autumn-winter south-to-southeast groundswell, and Coral Sea cyclones for summer-autumn east and northeast energy.
Historic swells at Manly Beach
East Coast Low superstorm
An east-to-northeast-directed low drove offshore peaks well into double figures across the region and caused the worst Sydney-beach erosion in about 40 years — a benchmark of what an east-coast low can do to this coast.
“Once-in-a-century” Tasman low
A deep bomb low sent offshore peaks around 25 feet gusting far higher; the harbour bombies and expert slabs lit up amid widespread damage.