Well, it has been another mixed bag of weather this week, with lots of rain about, combined with more heat and humidity, before a strong SE wind change roared into the region yesterday.
Looking ahead to today and then the weekend, conditions should improve and become a little more stable, with winds likely to ease back to be moderate through today and then light to moderate across the weekend, whilst the sun should also come back out and the rain should be done too!
Today’s winds will be from the S/SE to E/SE at around 15 to 20 knots, before they ease back to be around 10 to 15 knots from the E/SE to E tomorrow – although they could gust to 15+ knots by late afternoon.
Sunday will then bring 10 to 15 knots of E/SE to E winds, as the maximum temperatures climb back towards 30 degrees.
Swimming
Swimming conditions have been quite mixed during this past week – much like the weather – with messy and wobbly conditions mixed in with periods of good swimming conditions when the winds eased.
These messy and wobbly conditions will continue through today but as the winds remain moderate and onshore, along with a side sweep pushing from south to north on the open and exposed beaches.
These swimming conditions should then start to ease across the weekend as the winds also ease, but the ocean will still be quite wobbly and a little choppy as well, so please be mindful of this and the associated water movement whilst swimming.
The best time for a swim will be through the very early mornings when the winds are lighter (but it will be low tide) or from late morning to early afternoon whilst the tide is high.
The better beaches for swimmers are likely to be Hervey Bay and Agnes Water, followed by Nielson Park and Moore Park 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
Weekdays: 9 am – 5 pm at Elliott Heads, Kelly’s Beach, Nielson Park, Oaks Beach, Moore Park Beach and Agnes Water, plus a Rove Lifeguard in the Bundaberg Region.
Weekend and Public Holidays: 9 am – 5 pm at Elliott Heads, Kelly’s Beach, Nielson Park, Oaks Beach, Moore Park Beach and Agnes Water, plus a Rove Lifeguard in the Bundaberg Region.
[Note: These are minimum patrol times – some beaches may have longer hours]
Surfing
This week has thrown up a bit of wave action, with some messy and wobbly surf about through Tuesday to Thursday, but those strong winds did rip into the waves yesterday and make them very messy.
For today, and then across the weekend, we are likely to have waves about, but the query will be just how much size we get, as well as whether the waves will clean-up or remain wobbly and sloppy.
I would expect small, but hopefully fun-sized waves, to have some fun with.
Check out Agnes Water, Nielson Park, Mon Repos and Moore Park in the hope of finding a few fun ones – and any time from early morning through to midday/early afternoon.
The size won’t be anything special, so good luck!
For the SUP and Ocean Ski paddlers chasing a downwind paddle, today should be good for a south to north run, with the weekend being OK but not great with the winds tending more E/SE.
For those chasing a more relaxed and gentle paddle, you might be best served heading to the inland waterways over the coming days, or wait for the ocean to start to settle through Saturday morning.
Other news: Drivers cautioned on dangers of floodwater
