Over the coming days expect overcast and cloudy conditions, but the light winds in the morning should help to encourage swimmers.
Weather
Well, it’s been a bit of another mixed week of weather across the local region, with a couple of stunning days on Sunday and Monday, which were quickly replaced with overcast and gloomy skies, scattered showers and moderate to gusty onshore winds since Tuesday.
The good news for the coming days though is that the winds will ease (well, at least through the mornings anyway) but the sky will still remain a little overcast and cloudy, but the chance of showers is probably more likely today than across the weekend.
Winds this morning will be from the S/SE at only 5 to 10 knots before they swing from the E/SE this afternoon and increase to 10 to 15 knots.
Tomorrow morning will bring more light winds, with 5 to 10 knots of E/SE winds that will again increase to be 10 to 15 knots through the afternoon.
Sunday will then be slightly windier, with E/SE winds at around 10 knots through the morning but then increasing to 10 to 15 knots and further to 15 to 20 knots by late afternoon.
Swimming
Swimming conditions have been much like the weather this past week – mixed!
Glorious conditions were provided to swimmers on Sunday and Monday, but these were soon replaced with choppy and slightly messy conditions since Tuesday as those gusty onshore winds arrived.
But looking at the forecast for the coming days, there should be some good news for swimmers – especially through the mornings!
The general trend over the coming days will be for light winds through the mornings and then increasing moderate winds through the afternoons, so this means the swimming conditions from early to late morning should be ideal for swimmers.
The afternoons will then get quite choppy but more so on those open and exposed beaches, but with the high tide due from midday to mid-afternoon, this period of the day will also be OK for a swim on those beaches that provide some protection from the E/SE winds.
All beaches should be OK for swimmers through the mornings, but through the afternoons, Agnes Water, Hervey Bay, Nielson Park and Moore Park will be slightly better options.
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 5pm at Kelly’s Beach, Nielson Park, Oaks Beach and Agnes Water, 1 pm to 5pm 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.
Surfing
Local board-riders again enjoyed fun-sized waves across last weekend, but the waves dropped a little in both size and quality since Monday, and even though there have still been waves about for most of this past week, conditions have become quite choppy and messy for the most part.
Looking ahead to the coming days, conditions are not looking great, but they are also not looking terrible either, with the likelihood of cleaner, small but fun waves through the mornings – probably best suited to the long boards – whilst choppy and messier waves are likely through the afternoons as the onshore winds increase. Good Luck.
For the SUP and Ocean Ski paddlers chasing a downwind paddle, there probably won’t be enough winds through the mornings over the coming days, but the afternoons should provide plenty of options for south to north downwind runs.
For those chasing a more relaxed and gentler paddle though, hit the beaches through the early mornings while the winds are light, and the ocean should be quite mild.
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