Rule Golden Hour

Golden Hour Forecast for Sydney, Australian Coast

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Sydney Harbour layers the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, sandstone headlands, ferries, and city towers across coves suited to long-lens alignment.

4 matching opportunities in the 14-day forecast.

Hourly forecast scores

Forecast valid from Oct 7, 2026, 11:00 PM UTC (one hour; not an observation)

Golden Hour Potential

Low Cloud Cover62%

Mid Cloud Cover20%

High Cloud Cover0%

Sun Elevation43.0°

Upcoming Opportunities

When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.

Times shown in Australia/Sydney

First upcoming window

Exceptional Golden Hour at Sunset

Sydney

Thu, Oct 8 · 18:30–19:18 · 1h window

Medium confidence

62%

🌇Golden Hour Potential91.7-92.5%

Low Cloud Cover: 0%

Mid Cloud Cover: 0%

High Cloud Cover: 0%

Sun Elevation: 12.2° (Daylight)

Exceptional Golden Hour at Sunset

Sydney

Fri, Oct 9 · 18:31–19:19

🌇Golden Hour Potential:84.8-87.9%

Low

Exceptional Golden Hour at Sunset

Sydney

Sat, Oct 10 · 18:31–19:20

🌇Golden Hour Potential:100%

Medium

Exceptional Golden Hour at Sunset

Sydney

Sun, Oct 11 · 18:32–19:21

🌇Golden Hour Potential:92-93.2%

Low

71-hour requirements breakdown

When available, this detailed table covers only the stated 71-hour horizon (typically 72–168 hours, depending on available hourly data). Opportunity records above span the full 14-day forecast period, so this table does not explain that entire period. Times shown in Australia/Sydney.

Requirements breakdown is temporarily unavailable or expired. This does not mean no opportunities.

Supporting forecast inputs

Additional hourly values for interpreting the forecast and any derived scores. See the separate requirements breakdown for rule logic; missing values are unavailable.

Forecast time (Australia/Sydney)	Diffuse Radiation	Direct Radiation	Golden Hour	High Clouds	Low Clouds	Mid-Level Clouds	Relative Humidity	Solar Elevation	Total Cloud Coverage	Wind Speed
Thu, Oct 8, 2026Sunrise 06:23 · Sunset 19:02
10:00	176W/m²	253W/m²	Unavailable	0%	62%	20%	72%	43°	62%	3.7m/s
11:00	196W/m²	414W/m²	Unavailable	0%	63%	59%	70%	53°	77%	3.5m/s
12:00	226W/m²	499W/m²	Unavailable	0%	63%	41%	68%	60°	66%	3.1m/s
13:00	197W/m²	611W/m²	Unavailable	0%	77%	29%	67%	62°	78%	3.4m/s
14:00	216W/m²	489W/m²	Unavailable	0%	80%	5%	70%	57°	80%	3.6m/s
15:00	244W/m²	461W/m²	Unavailable	0%	20%	0%	68%	48°	20%	3.6m/s
16:00	133W/m²	517W/m²	Unavailable	0%	1%	0%	67%	37°	1%	3.7m/s
17:00	86W/m²	402W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	67%	25°	0%	3.5m/s
18:00	66W/m²	206W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	68%	12°	0%	3.5m/s
19:00	26W/m²	44W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	71%	0.26°	0%	2m/s
20:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	76%	-12°	0%	1.6m/s
21:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	78%	-24°	0%	1.3m/s
22:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	80%	-35°	0%	0.75m/s
23:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	2%	0%	85%	-43°	2%	0.81m/s
Fri, Oct 9, 2026Sunrise 06:22 · Sunset 19:03
24:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	5%	0%	89%	-49°	5%	1.4m/s
01:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	6%	0%	91%	-50°	6%	2.2m/s
02:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	6%	0%	92%	-46°	6%	2.2m/s
03:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	93%	-39°	0%	2m/s
04:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	95%	-29°	0%	1.6m/s
05:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	4%	0%	96%	-17°	4%	2m/s
06:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	26%	0%	98%	-5.3°	26%	1.7m/s
07:00	10W/m²	9W/m²	Unavailable	0%	50%	0%	98%	7.1°	50%	2.1m/s
08:00	59W/m²	113W/m²	Unavailable	0%	30%	0%	95%	20°	30%	1.6m/s
09:00	100W/m²	283W/m²	Unavailable	0%	13%	0%	84%	32°	13%	1.4m/s
10:00	99W/m²	505W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	72%	43°	0%	0.6m/s
11:00	98W/m²	678W/m²	Unavailable	0%	1%	0%	66%	54°	1%	1.1m/s
12:00	101W/m²	789W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	64%	61°	0%	2.9m/s
13:00	103W/m²	837W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	64%	62°	0%	4.3m/s
14:00	101W/m²	818W/m²	Unavailable	38%	0%	0%	64%	57°	38%	4.8m/s
15:00	105W/m²	720W/m²	Unavailable	41%	0%	0%	66%	48°	41%	4.8m/s
16:00	99W/m²	576W/m²	Unavailable	1%	0%	0%	67%	37°	1%	5m/s
17:00	81W/m²	405W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	69%	25°	0%	5.4m/s
18:00	63W/m²	207W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	75%	12°	0%	5m/s
19:00	26W/m²	44W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	80%	0.4°	0%	5.2m/s
20:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	83%	-12°	0%	5.1m/s
21:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	83%	-24°	0%	5.3m/s
22:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	1%	0%	0%	85%	-34°	1%	4.1m/s
23:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	13%	0%	0%	87%	-43°	13%	3m/s
Sat, Oct 10, 2026Sunrise 06:20 · Sunset 19:04
24:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	45%	0%	0%	85%	-49°	45%	2.1m/s
01:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	56%	0%	2%	88%	-50°	57%	1.1m/s
02:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	98%	0%	67%	88%	-46°	99%	1.3m/s
03:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	98%	0%	2%	87%	-38°	98%	1.8m/s
04:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	92%	0%	11%	85%	-28°	93%	1.7m/s
05:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	98%	0%	94%	84%	-17°	99%	1.6m/s
06:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	100%	0%	77%	91%	-5°	100%	3.1m/s
07:00	3W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	96%	0%	96%	93%	7.4°	100%	1.4m/s
08:00	56W/m²	11W/m²	Unavailable	96%	0%	88%	92%	20°	99%	2.3m/s
09:00	105W/m²	13W/m²	Unavailable	85%	0%	91%	85%	32°	98%	3.6m/s
10:00	205W/m²	160W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	18%	76%	44°	18%	2.9m/s
11:00	128W/m²	610W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	59%	54°	0%	2.8m/s
12:00	103W/m²	759W/m²	Unavailable	0%	13%	23%	48%	61°	24%	3.5m/s
13:00	152W/m²	697W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	15%	46%	62°	15%	2.9m/s
14:00	117W/m²	731W/m²	Unavailable	1%	0%	11%	35%	57°	12%	3.8m/s
15:00	112W/m²	649W/m²	Unavailable	2%	0%	14%	35%	48°	16%	3m/s
16:00	121W/m²	476W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	9%	47%	37°	9%	1.2m/s
17:00	88W/m²	373W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	3%	50%	25°	3%	2.3m/s
18:00	62W/m²	206W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	21%	35%	13°	21%	3.6m/s
19:00	26W/m²	43W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	15%	46%	0.53°	15%	2.2m/s
20:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	9%	55%	-12°	9%	1.1m/s
21:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	57%	-24°	0%	1.2m/s
22:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	62%	-34°	0%	1.2m/s
23:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	63%	-43°	0%	1.2m/s
Sun, Oct 11, 2026Sunrise 06:19 · Sunset 19:04
24:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	77%	-48°	0%	5.3m/s
01:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	1%	0%	88%	-49°	1%	5m/s
02:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	6%	0%	90%	-45°	6%	4.8m/s
03:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	13%	0%	91%	-38°	13%	4.3m/s
04:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	13%	0%	92%	-28°	13%	4.2m/s
05:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	23%	0%	92%	-17°	23%	3.4m/s
06:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	43%	0%	92%	-4.7°	43%	2.5m/s
07:00	10W/m²	6W/m²	Unavailable	0%	87%	0%	93%	7.7°	87%	1.5m/s
08:00	83W/m²	32W/m²	Unavailable	0%	97%	0%	90%	20°	97%	1.2m/s
09:00	162W/m²	93W/m²	Unavailable	0%	95%	0%	83%	32°	95%	1.5m/s

How this forecast is evaluated

See which weather signals PhotoWeather uses to identify Golden Hour conditions across Australian Coast. The requirements and hourly values above show how those signals apply at Sydney.

Explore Golden Hour conditions across Australian Coast →

Recorded match history

Completed PhotoWeather forecast matches recorded for this exact rule at Sydney during the last 365 days.

Last 30 days

recorded matching windows · 75% average confidence

Last 90 days

110

recorded matching windows · 72% average confidence

Last 365 days

215

recorded matching windows · 73% average confidence

Most frequent recorded start hour

17:00 local time, shared by 68 of 215 matches recorded in the last 365 days.

Most represented month

September, with 39 of 215 matches recorded in the last 365 days.

These figures use completed PhotoWeather MatchEvent records from the previous 365 days only. They describe recorded forecast matches, not observations, climatological probability, or a guarantee of future conditions.

Create your own Golden Hour alerts

Get notified when these conditions match at your own locations.

Get this template

How this forecast is made

Opportunities are threshold-based signals: PhotoWeather checks whether forecast conditions match the rules for a photography scenario. They are planning guidance, not guarantees. Forecasts can change as new model runs arrive, and confidence generally decreases farther into the forecast horizon, so recheck conditions before travelling.

The weather forecast foundation comes through Open-Meteo , which aggregates models from weather agencies. PhotoWeather applies condition-specific thresholds and derived calculations; not every condition uses every model or data input.

How opportunities work → Weather data sources →

Get Notified of Opportunities

Create your own custom alerts for this location and more.

Create Free Account