Well, it has been another mixed bag of weather conditions across the local region this past week, with moderate onshore winds, some gloomy skies and scattered showers, and more warm temperatures and sticky days.
As we look ahead to the weekend, we can expect more scattered showers through Friday before the sun becomes more prevalent across the weekend, and whilst the winds will remain onshore, they will be much lighter through the mornings and only become moderate in strength through the afternoons.
This morning’s winds will be from the E/SE at around 10 knots before they increase during the day to 15+ knots.
Both Saturday and Sunday are then looking quite similar as well, with 5 to 10 knots of E/SE winds through the mornings that will then increase to 10 to 15 knots from the E/SE through the afternoons.
Swimming
Swimming conditions again been quite ordinary across most, but not all beaches during this past week, with sloppy, choppy and messy conditions the norm on the open and exposed beaches.
Looking ahead across the weekend, we can expect the ocean conditions to settle gradually, and especially through the mornings while the winds are lighter, we can expect better swimming conditions.
But, with the winds increasing to be moderate through the afternoons, there will once again be choppy and slightly messy conditions at these times.
The best beaches for swimmers will be those that offer protection from the E/SE winds, so Agnes Water and Hervey Bay will be the best, but also consider Nielson Park as a reasonable option as well.
The best time for a swim will be through the early mornings when the winds are lightest, but if the winds do not get too strong, mid to late afternoon will be worth consideration as well.
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
Friday – 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, Oaks Beach and Agnes Water; 1 pm to 5 pm at Elliott Heads and Moore Park.
Sunday – 9 am to 5 pm at Elliott Heads, Kelly’s Beach, Nielson Park, Oaks Beach, Moore Park Beach and Agnes Water.
Surfing
There has been plenty of swell about this past week for board riders to enjoy, with fun-sized waves across almost all beaches, but these waves have been quite messy and sloppy on the more open and exposed beaches.
Agnes Water has been the pick of the local beaches and should continue to be so across the coming days as well, with fun-sized and cleaner waves expected to continue although it will start to drop in size gradually later in the week.
Locally, try Mon Repos, Nielson Park or Moore Park for best results. Good Luck!
For the SUP and Ocean Ski paddlers chasing a downwind paddle, conditions won’t be great due to the E/SE winds and the E/NE swell, but the winds may increase enough through the afternoons for a south to north run.
For those looking for a more relaxed and gentler paddle though, the ocean will be quite wobbly and sloppy, but the very early mornings across the weekend may surprise for a clean, fun wave.
Events
Good luck to local surf lifesavers that will be competing in a WBC Branch U11 to Masters Carnival this weekend (Saturday and Sunday) at Agnes Water.
