Well, once again we have experienced a mixed bag of weather this past week, with plenty of rain falling as well, especially on Wednesday night into Thursday morning,
Looking ahead to the weekend though, and it does appear that the forecast will be much more settled and stable, although the temperatures are going to rise again, along with those humidity levels!
Sunny skies should be the order of the day through until at least Sunday, with northerly winds also expected to return.
Today will bring E/SE winds this morning at round 10 knots before they gradually increase to 10 to 15 knots through the day and also swing from the E/NE by the afternoon.
Saturday will then bring light N/NE winds in the morning (5 to 10 knots) before they increase up to around 15 knots by late afternoon. Sunday will be similar, with N/NE winds at around 10 knots in the morning and then increase to around 15 knots through the afternoon.
Swimming: The swimming conditions have been similar to the weather this past week – very mixed!
In particular, yesterday saw the ocean become very messy and sloppy, and quite tricky for swimmers.
But, in good news for swimmers, we can expect the ocean to settle down over the coming days, with choppy conditions expected through the afternoons, and more-so on those beaches that face in a more northerly direction.
The best swimming conditions will certainly be found through the mornings – any time from early morning through until around mid to late morning – as this is when the tide will be higher and the winds lighter.
For this morning, beaches such as Agnes Water, Nielson Park, Moore Park Beach and Hervey Bay will be the better locations, but for Saturday and Sunday, the best beaches for swimmers will be Kelly’s Beach and Elliott Heads.
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: Once again, the waves were pretty ordinary for most of the past week, but we did see a significant increase in wave heights yesterday – although at the same time, the quality was quite ordinary due to the strong onshore winds and messy ocean.
I am going to suggest that perhaps your best chance of finding a few waves will be this morning – any time from early morning through until mid to late morning – at beaches such as Agnes Water, Nielson Park, Moore Park and Mon Repos.
After that we can expect the northerly winds to takeover and the wave heights to decrease quite quickly.
If you are keen across the weekend, perhaps check out Kelly’s Beach or Elliott Heads through the early mornings. Good Luck!
For the SUP and ocean-ski paddlers, you may find enough wind and motion in the ocean through Saturday or Sunday afternoon for a north to south downwind paddle.
Aside from that, maybe consider a few waves this morning, or a more relaxed paddle through the early mornings across the weekend.
Events: Good luck to all local surf lifesavers that are competing tomorrow at Agnes Water in either the WBC Branch Board Riding Championships or the WBC Branch Premiership Series – Round 1.
Important note: Remember there are updated COVID-19 restrictions, if you are at the beach, please maintain the social/physical distancing minimum guidelines and abide by the current group gathering guidelines as well.
Other news:
- Overcast skies before sunshine appears
- Warm and muggy conditions to change this weekend
- Waves complete hat-trick of netball premierships
