Eastern Tasmanian Surf Forecast by Steve Shearer (issued Fri April 22nd)

Features of the Forecast (tl;dr)

• Small S swell Sat with offshore winds
• Inconsistent S groundswell Sun with SSW winds, easing in the a’noon
• More inconsistent S’ly groundswell Mon-Tues with light winds
• Fun NE windswell Wed-Fri

Recap

Small fun S swell yesterday was on offer with light winds and size in the 2-3ft range at S exposed breaks. Today has dropped right back to 1-2ft with SW winds, now tending variable.

This weekend and next week (Apr 22 - 30)

No great change to the weekend f/cast. A monster high (1037 hPa) is approaching from the West with strong frontal activity well below the state expected to generate some small S swell pulses.

Small surf is expected Sat with clean offshore conditions as a front passes to the south and the state comes under the influence of a W’ly flow.

That flow tilts more SW to SSW as the front passes well to the S of the state and the high pressure system ridges in. Long period groundswell from the S is expected to supply some inconsistent surf in the 2-3ft range, bigger in the a’noon. Winds should lay down through the a’noon as high pressure moves over the state.

Episodic small S swell pulses continue through Mon and into Tues as the large area of storm activity slowly moves below the state. These swells are all aimed at targets to the E- mostly New Zealand and Tahiti but enough energy is expected to refract in to supply some inconsistent 2-3ft sets Mon, easing further Tues. Winds will be light both days under the influence of high pressure drifting over the state. 

Into next week and NE windswell now looks to get an upgrade as high pressure drifts into the Tasman. We should see size build into the 3ft range Wed a’noon with fresh NE winds developing. Size holds through Thurs morning with similar winds before easing and becoming smaller 2ft Fri with winds tending NW. There’s quite a bit of model variance around winds through the Tasman and off NSW South Coast so check back Mon and we’ll finesse th size range.

Surf goes small into the end of next week with a cold front expected to smash the state on Sat.

Tradewinds in the Coral Sea and South Pacific are likely now positioned too far North to benefit Tasmania reflecting the seasonal change.

Check back Mon for the latest update and have a great long weekend.