Wollongong weather in October
October in Wollongong: nice, rainy, with clean air — an excellent time to visit.
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
#5 of 12 months in Wollongong · #491 of 1413 destinations to visit in October · comfort 82/100 (tier A)
- Days
- 22°C
- Nights
- 14°C
- Wet days
- 8
- Sun
- 10.4 h
- Humidity
- 71%
- Daylight
- 13 h

Traveller notes on Wollongong in October
Notes from nearby Sydney (68 km away)
Wollongong doesn't have its own notes for October yet — these are about Sydney, close enough to share the season.
The swimming season here opens on the first weekend of October and runs to the last of March, which makes this month the start rather than the middle - the water is about 17C by their reckoning and 19C by our column, swimmable if you are keen and cold if you are not. The weather is spring at its most variable: thirty degrees one day, barely twenty and raining the next, with fresh evenings either way. Our averages read 20.9C over 15.3C with 89.5mm across 8.5 days. The jacarandas begin mid-October and run to mid-November, with Kirribilli and the Woolwich ferry the streets people name. The record: humidity 69 percent, 10.2 hours of sun and AQI 45.
Other months in Wollongong
Forum posters describe Wollongong's July as squarely winter, cool with genuinely variable weather, and recommend wind-proof clothing given how biting the coastal wind can turn, especially once the dry southwesterlies pick up later in winter into August-September. Posters note Wollongong sees heavy-rain days regularly but overall fewer stretches of mixed, changeable weather than Melbourne, with roughly 137 rainy days a year on average. Posters describing the following spring, September through November, note those months bring markedly clearer, crisper conditions - useful context for anyone deciding between a winter or spring visit. Posters generally rate July as cool, wind-affected and genuinely wintry for Wollongong, workable with proper layers and wind protection.
Forum posters note Wollongong genuinely gets a lot of rain year-round - more than twice London's annual rainfall by one poster's count, with roughly 137 days of some rain a typical year - so a summer visit is never a sure bet for wall-to-wall sun. One visitor's five-day December trip (similar seasonal pattern to January) landed three good tourist days and two stormy ones spent mostly near the hotel, which posters treat as a fairly representative mix for this time of year. Despite the rain risk, posters describe January days as warm and pleasant when the weather does cooperate, with the coastal escarpment scenery and beaches making it worth building in flexibility rather than a rigid day-by-day plan.
Add your own note from Wollongong's card on the map.
Wollongong climate normals — October
Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.
Crowds in Wollongong in October
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
Peak crowdsGrand Pacific Drive weekends, Spring break in Australia, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Best months for Wollongong's weather
Ranked by this destination's own climate comfort score across the year — a different thing from how busy it gets (see Crowds above).
Fair weatherWollongong's weather doesn't swing hard through the year — comfort stays fairly steady in every month.
What's on in Wollongong in October
Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.
- Nature
Humpbacks past the escarpment
15 May – 15 Nov · usuallyWhale seasonThe whole east-coast migration passes close in below the escarpment, and the headlands at Bald Hill and Hill 60 are free grandstands. Northbound from late May, mothers and calves loitering closer from September. Source ↗
- Season
Grand Pacific Drive weekends
1 Oct – 30 AprDay-tripper crushCrowdedOn any warm weekend the coast road down from Sydney, the Sea Cliff Bridge and the lookouts on Bald Hill are nose to tail from mid-morning. Go on a weekday or before nine and it is a different road.
Nearby, and something's on
Within 300 km of Wollongong — a day trip or a short hop — with something on this month. Never part of the comfort score.
Where is Wollongong?
Wollongong in October — FAQ
- Is October a good time to visit Wollongong?
- October in Wollongong: nice, rainy, with clean air — an excellent time to visit. It ranks #5 of 12 months for Wollongong on SeasonMap's comfort score (82/100).
- What is the weather like in Wollongong in October?
- In October, Wollongong averages a daily high of 21.8°C and a low of 14.4°C, with about 88.8 mm of rain over roughly 8.2 rainy days.
- What is the air quality in Wollongong in October?
- Wollongong has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 36 in October.
Within 300 km: Sydney's Humpback migration around 15 May – 15 Nov, and Katoomba's Waratahs and heath in flower around 15 Sep – 15 Nov.