It has been a reasonably good week of weather just passed, with some overcast skies mixed in with the sunshine, but at least the winds have been mostly light and the temperatures quite mild and even bordering on being a little warm.
As we look ahead to today and then across the weekend we can expect quite mixed weather conditions to come our way.
Today is looking quite good initially, with light winds and hopefully only partly cloudy skies, but the forecast does suggest that showers, and even rain periods, could develop through the late afternoon or tonight, before showery/rainy conditions persist into tomorrow.
Sunday should then bring back sunny skies, but also slightly cooler minimum temperatures as well.
Today’s winds will only be around 10 knots from the S/SE to E/SE, which is good news for beachgoers, before they increase slightly tomorrow to be at around 10 to 15 knots from the South.
Sunday will then see the winds increase a little more again, with 15+ knots of S/SE winds forecast.
Swimming: Swimming conditions have been a little mixed during the past week, but generally the mornings have provided plenty of calm conditions before things changed slightly through the afternoons.
As we look ahead to the coming days, the general pattern could well be the same too for swimmers, with the mornings expected to provide the better, and calmer, swimming conditions, before slightly choppier conditions develop through the afternoons – and certainly on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
For today, all beaches will provide reasonably good swimming conditions, but once we get into the weekend, beaches that provide protection from the prevailing S/SE winds will be the better options – these being Hervey Bay, Agnes Water, Moore Park Beach and Nielson Park.
Now whilst the mornings will be the better time for a swim, just be aware that the tide will also be low through the early mornings too, so if you prefer the high tide conditions you will need to wait until around midday and through until early to mid-afternoon.
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 – 9 am to 5 pm at Kelly’s Beach and Agnes Water only
Surfing: Local surfers have been enjoying plenty of clean, fun-sized waves about our local beaches since Saturday, however the size did start to drop slightly through yesterday.
Looking ahead to today and into the weekend, it does appear that the wave heights will continue to drop in size, but today may just throw up enough to score a few fun ones at the usual locations.
Then for the weekend, Sunday could just bring another small increase through the afternoon as those winds pick-up, but it will likely be a little messy by then too.
The best beaches are likely to be Agnes Water, Nielson Park Beach and Mon Repos, but Moore Park Beach and Kelly’s Beach could also be worth a sneaky look too. Good luck!
For the SUP and ocean ski paddlers, a south to north downwind paddle could be on the cards for tomorrow afternoon, but it will certainly be better through Sunday once those winds increase again through Sunday afternoon.
For those looking for a more relaxed and gentler float, the ocean will be okay today, but then across the weekend, the protected, in-land waterways will be the better option.
Events: Sign-on days for local surf life saving clubs are happening over coming weekends – for more information please visit their websites or Facebook pages! And of course, Happy Fathers’ Day to all the dads for Sunday!
- Last week's beach report: Cool start before warmer weather begins
