Central QLD Forecaster Notes by Steve Shearer (issued on Mon 7th Mar)

This week and next week (Mar7-Mar19)

Central QLD: More fun days ahead as La Niña pattern persists.

E’ly swells have maintained some fun levels of surf on the CQ coast with the exposed breaks in the Burnett getting the lions share of the better quality E’ly groundswells generated by fetches between New Caledonia and New Zealand. 

An unstable, troughy pattern persists across most of the East Coast with a large (1027hPa) high near New Zealand anchoring a long S/SE fetch from the South Island to Central Tasman Sea. Meanwhile, out in the South Pacific a sub-tropical low is deepening well E of the North Island with a well aimed fetch expected to be aimed at the sub-tropics generating a long range E’ly groundswell for the weekend.

A few days of N’ly winds and small swells are ahead for the CQ coast with size likely to be marginal for surfing, maybe a few ankle snappers or log waves for the keen at the more exposed breaks.

A new high pressure ridge fills in Fri, with SE to ESE winds freshening through Fri and surf from the same direction building during the day into the 1-2ft range.

This pattern of Tradewinds in excess of 20 knots extends into Sat and Sun, holding surf size in the 1-2ft range through most of the region.

Longer period E/SE groundswell from the deep low in the South Pacific will supply inconsistent 2-3ft sets through Sun and into Mon at breaks with exposure to the wide swell window of the Capricorn Channel.

Longer term and surf is expected to slowly ease back to tiny levels through mid next week and into the weekend.

Check back Wed for an update.