South Australian Forecast (issued Wednesday 30th July)

Best Days: Saturday both coasts, Sunday through Monday down South, Tuesday both coasts, Wednesday South, Thursday Mid

Recap

The swell kicked up a notch further into yesterday with bigger 4-5ft waves across Middleton through the morning with 3ft surf on the Mid Coast, but a vigorous front moving in through the afternoon kicked up a large and stormy 3-5ft of swell late in the day. This front also swung winds to the West on the South Coast after morning offshores, creating bumpy conditions.

Today the front crossed the region and brought with it a large and powerful mix of W/SW and SW groundswell coming in at a stormy 3-5ft on the Mid Coast again but a much larger 8-10ft on the South Coast. Options are limited to novelty spots though with strong W'ly tending SW winds.

The Cape du Couedic wave buoy has shown some impressive figures, hovering between 12-15m Maximum Wave Heights with Average Wave Heights holding above 8m all morning. The swell should hold strong all day as winds back off late from the S/SW.

This weekend (Aug 2 – Aug 3)

The frontal system responsible for today's large swell is currently pushing east while weakening and with that we'll see a steady drop in large SW groundswell as winds improve rapidly with a ridge of high pressure swinging in from the west.

The Mid Coast should see light morning SE winds and an easing 2ft to nearly 3ft of swell while the South Coast should see variable tending NW winds with a dropping swell from 6ft at Middleton and 8ft bombs out at Waits.

Sunday will be much straighter though with a medium sized easing S/SW swell from 3-4ft at Middleton and 3-5ft at Waits under straight N'ly tending light NW winds. The Mid will be OK early for beginners with N/NE winds and 1ft of swell.

Next Monday onwards (Aug 4 onwards)

A low point in swell is due into Monday across the South Coast, but the Mid Coast may see some late lines of new W/SW groundswell. Conditions will remain great down South with offshore N'ly tending variable winds, while the Mid should also be glassy all day.

Into Tuesday and Wednesday a mix of long-range W/SW groundswell and closer-range and more consistent SW swell is due.

The long-range energy was generated in the Southern Indian Ocean through this week and isn't expected to produce any major size across both coasts, but the closer-range SW swell energy will be much better.

This should be generated over the weekend by two intense but fast tracking polar fronts under the country, with Tuesday expected to see the most size to 3-5ft at Middleton and 4-6ft at Waits. The Mid Coast should see inconsistent 2ft sets with both coasts offering clean conditions with morning offshores that are expected to become variable into the afternoon.

A slight drop in size is then due into Wednesday but a secondary pulse will keep medium sized waves hitting the coast, with a possible third increase Thursday. We'll review this again Monday though. Winds will remain good into Wednesday morning but a trough moving in from the east overnight will bring poor S/SE winds into Thursday before swinging offshore again Friday. More on this next week. Have a great weekend!