Central QLD Forecaster Notes by Steve Shearer (updated on Wed Apr 17th)

This week and next week (Apr18-Apr 26)

Central QLD: Small but fun waves continue with juicier prospects on the radar

Still some fun waves around.

No great change to the f/cast outlook this week. We’ve got a monster high (1033hPa) in the Bight and a weaker high cell in the Tasman, with some small troughs of low pressure lingering about the coastline and a modest trade flow through the Central Coral Sea.  We’ll see a frontal intrusion later Fri bring mod/fresh SW/S winds before a new high pressure ridge quickly fills in behind the front and brings a major SE surge this weekend.

Small fun surf tomorrow, easing into Fri and Sat.

Plenty of action in the tropics and subtropics this weekend with some model divergence leading to low confidence in outcomes..

High pressure moves into the Tasman and maintains the firm ridge of SE winds this weekend.

SE surge brings waves this weekend, possibly sizey

The rest of the week now looks increasingly dynamic and fluid, so expect revisions Fri.

The gist of it is a trough line in the Coral Sea, which may deepen into a low pressure system and drift towards the North Island (GFS scenario) or move towards the QLD coast as a coastal trough and intensify a NE infeed into the CQ coast, possibly as early as Sun bringing a major increase in E-E/NE swell.

Big variations in outcomes there, with anything from rain, onshore winds and NE swell to quality E/SE swell for CQ this weekend and into next week.

Lots of dynamic possibilities with very low confidence in outcomes this far out.

Check back Fri and we’ll see how it’s shaping  up.