Central QLD Forecaster Notes by Steve Shearer (issued on Wed 15th Feb)

This week and next week (Feb15-Feb24)

Central QLD: Tiny this week, surfable waves expected next week

Tiny waves

Ex TC Gabrielle (SS) is now on the eastern side of the North Island with swell generating winds also in the swell shadow of the North Island. A weak (1017HPa) high is covering most of the Tasman Sea with an active monsoon trough still supplying plenty of tropical moisture and instability across Northern Australia. Weak pressure gradients in the Coral Sea are producing light winds and tiny surf for CQ, with a weak trough of low pressure now moving North of Fraser Is. and dissipating.

The trough of low pressure should see a tiny kick in size tomorrow into the just surfable range, easing back to tiny/flat through Fri and over the weekend. 

From early next week a large high slides SE of Tasmania into a dominant Summer position, with a secondary high cell located further north maintaining a ridge along the sub-tropical coast. 

This is likely to see small E swell  develop from E’ly trade-winds setting up through the Southern Coral and Tasman Seas and we should see that build from later Mon into Tues with surf into the 1-2ft range.

Not much more size than that is expected next week but these surfable waves are expected to persist into later next week.

We’ll come back Fri for the inevitable revisions. 

Check ya then.