Well, it has been a relatively good week of weather for beach visitors for the first week of the school holidays with winds easing and temperatures climbing but this is all about to change very quickly through today.
A strong, onshore wind change will arrive in the region today, bringing with it slightly cooler temperatures, partly cloudy skies and choppy and messy ocean conditions across most beaches.
Today’s winds will be light and from the N/NW to SW early this morning but will soon increase to 15 to 20 knots from the E/SE later on and then even further to 20 to 25+ knots this afternoon.
Tomorrow will be similar too with E/SE winds at 15 to 20 knots in the morning, increasing to 20 to 25 knots through the afternoon.
Sunday will bring a very slight reprieve, with winds still moderate at 15 to 20 knots from the E/SE.
Swimming
The swimming conditions have been quite good during this past week as you would expect with the lighter winds, but this will change very quickly through today and into the entire weekend when the strong E/SE winds arrive later.
Early this morning will be your last chance to find relatively calm swimming conditions – unless you are at Hervey Bay where calm conditions will be the norm for the next three days.
From about midday today through the entire weekend, choppy and messy conditions will be found across almost all beaches, with those open and exposed beaches expected to be slightly worse – these beaches will also have a strong side current running from right to left as well, so swimmers will need to be very careful over the coming days.
The best beaches for swimmers will certainly be Hervey Bay and Agnes Water, with Nielson Park and Moore Park Beaches being the next best locally.
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: Weekdays 9 am – 5 pm at Elliott Heads, Kelly’s Beach, Nielson Park Beach, Oaks Beach, Moore Park Beach and Agnes Water, plus a rove lifeguard operating within the Bundaberg Region.
Surfing
Local board-riders had plenty of fun and plenty of waves last weekend, with a few waves still about through Monday and Tuesday as well, but since then things have been very quiet.
With the strong E/SE winds expected to arrive through today, we should start to see the wave heights steadily improve through Saturday and into Sunday.
Conditions are expected to be quite choppy and messy on most beaches but try the early mornings or again from early to mid-afternoon for some windy fun.
The best location will be Agnes Water but Nielson Park Beach, Mon Repos, and Moore Park Beach will also be worth checking out as well.
For the SUP and ocean ski paddlers, there should be no shortage of slick, downwind action over the coming days, with plenty of E/SE wind for some messy, south to north fun!
But for those chasing a more relaxed and gentle paddle, you will have to hit the beach early this morning, or else head to the sheltered inland waterways.
Events
Good luck to some of our local junior surf lifesavers who will be competing on Sunday in the Kozii Junior Iron Challenge (Round 1) at Mooloolaba Beach.
