South Australian Forecast (issued Monday 28th December)

Best Days: South Coast every morning until the weekend (best Wednesday and Thursday), Mid Coast Wednesday through Friday

Recap

Poor onshore waves across the South Coast on Saturday with no decent options for a surf. The Mid was better with average and messy 1-2ft waves through the morning, kicking to a better and cleaner 2-3ft through the afternoon, best late.

Sunday saw clean easing 2ft+ waves on the Mid Coast, while the South Coast was a touch better with a lighter E/SE wind and mix of swells.

Today there was still plenty of size across the South Coast in the 2-3ft range across the Middleton stretch (bigger at Waits and Parsons) with early light E'ly winds again. The Mid Coast was clean but back to a tiny 1-1.5ft.

This week (Dec 29 – Jan 1)

South Coast: The week ahead is looking good with favourable winds and a great new swell for Wednesday.

Tomorrow will be the low point in activity with small 2ft waves across the Middleton stretch and 3ft sets out at Waits and Parsons with a light E/NE to possibly NE breeze ahead of afternoon S/SE sea breezes.

A good new long-period W/SW groundswell will arrive overnight Tuesday and fill in Wednesday, generated by a fetch of severe-gale to storm-force W/NW winds through our western swell window the last couple of days and this morning.

Good 3-4ft sets are due across the Middleton stretch, with solid 5ft+ sets at Waits and Parsons under a light offshore N/NE wind, giving into sea breezes from about mid-afternoon.

Thursday should see the swell ease away slowly from 3ft on the sets across Middleton with 4ft+ waves at Waits and Parsons under a N'ly tending N/NW wind ahead of a weak SW change.

Friday will actually see winds tend variable again ahead of a stronger S/SE change as a surface trough pushes up from the south. The morning will be clean with smaller 2ft sets at Middleton and 3ft+ waves at Waits and Parsons.

Mid Coast: Tiny 1ft sets are due to continue through tomorrow across the Mid ahead of the new W/SW groundswell Wednesday peaking to 1-2ft on the favourable parts of the tide.

Thursday is likely to be a touch smaller in the 1-1.5ft range, with a reinforcing but inconsistent W/SW swell for Friday keeping 1-1.5ft sets hitting the coast before fading into the weekend.

This weekend onwards (Jan 2 onwards)

South Coast: Friday's onshore change will strengthen into Saturday with a fetch of strong S/SE winds being aimed into the South Coast kicking up moderate amounts of junky S/SE windswell. A slight weakening of the S/SE fetch should see the S/SE windswell ease through Sunday but with fresh S/SE winds continuing.

Winds should improve into next week but with no major swell on the cards.

Mid Coast: Friday's W/SW swell should ease from an inconsistent 1ft+ with strong SE offshores, tiny into Sunday with nothing decent due next week. More on this Wednesday.