Well, it has been a mixed bag of weather this week, with very hot and humid conditions to start the week, followed by a rainy day on Wednesday, and then a change in wind direction to bring slightly cooler SE winds from Wednesday night onwards.
Looking ahead to today, and then across the weekend, the forecast is suggesting a high chance of showers and storms through today, and then more showers again tomorrow and possibly even Sunday – but hopefully the sun should become more prevalent by then!
The wind forecast is not too bad either, with light winds throughout today, and then also through the mornings across the weekend, with moderate winds developing through the afternoons.
Today’s winds are forecast to be from the E/SE at only around 10 to 12 knots all day, before tomorrow morning brings more light E/SE winds at around knots, but these winds will increase to 15+ knots through tomorrow afternoon.
Sunday will then bring a little more wind, with around 15 knots of E/SE winds that will increase to 15+ knots through the late afternoon.
Swimming
Swimming conditions have been OK this week without being great, although the rainy day on Wednesday kept the winds super-light and the ocean beautiful and calm and flat.
Looking ahead, we can expect more reasonable swimming conditions over the coming days, and particularly through the mornings, with choppy conditions then expected to develop through mid to late afternoon on both Saturday and Sunday.
The best time for a swim will certainly be from early to mid-morning, whilst the better beaches are likely to be Agnes Water, Nielson Park, Moore Park, and Hervey Bay.
We have large high tides in the mornings over the coming days with a large tidal variance between high and low tide heights, so there will be lots of water movement over the coming days – especially around the creek and river mouths, so please avoid these locations during the runout stage of the tide.
Also, watch out for jellyfish too, with more ‘hair’ jellies or ‘snotties’ (Cyanea) being found across local beaches.
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: Today – 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 Beach.
Sunday – 9 am to 5 pm at Elliott Heads, Kelly’s Beach, Nielson Park, Oaks Beach, Moore Park Beach and Agnes Water
Weekdays (from Monday) – 9 am to 5 pm at Elliott Heads, Kelly’s Beach, Nielson Park, Oaks Beach, Moore Park Beach and Agnes Water, plys a Rove Lifeguard in the Bundaberg Region
Note: These are minimum patrol times – some beaches may have longer hours
Surfing
There has not been a lot happening across all of our local beaches in terms of ridable waves this week, and even despite a change in wind direction on Wednesday night, the forecast is not looking promising for the weekend either!
Small waves will be the norm over the coming days, with possibly some small, mal waves about through either the early mornings, or again a couple of hours after the top of the morning high tides.
Don’t expect too much but! Maybe think about spots such as Agnes Water, Nielson Park, Mon Repos or Moore Park if you are keen.
For the SUP and Ocean Ski paddlers chasing a downwind paddle, both Saturday and Sunday afternoon may have enough wind for a south to north run.
For those chasing a more relaxed and gentler paddle though, my suggestion would be to hit the beach early this morning, or again early tomorrow morning before the winds increase too much.
Related news: Clean-up underway at Moneys Creek
