Well, once again we have experienced a bit of a mixed week of weather with mostly light to moderate winds, although they have been much lighter through the early mornings, along with mild temperatures, and scattered thunderstorms.
Looking ahead to the coming days and it does appear that the weather will become more settled (without thunderstorms anyway) with temperatures becoming warmer (especially on Sunday) and northerly winds that will start to increase from Saturday afternoon and continue into Sunday.
This morning’s winds will be relatively light at about 10 knots from the N/NW before they swing more from the North and increase to around 15 knots through this afternoon.
Tomorrow will then bring Northerly winds at 10 to 15 knots in the morning before they get quite gusty at 15 to 20 knots by the afternoon.
Sunday will then bring warmer and gusty N/NW winds at 15 to 20 knots right throughout the day.
There is also the chance of a few scattered showers through today as well, so check the forecast before making plans today!
SWIMMING
Swimming conditions have been very nice through the early mornings this past week with mostly offshore winds during this part of the day, before those choppier conditions started to kick-in through the afternoons along with the afternoon sea-breezes.
Looking ahead to the coming days, and while early this morning will be quite OK, it does appear that for the most part the ocean is going to be quite choppy and even a little messy – especially on those beaches that are exposed to the northerly winds, and especially through the afternoons when the winds will be at their strongest.
The best time for a swim over the coming days is going to be from early to mid-morning while the winds are lighter, whilst the best beaches for swimmers will certainly be Elliott Heads and Kelly’s Beach.
Just be mindful that as the winds increase during the day so will the strength of the side sweep (north to south) on the open and exposed beaches.
Please check with the Lifesavers or Lifeguard on duty, read any safety signage or messages, AND most importantly please swim only at patrolled beaches, only between the red and yellow flags, and only during patrol times – remember, if we can’t see you, we can’t save you!
BEACH PATROLS: Today and weekdays – 9am to 5pm at Kelly’s Beach and Agnes Water only
SATURDAY – 9am to 5pm at Kelly’s Beach, Nielson Park, Oaks Beach and Agnes Water; 1pm to 5pm at Elliott Heads and Moore Park Beach
SUNDAY – 9am to 5pm at Elliott Heads, Kelly’s Beach, Nielson Park, Oaks Beach, Moore Park Beach and Agnes Water
SURFING
There have been a few clean and fun-sized waves about this past week on local beaches, but you had to be up early to enjoy them while the wind remained offshore.
Looking ahead to the coming days and it does unfortunately appear that the wave quality will be quite poor as the northerly winds start to mess up the ocean.
Early this morning could provide a small window of opportunity for some more small clean waves if the northerly wind does not kick-in too early, but after that your best bet would be to keep an eye on Kelly’s Beach and Elliott Heads later in the weekend as the northerly winds get stronger or think about a drive south to Double Island Point or Rainbow Beach.
For the SUP and ocean-ski paddlers, there will be plenty of downwind paddling options (north top south) over the coming days, with this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon looking quite promising, and also any time on Sunday.
But for those looking for a more leisurely paddle, it may be best to hit the protected waterways, or get down there early this morning.
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