South Australian Forecast by Craig Brokensha (issued Monday 24th August)

Best Days: South Coast swell magnets for the keen tomorrow morning, Wednesday morning, Thursday morning, Friday morning South Coast, Saturday South Coast

Recap

Large but with strong onshore winds across the South Coast, a touch better Sunday though still bumpy and not great at all. The Mid Coast was a sloppy 2-3ft Saturday, cleaner Sunday though still a touch bumpy and to 1-2ft.

Today conditions are much cleaner across all locations with a mix of easing S’ly swells from 2-3ft down South, tiny on the Mid.

This week and weekend (Aug 25 - 30)

As talked about the last couple of updates, the coming week will be slow until Friday, with no significant swell generating systems having developed or currently positioned within our close to medium range swell windows.

Conditions will be great for the South Coast as a broad and slow moving high sits east of us, though Middleton will be a slow 1-2ft Tuesday through Thursday, a little better on the swell magnets. A N/NE tending E/SE breeze is due through tomorrow with N/NE tending variable winds Wednesday and N/NW winds Thursday morning, shifting W/NW and then SW with a trough.

We then look west to the conveyer belt of frontal systems moving in from the southern Indian Ocean through this week, passing under the country in a weaker form before one re-strengthens south of us Thursday.

The current activity around the Heard Island region in our far swell window is expected to generate some inconsistent long-period W/SW groundswell for Saturday. This will be very inconsistent with a peak to 3ft+ across Middleton with the Mid Coast likely to see 1-1.5ft sets.

Ahead of this on Friday though, the frontal system strengthening south-southwest of us should produce a fetch of gale to severe-gale W/SW winds late in our swell window and and good kick in S/SW groundswell for Friday, peaking also into the afternoon. Middleton should reach 3ft, with the Mid Coast tiny and to 1ft possibly late.

Looking at the winds into Friday and local, light morning offshores are ahead of afternoon sea breezes, strengthening from the N/NW on Saturday favouring the South Coast, while a trough moving through Sunday will bring S/SE winds.

Longer term the trough linked to Sunday’s change may bring some new SW swell Sunday/Monday, followed with some reinforcing SW swell mid-week. More on this Wednesday though.