Severe tropical cyclone (Cat3) Gabrielle is currently tracking SE at about 21 knots and is located about 413 nm NE of Brisbane. This severe storm is expected to undergo an extra-tropical transition through Friday evening, resulting in an expansion of gale to severe-gales around its southern flank as it continues drifting south-east towards New Zealand.
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There's not much to work with over the coming days, but next week we'll see strong energy from ex-TC Gabrielle.
In the short run and a passing front brings S/SW winds tomorrow. The fetch is mostly too zonal for the East Coast but a long trailing fetch should help some small S swell wrap in with size building to 2ft later Tues and holding into Wed at slight larger levels.
Try and make the most of the current E/NE swell before it fades.
The unstable pattern continues with a small trough of low pressure lingering off the Central NSW Coast, linked to tropical cloud bands and moisture streaming in from the Northern Monsoon. A weak front is crossing Tas with a trough forming t the NE of the state. A large, winter-calibre mid-latitude low approaches from the W and becomes slow moving as it passes the state Fri/Sat.
Small traces of E swell generated by fetches near the North Island supply some rideable surf if you can work around the shifty winds expected this week. A strong winter-calibre low becomes slow moving near Tasmania later this week bringing plenty of weather and S swell once it moves E of the state.
No change to the weekend f/cast. As high pressure drifts across the Tasman we get a rapid intensification of NE winds in the swell window leading to a building trend in NE windswell through Sat up to 3ft through the a’noon.
The synoptic pattern over and surrounding Australia still has a strong La Niña signature with troughy low pressure areas in the Tasman Sea and an active monsoon trough across Northern Australia. High pressure on the other side of New Zealand is cradling areas of low pressure and maintaining a small, fun E swell signal.
A troughy pattern exists through the Northern Tasman down to the South Coast with the remnants of TC 10P (named by JTWC but remained a cyclone for less than a day) drifting in a SW direction from out near New Caledonia as a weak sub-tropical low. A small low pressure cell near the South Coast is slowly drifting south bringing a variable NE flow and some useful E/NE swell as the fetch aims up at NETas.
Not much surf expected over the weekend. Light winds are on offer so whatever surf you can find should be clean but absent any real swell sources we’re looking at some small S swell wrap with a few 2ft sets at S facing beaches Sat, easing back to tiny on Sun.