Central QLD Forecaster Notes by Steve Shearer (updated on Wed 20th Mar)

This week and next week (Mar20-Mar28)

Central QLD: Surf keeps coming

Fun waves every day. 

A front linked to a low passing under Tasmania  and a trough linked to ex TC Megan in the Northern Territory are making their way up the NSW South Coast at present, bringing a stiff S’ly flow, with a strong high pressure belt running at Summer latitudes anchored by slow moving cells near New Zealand and in the Bight. The NZ high and a long monsoon trough has generated a useful fetch of tradewinds in the eastern swell window, which has maintained E’ly swells in the sub-tropics. That trade fetch breaks down in the short term before rebuilding again at more Northern latitudes which will still supply surf for the CQ region. We’ll see some frontal activity over the weekend before another strong, blocking high sets up a ridge next week with a SE surge over Easter seeing a renewal in surf over this period. 

No great change in the short run - we’ll see surfable conditions persist into the weekend with a small easing trend in play over the weekend as the tradewind fetch contracts and becomes less organised. 

It should remain at surfable levels over the weekend and into next week, on low tides.

Into next week and we’ll see a new high pressure system set up a SE surge as we move into the Easter weekend. That should see surf rebuild possibly Thurs into Good Fri.

Let's see how that looks on Fri.