South Australian Forecast by Craig Brokensha (issued Friday 5th April)

Best Days: Mid Coast tomorrow, Sunday South Coast, Monday South Coast, Tuesday Mid Coast, Wednesday Mid Coast, Thursday South Coast

Recap

A fresh pulse of new swell yesterday and a bit better than expected with easy 3ft sets off Middleton and workable winds all day. The Mid Coast missed out though with tiny to flat conditions.

The swell has dropped back through today leaving small 1-2ft waves off Middleton, best at Waits and Parsons. A tiny NW windswell is building on the Mid with strengthening N/NW winds.

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This weekend and next week (Apr 6 - 12)

Moving into tomorrow and a new W/SW swell will build through the day, generated by a front that's currently moving in through the Bight. There's been a further slight downgrade in the strength of the system, but we'll still see fun waves on the Mid Coast into tomorrow afternoon.

The swell should build to 2ft+ and onshore SW winds should ease quickly and even possibly tend light S'ly ahead of weak sea breezes. This should create fun waves for keen surfers through the day.

The South Coast will be tiny early and with a possibly W/NW breeze, building later to 2ft to maybe 3ft off Middleton though onshore with S/SW winds.

Sunday is the pick for the South Coast as the swell starts to ease from 2-3ft off Middleton with a NW tending W/NW breeze, holding most of the day. The Mid Coast will be OK but not great with bumpy easing surf from 2ft on the sets.

Of greater importance are our larger swells due into next week, and we're now expected to see two distinct long-period swells.

The first swell for Monday has been brought forward with a deep and powerful polar low forming around the Heard Island region mid-week. It's currently generating a great fetch of severe-gale to sometimes storm-force W/SW winds through our far swell window south-west of WA.

The low will keep its strength while projecting slowly east-northeast towards us, broadening in scope south of WA before moving through the Bight into the evening and Sunday.

This will generate a large long-period groundswell that won't be truly W/SW in direction or SW in direction, somewhere in between.

The swell should arrive through the morning and peak into the afternoon to a large and strong 6ft off Middleton, and 2-3ft on the Mid Coast with moderate to fresh W/NW winds. This will favour protected spots all day down South while the Mid will be fairly poor.

The secondary stronger front is still on track, with it piggy-backing on top of the first system and producing an additional storm-force W/SW fetch over an active sea state, producing an even larger longer-period SW groundswell for Tuesday.

Middleton is expected to kick a little further in size Tuesday to 8ft on the sets, with similar surf at deep water reefs, while the Mid Coast continues around 3ft.

Unfortunately in the wake of the front linked to Tuesday's large swell, we'll see onshore, moderate to fresh S/SW winds across the South Coast, but the Mid will be fun with the cross-shore breeze.

A strong high will move in from the west during the day and swing winds to the E/SE on Wednesday as the swell drops, clean on the Mid Coast but small and easing from 2ft.

Thursday looks fun across the South Coast as winds swing back offshore out of the N/NE along with plenty of leftover size. Longer term there's nothing significant on the cards until the following weekend and that will be in the form of inconsistent long-range W/SW groundswells, but more on this Monday. Have a great weekend!