South Australian Forecast (issued Wednesday 23rd December)

Best Days: Thursday down South as the swell builds, Friday morning South Coast, Mid Saturday and Sunday, keen surfers South Coast Tuesday and Wedneday mornings

Recap

Clean but fading 1-1.5ft sets across the Mid yesterday morning after Monday's great day of waves, even tinier into today. The South Coast was less than ideal with E'ly winds and a lumpy 3ft of swell. Today was worse though with an onshore SE wind and smaller swell.

This week and weekend (Dec 24 - 27)

South Coast: Tomorrow morning will be clean with a N/NE offshore, but the swell will be minimal, with Waits and Parsons being the only real option with inconsistent 1-2ft sets.

A slight lift in new long-range SW groundswell is due through the afternoon and more so evening (2-3ft Middleton and 4ft+ Waits), and only weak if not variable sea breezes into the mid-late afternoon.

This groundswell should peak Friday morning to a solid but inconsistent 3-4ft across the Middleton stretch, with 5ft+ sets at Waits and Parsons under a hot and moderate to fresh N/NE'ly, giving into a cool onshore change midday/early afternoon.

Unfortunately onshore S'ly winds are due across the coast into Saturday with the morning seeing us fall between swells ahead of a new W/SW groundswell increase through the afternoon, peaking Sunday morning.

This swell will be generated by a front spawning off the stalling low south-west of WA, projecting a fetch of weakening W/SW gales up and then through the Bight over the coming days, weakening while approaching us Friday afternoon.

A strong W/SW groundswell will be created, with a peak Sunday morning due to 3-4ft across the Middleton stretch again and 5ft at Waits and Parsons.

Fresh E/SE winds will create poor conditions though, much better for the Mid, discussed below.

Mid Coast: Tomorrow should start tiny, but that late increase in SW groundswell could provide 1ft+ sets late in the day before peaking around a very infrequent 1-2ft Friday on the favourable parts of the tide.

Of greater importance is the weekend, with the morning due to offer fun 2ft sets, pulsing to 2-3ft through the afternoon with the new W/SW groundswell under S/SE winds. Conditions won't be perfect but more than workable.

Sunday looks great with a clean easing 2ft to possibly 3ft of swell and offshore E/SE winds.

Next week onwards (Dec 28 onwards)

South Coast: A general drop in swell is due across both coasts Monday, with poor E/SE winds continuing down South, finally swinging more E/NE into Tuesday morning with a small leftover swell.

From Wednesday into the end of the week, some fun W/SW groundswell pulses are due from a series of strong fronts pushing up towards WA over the weekend and early next week.

Besides another E/NE breeze Wednesday morning, conditions look poor with S/SE winds, but we'll review this Friday.

Mid Coast: Fading 1-1.5ft sets are due into Monday morning, event tinier Tuesday. Wednesday onwards should see 1-1.5ft sets ebbing and pulsing across the coast, with the chance of the odd bigger 2ft bomb on the favourable parts of the time.