South Australian Forecast by Craig Brokensha (issued Friday 26th January)

Best Days: Saturday morning South Coast, Sunday morning South Coast, Mid Coast on a fun board later Monday and Tuesday

Recap

An easing of onshore winds yesterday across the South Coast with plenty of swell, providing OK waves for keen surfers, even cleaner this morning with a more variable breeze and slight drop in swell.

The Mid Coast continued around 1-1.5ft yesterday though with poor afternoon sea breezes, back to 1ft today.

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This weekend and next week (Jan 27 – Feb 2)

Conditions will continue to improve over the weekend but the swell will gradually drop away.

A light and mostly variable E/NE-NE breeze will create peaky/lumpy but clean conditions tomorrow morning, best mid-late morning with easing surf from 2ft off Middleton, bigger at magnets. The Mid is due to be tiny and easing from 0.5ft.

Sunday will be cleanest down South, but tiny off Middleton and only worth a paddle at the swell magnets. A light N/NE breeze is expected all morning, giving into a S/SW change mid-afternoon.

This change will be linked to a weakening front come surface trough moving in from the west, with some fun W/SW swell due for the Mid Coast Monday/Tuesday, but of more significance are the persistent onshore S/SE winds due all of next week.

This will be a result of the trough stalling off the Tassie East Coast, squeezing a strong slow moving high that will slide into the Bight next week.

Poor conditions are due all week across the South Coast with a building S/SE windswell Monday, persisting most of the week while easing slowly as the S/SE pressure gradient slowly relaxes.

Coming back to the W/SW swell across the Mid Coast, and currently a relatively weak but slow moving frontal system is projecting towards WA and will move east towards the Bight tomorrow while weakening.

We should see a fun W/SW swell from this progression, building Monday afternoon to 1-1.5ft, with the possibility for a touch more size Tuesday around 1-2ft. Gusty S/SE winds will create favourable conditions both days.

Beyond this there's nothing major on the cards with the blocking high, but more on this Monday. Have a great weekend!