Well, it has been a pretty good week of weather this past week, with mostly sunny skies, mild temperatures, and light to moderate winds – with just a few scattered showers about here and there.
Scattered showers are again forecast for the coming days as well, so keep an eye on the sky if planning a trip to the beach.
Aside from that, the winds will be lighter through the mornings and then gustier through the afternoons, with mild temperatures to remain.
This morning will bring E/SE winds at around 15 knots before they increase to around 20 knots through this afternoon.
Tomorrow morning, we can then expect around 10 knots of E/SE winds that will increase to around 15 knots through the afternoon.
Sunday will then bring only 5 to 10 knots of E/SE wind through the morning and then 10 to 15 knots through the afternoon.
Swimming
The swimming conditions been okay during this past week, with just some choppier conditions developing through the afternoons over the past couple of days.
Windy and choppy conditions will persist through today before easing across the weekend, meaning that swimming conditions will improve through both Saturday and Sunday – with Sunday morning looking like being the best time to hit the beach!
Choppy conditions will develop through the afternoons, and they will be worse on the open and exposed beaches.
Hervey Bay will again be the best beach for swimmers in the Wide Bay region, but locally, beaches such as Moore Park, Nielson Park and Agnes Water will be the better options.
Hit the beaches through the early mornings for the high tide and the lighter winds, with conditions at their best up until around mid to late morning.
The morning high tide heights are building again over coming days, so please avoid the creek and river mouths during the run-out stage of the tide and be cautious on the beaches, where there will be plenty of water movement as well.
Please check with the surf 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!
Today and weekdays: 9 am to 5 pm at Kelly's Beach and Agnes Water only.
Saturday: 9 am to 5 pm at Kelly's Beach, Nielson Park Beach, Oaks Beach and Agnes Water; 1 to 5 pm at Elliott Heads and Moore Park Beach.
Sunday: 9 am to 5 pm at Elliott Heads, Kelly's Beach, Nielson Park Beach, Oaks Beach, Moore Park Beach and Agnes Water.
Note: These are minimum patrol times, some locations may have longer hours of patrol time.
Surfing
The waves have been a bit ordinary through the start of this week, but things changed quickly on Wednesday and Thursday, with wave heights increasing steadily to provide plenty of fun conditions.
The wave heights will likely be at their best through today before they start to ease gradually across the weekend, but the early mornings should still be worth a look on both Saturday and Sunday morning.
Hit the beaches early – up until about a couple of hours after the top of the tide on local beaches, with Agnes Water, Nielson Park, Moore Park, and Mon Repos all worth checking out.
For the SUP and ocean ski paddlers, the winds will ease across the weekend, but the afternoons from today to Sunday should bring plenty of wind for a south to north downwind paddle.
For those looking for a gentle and more relaxed paddle, hit the beaches through the early mornings for a few clean, fun waves.
Events
Good luck to our local junior surf lifesavers who will be competing across today and the weekend at the 2024 Queensland Youth Surf Life Saving Championships on the Gold Coast.
