Beach forecast for Lake Cathie
Today, Thursday, October 29, 2026 · local time (GMT+11) · New South Wales, Australia Today, Thu, Oct 29 · GMT+11- Swimming
- Use care · 4.0 ft
- Water
- 70 °F · cool
- Max UV
- 10 · SPF 50
- Low tide
- 4:50 am and 6:13 pm
Today, Thursday, October 29, it's a fair beach day in Lake Cathie (5/10). The best hours are from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm: sunshine, pleasant temperatures and little wind, though with some waves and very high UV. The best day this week is Wednesday, November 4, at 7/10.
Beach forecast for the next 7 days
| Day | Rating | Best hours | Swimming | Water | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 5Fair beach day | 11:00 am–4:00 pm | Use care · 4.0 ft | 70 °F | 10 |
| Fri 30 | 4Poor beach day | 2:00–4:00 pm | Use care · 4.8 ft | 70 °F | 10 |
| Sat 31 | 7Good beach day | 1:00–6:00 pm | Use care · 4.9 ft | 70 °F | 9 |
| Sun 1 | 2Not a beach day | No good window | Use care · 4.1 ft | 70 °F | 9 |
| Mon 2 | 5Fair beach day | 3:00–7:00 pm | Use care · 2.9 ft | 70 °F | 8 |
| Tue 3 | 4Poor beach day | 3:00–5:00 pm | Use care · 3.1 ft | 70 °F | — |
| Wed 4 | 7Good beach day | 10:00 am–3:00 pm | Use care · 2.7 ft | 70 °F | — |
Each rating comes from sun, temperature, rain, wind, waves, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide.
Today in detail
1 good hour- Sunny
- Feels like 78 °F: pleasant
- Onshore breeze (7 mph)
- Water at 70 °F (cool)
- Swim with care: 4.0 ft waves every 9 s; high rip current risk
- UV 10 (very high): SPF 50 sunscreen
Today, hour by hour
- Swimming Use care · 4.0 ft
4.0 ft waves every 9 s: swim with care and stay where you can stand. High rip current risk. If you're caught in a rip current, don't swim against it: swim parallel to shore and wave for help. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
- Water 70 °F
Cool: refreshing on a hot day.
- Sun & sunscreen UV 10 · SPF 50
Max UV 10 (very high): SPF 50 sunscreen, reapplied every 2 hours. Seek shade 11:00 am–3:00 pm (very high UV).
- Wind 8 mph
Onshore breeze (8 mph).
- Tide & sand 6:13 pm
Low tide at 4:50 am and 6:13 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide at 11:33 am and 11:59 pm.
The best window, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, brings sunshine, pleasant temperatures and little wind, though with some waves and very high UV.
We don't have data on jellyfish, sargassum or beach closures: ask the lifeguard or check with the local beach authority.
Today, hour by hour
| Time | Rating | Sky | Feels like | Wind | Waves | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7:00 am | 1 | Clear sky | 56 °F | 4 mph | 3.8 ft | 1 |
| 8:00 am | 2 | Clear sky | 61 °F | 3 mph | 3.7 ft | 2 |
| 9:00 am | 4 | Clear sky | 66 °F | 2 mph | 3.7 ft | 4 |
| 10:00 am | 5 | Clear sky | 71 °F | 2 mph | 3.7 ft | 6 |
| 11:00 am | 5 | Clear sky | 75 °F | 4 mph | 3.7 ft | 8 |
| 12:00 pm | 5 | Clear sky | 77 °F | 5 mph | 3.7 ft | 10 |
| 1:00 pm | 5 | Clear sky | 78 °F | 6 mph | 3.7 ft | 10 |
| 2:00 pm | 6 | Clear sky | 77 °F | 7 mph | 3.8 ft | 8 |
| 3:00 pm | 5 | Clear sky | 75 °F | 7 mph | 4.0 ft | 6 |
| 4:00 pm | 5 | Clear sky | 72 °F | 8 mph | 4.2 ft | 3 |
| 5:00 pm | 4 | Clear sky | 68 °F | 7 mph | 4.4 ft | 1 |
| 6:00 pm | 4 | Clear sky | 67 °F | 5 mph | 4.5 ft | 0 |
Beach hours only: from one hour after sunrise to half an hour before sunset.
Beaches near Lake Cathie
Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Rainbow Beach 1.8 mi · S
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Parking
- Dogs allowed
- Lighthouse Beach 2.9 mi · NE
- Lifeguard
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Parking
- Dogs allowed
- Pilot Beach 6.1 mi · S
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Parking
- No dogs
- Washhouse Beach 6.2 mi · S
- Restrooms
- Parking
- No dogs
Named beaches within 6.2 mi, nearest first. Amenities from OpenStreetMap: some may be missing or out of date. View on OpenStreetMap · Add or fix on OpenStreetMap
Beaches and amenities: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Webcams near Lake Cathie
Webcams provided by windy.com — add a webcam
How we rate a beach day
We rate every beach hour from 0 to 10 with simple, fixed rules:
- Adds: sunshine (up to 3 points, fewer with more clouds), warmth (up to 4, from the feels-like temperature; ideal between 81 °F and 91 °F), a calm sea (1), water at 70 °F or warmer (1; from 64 °F, half) and low or mid tide (1: more sand). Anything without data is left out and the rest is scaled to 10.
- Takes away: cold (feels-like below 64 °F, 1 to 4 points), rain (half a point if likely, up to 6 if it rains; thunderstorms, 8), wind from force 4, about 12 mph (1 to 6 points; half a point more if offshore, which blows inflatables out to sea, or onshore, which churns the water), waves (1 to swim with care, 4 if dangerous, 1 more for high rip current risk), very high UV (half a point; extreme, 1), water below 59 °F (1) and spring high tides (1: little sand left).
- Swimming: calm, use care (waves from 2.6 ft, or long swell) or dangerous (from 6.6 ft, or 4.9 ft with a long period), based on how much of the wave reaches this shore given the way it faces. In the U.S., today's and tomorrow's rip current risk comes from the National Weather Service surf zone forecast when it issues one; otherwise we estimate it from the waves.
- Best windows: runs of 2 to 5 hours rated 4 or more and close to the best hour, at least one hour apart.
- Day rating: the average of the best window; a 2-hour window keeps 85% of it and a 3-hour window 95%.
Today, in the best window: sun 3 of 3, warmth 2.8 of 4, calm sea 0 of 1, water 0.7 of 1 and tide 0.4 of 1; minus waves 1.2 and UV 0.4.
It's a guide, not a guarantee: weather changes and every beach is different. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
Questions about the beach in Lake Cathie
Is it a beach day in Lake Cathie today?
A fair beach day: 5/10. Best from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, with sunshine, pleasant temperatures and little wind, though with some waves and very high UV.
What are the swimming conditions in Lake Cathie today?
4.0 ft waves every 9 s: swim with care and stay where you can stand. High rip current risk. If you're caught in a rip current, don't swim against it: swim parallel to shore and wave for help. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
How warm is the water in Lake Cathie?
About 70 °F today: cool. That's the sea surface temperature offshore; it can differ a little at the shoreline.
How much sun protection do I need in Lake Cathie today?
UV reaches 10 (very high): SPF 50 sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat, and seek shade from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.
When is low tide in Lake Cathie?
Today low tide is at 4:50 am and 6:13 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide is at 11:33 am and 11:59 pm.
What about tomorrow? Will it be a beach day in Lake Cathie?
Tomorrow, Friday, October 30: a poor beach day (4/10), best from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
What beaches are near Lake Cathie?
Rainbow Beach (1.8 mi), Lighthouse Beach (2.9 mi), Pilot Beach (6.1 mi) and Washhouse Beach (6.2 mi). See below for amenities and water quality.
Are there jellyfish or sargassum today?
We don't know: there's no open data on jellyfish, sargassum or closures for each beach. Ask the lifeguard, check the flags or the local beach authority's website.
How is the rating worked out?
From the hourly forecast: sun and clouds, feels-like temperature, rain, wind (and whether it blows onshore or offshore), waves and their period, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide. Each factor adds or takes away a fixed number of points and the rating sums them up out of 10.
More about Lake Cathie today
Learn more
Our own calculation, using the Open-Meteo forecast (ECMWF, NOAA GFS, Météo-France, Copernicus Marine and CAMS, CC BY 4.0), the tide from Port Macquarie (TICON-4) and the sun from astronomy-engine. Slackwater database (https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database). Source: Hart-Davis, M., Dettmering, D., Seitz, F. (2025), TICON-4: TIdal CONstants based on GESLA-4 sea-level records, SEANOE, https://doi.org/10.17882/109129. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Modified: see https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database#modifications-to-source-data