We are in between patterns at present with a feeble trough delaying the start of the next pattern. That will see an approaching inland low and high pressure system generate increasing NE winds across most of the Eastern Seaboard. The onshore flow is enhanced into a deeper tradewind flow up in the Coral Sea, which gets a boost from a trough of low pressure expected to form off the Central QLD Coast this weekend. All of which is to say the dominant swell trains will be from the NE to E/NE through the short to medium term.
Primary tabs
As mentioned last week we have a weak, troughy pattern in the Tasman with a broad area of high pressure now moving over the area and yet another complex low pressure system moving East across inland Australia. A series of fronts are rapidly transiting across the Lower Tasman with some small S swell pulses en route. The end of the week will see another round of chunky NE windswell develop, likely persisting over the weekend and into next week.
No great changes expected for the weekend f/cast. Surf-wise we’ll be on the gradual downslope of our extended E/NE swell event, which is expeced to linger at low levels into early next week.
Despite some slow periods between pulses the ASCAT (satellite windspeed) passes shows a long, broad fetch of strong winds with gales embedded around a tropical depression. That leads to high confidence in continuing pulsey swell from that South Pacific source fetch.
Plenty of E swell ahead this week courtesy of persistent, long, broad fetch of Tradewinds in the South Pacific slot, which has had windspeeds boosted on the northern flank by a tropical depression drifting south from Fijian longitudes.
Whoa, still a very tricky wind outlook for the weekend as a trough emerges around the Sydney region and forms a small but robust low later Sat into Sun.
Strong fronts have already transited the Tasman Sea with some long period S-SSE swell pulses incoming. Those pulses will be concurrent in a more dominant building E/NE-NE windswell episode, through the rest of the week and into the weekend. Lots of action next week as both our Eastern and near Southern swell windows fire up.
A much stronger high is moving into the classic La Niña slot- SE of Tasmania- where it will start to be squeezed by another approaching inland trough and complex low pressure system. That will see increasing NE winds come into play from mid-week with increasing levels of NE-E/NE windswell.
No great change to the weekend f/cast. Wind and swell regimens will be dominated by the low in the Tasman, which is now retreating towards the North Island with a large (1037hPa) high south of Tasmania. Pressure gradients do slowly ease over the weekend as the high relaxes over warm Tasman sea waters and the low sets up near the North Island.
We are now on the cusp of a low pressure event as a complex inland trough of low pressure forms a new low off the Central NSW Coast, backed by an advancing strong high pressure cell.