Keep an eye of the sky before planning a trip to the beach, according to Craig Holden, who says winds will remain light with a forecast of wet weather.
Well, yet again, it has been another week of mostly good weather conditions, although there has been a bit more wind about this week, and particularly so on Tuesday, but they did ease over the past two days.
Looking ahead to today and across the weekend, the weather forecast is not quite so good though!
Whilst the winds will remain mostly generally light, the forecast is saying wet weather is on its way, with rain forecast today and tomorrow, before easing on Sunday but then returning on Monday.
So basically, keep an eye on the sky before planning your trip to the beach!
The winds during both today and tomorrow will be from the S/SE at around 10 knots, although there could be periods where it creeps up to 10 to 15 knots.
Sunday will then bring S/SW winds at 10 to 15 knots, which should also bring slightly smoother ocean conditions too.
With the rainy conditions about, the minimum temperatures will be a little warmer, but the maximums will be quite cool, so be prepared.
Swimming: The swimming conditions have been a little mixed during the past week, with good conditions found through the early mornings, before the onshore winds brought with them choppier conditions later in the day.
As we look ahead to today and then across the weekend, the swimming conditions will be quite reasonable due to the mostly light winds, but it is highly likely that you will need to put up with showers and rain periods for the next few days at least.
The best time for a swim will be around mid-morning while the tide is higher and the winds lighter, with Sunday potentially being a slightly better day if the forecast stays true and the rain eases by then.
All beaches should provide reasonable swimming conditions, although there will be a little bit of wave action about over the weekend, but perhaps those beaches that are more protected from S/SE winds could be even better – these would be Hervey Bay, Agnes Water, Moore Park Beach, and Nielson Park beach.
Please check with the 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 – NIL
Saturday and Sunday – 9am to 5pm at Kelly’s Beach and Agnes Water only
Surfing: The past week has delivered plenty of clean, small, fun waves for board-riders to enjoy through the mornings – nothing big, but certainly fun-sized if you managed to find the right phase of the tide.
Now the good news for board-riders too is that these fun-sized waves should hang around, and even increase slightly, across the weekend!
Again, the size will be nothing special, but there should be enough there to enjoy today before it starts to get a little bigger through Saturday and into Sunday.
Locations such as Agnes Water, Nielson Park, Mon Repos and Moore Park Beach will likely be the better spots through the morning, but Kelly’s Beach could also surprise if the onshore winds do not get too strong. Good luck!
For the SUP and ocean ski paddlers, there should be plenty of clean, fun waves about to chase over the weekend, but if you are looking for calm, gentle conditions for paddling, you will need to hit the beach very early or else look for sheltered waterways, and for a downwind south to north paddle, maybe wait for Sunday.
Events: Nil.
- Last week's beach report: Good weather on the cards for the weekend
