South Australian Forecast by Craig Brokensha (issued Wednesday 7th September)

Best Days: Swell magnets South Coast tomorrow morning, Saturday morning South Coast (Mid Coast all day), Sunday South and Mid Coasts, possibly early Monday South Coast, Mid Coast Monday morning

Recap

Excellent waves across both the South and Mid coasts yesterday with a clean swell to 4ft off Middleton and 2ft on the Mid Coast. Conditions remained good most of the day on the Mid, while sea breezes created bumpy conditions down South. Photo below of glassy perfection on the Mid last night by Scott Gilbert.

Today the swell was smaller and NE winds favoured some spots over others across the South Coast.

This week and weekend (Sep 8 - 11)

Swell magnets will be the pick across the South Coast tomorrow with easing surf from a small 2ft at Middleton and a better 3ft at Waits and Parsons. A gusty but easing N/NW wind will create clean conditions for most of the day but the morning will be the pick.

The Mid Coast will be tiny and bumpy.

Our mix of W/SW windswell and groundswell due to build across the Mid Coast on Friday has been downgraded a bit, with the front moving across WA and towards the Bight being a bit weaker and further north than ideal for the South Coast as well.

Smaller 2ft+ waves are now due to develop across the Mid Coast with an easing SW breeze.

The South Coast will be tiny early, increasing slightly later in the day but with developing SW winds.

A better increase in W/SW groundswell is due Saturday morning, produced by a pre-frontal fetch of gale to severe-gale W/NW winds ahead of a strong polar low forming south-west of WA.

This should provide 3ft to occasionally 4ft sets across Middleton Saturday morning with better 5ft sets at Waits and Parsons. The Mid Coast should hold around 2ft on the sets. A light W/NW offshore wind should create clean conditions across most breaks during the morning. The Mid will be fun with the light onshore.

Into Sunday the strongest pulse of SW groundswell from the polar low is expected, with a fetch of severe-gale to storm-force W/SW winds being generated through our swell window.

We should see Middleton building to 3-5ft through the day (a touch smaller early) with larger 6ft+ sets at Waits and Parsons. The Mid Coast should see a continuation of 2ft sets on the favourable parts of the tide.

Conditions will be excellent down South with an offshore N/NW breeze ahead of a possible late onshore change.

Next week onwards (Sep 12 onwards)

Late Sunday's onshore change is more than likely to persist into Monday with fresh S'ly winds but there's an outside chance for a variable wind at dawn.

The swell will ease back but later in the day a reinforcing S/SW groundswell should be seen, generated by a secondary strong polar front firing up on the tail of the polar low, but more to our south.

Strong 3-4ft sets are due to continue across Middleton, easing back into Tuesday with SE winds. More on this Friday though.