Well winter is now officially here, with today being the second day of the season, and earlier this week it certainly felt like it too!
But funnily enough, as we head towards the first weekend of winter, the minimum temperatures are actually going to get a bit warmer, with mild maximum temperatures as well.
But there will be an increased chance of showers by Sunday and into Monday, so keep an eye on the sky later in the weekend if planning a trip to the beach.
Today’s winds will be light early this morning at around 5 knots from the south before they gradually increase to 5 to 10 knots from the S/SE and then eventually from the E/SE at around 10 knots through this afternoon.
Tomorrow’s winds will be more from the E/SE at around 10 knots throughout the day, although they could creep up to 10+ knots.
Sunday will then bring 10 to 15 knots of E/SE winds along overcast skies as well.
SWIMMING:
The swimming conditions have been very good during this past week – thanks mostly to the offshore, light winds – but the cooler air temperatures did keep the number of swimmers down.
The water temperature has not changed too much this week and is still hovering around 21 degrees, so it certainly better in then out at certain times of the day!
As we look ahead to today and into the weekend, the swimming conditions will still be quite OK, but there won’t be too many glassy conditions like we have seen this past week.
The early mornings will provide relatively gentle conditions while the winds are lighter, whilst later in the day, when the winds turn more onshore and increase slightly, we can then expect slightly choppy conditions to develop.
The best time for a swim over the coming days will be from early to mid-morning when the tide is higher and the winds lighter.
All beaches will be quite OK this morning, but then from this afternoon and across the weekend, beaches such as Hervey Bay, Agnes Water, Nielson Park, and Moore Park will be slightly better options.
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:
Once again, we have another weekend and week go by with pretty much no waves on offer for the board-riders – for the most part the beaches have been dead flat!
But there is a glimmer of hope ahead for the weekend – albeit it a small one!
Wave heights should start to get a little bigger through today and into the weekend as the swell direction turns more from the E/NE, and fingers crossed that we may just find a few small but fun-sized waves across the weekend.
Best locations will likely be Agnes Water, Nielson Park, Mon Repos and Moore Park, but probably best to wait for the weekend in the hope that the wave heights increase enough to entice you into the water.
For the SUP and Ocean Ski paddlers, there should still be relatively calm and gentle ocean conditions this morning, and maybe very early tomorrow as well, before the ocean starts to get a little wobbly after that.
There is not a lot of wind forecast for the weekend, but there may just be enough for a south to north downwind paddle on Sunday.
EVENTS: nil
