A cold front currently pushing into the Tasman spawns a low pressure system, expected to rapidly deepen later today and o/night before becoming slow moving in the south-central Tasman.
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Still looking good for Sat. Current ASCAT (satellite windspeed) pass shows a Tasman low with a long fetch of strong S-S/SE winds well positioned in the swell window.
We currently have a deepening trough of low pressure developing behind a front which is bringing fresh and gusty S’ly winds up the NSW coastline, extending into the sub-tropics through the day. This trough of low pressure deepens into a surface low in the Tasman and is expected to track in a northerly direction through the short term.
We’ll see some swell from this pattern, first from the initial short range S swell and then some better quality S/SE swell as the surface low retrogrades from near the South Island back into the Tasman. Read on for details and a sketch of the Xmas week.
Latest model runs have amplified this trough and a resulting trough of low pressure in the Tasman. There’s still some model divergence to get through so expect some revisions but odds are firming off a sizey S tending S/SE swell event from Thurs, as the trough deepens in the Central Tasman.
On the back of a monsoonal surge models are starting to look interested in low pressure development between PNG, the Solomons and Vanuatu which may indicate the first real tropical developments of the season. Still too early to have any expectations on surf potential from this area but we will keep our eyes on it.
A very weak troughy pattern is unfolding this week with a weak high pressure (1016hPa) cell moving into the Tasman today as a trough stalls about the Far North Coast. Another trough tomorrow brings a shallow S’ly change which again looks to stall out on the North Coast before another weak high cell moves into the Tasman late this week. In short, no major swells expected.
Longer term and we’ll be watching the South Pacific Convergence Zone for signs of low pressure development near Fiji later next week, possibly even retrograding back towards the Australian continent.
A long tradewind fetch anchored by a 1024hPa high in the central SW Pacific is slowly retreating eastwards with a weak high cell expected to migrate into the Tasman overnight and tomorrow in the wake of a shallow trough now moving up the NSW Coast and expected to stall and wash out around the lower reaches of the MNC.
A shallow, troughy change mid-week looks to stall around Seal Rocks before weak high pressure moves into the Tasman. No major swells this week, so we’ll be relying on our persistent trade-swell, which looks to ease off mid-week as the fetch retreats eastwards.