South Australian Forecast (issued Friday 17th April)

Best Days: Saturday morning down South, Sunday and Monday on the Mid, South Tuesday and Wednesday mornings for keen surfers

Recap

Tiny and glassy 0.5-1ft waves on the Mid yesterday with small clean conditions down South with a light variable wind.

Today a strong new mix of W/SW groundswells are filling in across both coasts with clean but inconsistent 2ft waves on the Mid this morning, now pulsing to 2ft to occasionally 3ft, while the South Coast was around 3ft at Middleton and larger at Waits and Parsons with a light E'ly wind. The swell has continued to build but winds are now starting to swing SE.

This weekend and next week (Apr 18 – 24)

The South Coast will be the pick tomorrow morning and then the Mid on Sunday.

This afternoon's strong kick in W/SW groundswells should drop back through tomorrow from 3-4ft at Middleton and 5-6ft at Waits under fresh W/NW winds ahead of a strong SW change midday/early afternoon.

A late pulse in large SW groundswell due into Sunday may be seen Saturday, but come Sunday morning, both coasts will be offering very solid waves.

This swell is being generated by a broad and intense polar low currently positioned just south of WA, aiming a fetch of storm-force W/SW winds through our swell window. This low will push east towards us through tomorrow while weakening slightly and then under us Saturday evening.

The strong core wind speeds and large swell periods associated with this system will see the South Coast come in at a big 6-8ft at Middleton with 8-10ft sets at offshore reefs and Waits and Parsons during the morning . The Mid Coast should see 3ft to occasionally 4ft waves and winds will swing S/SE, creating not perfect but pretty good conditions all day. The South Coast will be a write-off with the strong S'ly winds.

The swell should ease through the day across both coasts and then drop further through Monday, although this will be buffered a bit by a secondary S/SW swell filling in during the morning.

Winds will remain poor for the South Coast and fresh from the E/SE but clean for the Mid as it drops from 2ft to possibly 3ft. The South Coast should be easing from 4-6ft at Middleton and 6ft+ at Waits and Parsons.

Tuesday will continue to see the swell fade on the Mid and become small to tiny, while the South Coast will remain average with a persistent E'ly breeze. Wednesday doesn't look any better, with Thursday possibly seeing a lighter and more variable wind through the morning but with no real swell.

From later Thursday through the following weekend we're expected to see moderate pulses of SW groundswell from a series of strong polar fronts firing up from the Heard Island region and pushing east along the Polar Shelf under the country later next week.

Winds are looking poor for the South Coast at this stage, but we'll have a closer look at this on Monday. Have a great weekend!