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

Best Days: Keen surfers Friday morning South Coast, South Coast swell magnets Saturday, best later in the day, South Coast Tuesday morning, Mid Coast Thusday next week

Features of the Forecast (tl;dr)

• Tiny Wed AM, ahead of a moderate sized + SW groundswell building into the PM, peaking overnight, easing Thu
• Gusty S winds down South Thu, S/SE on the Mid
• Mod-fresh E/NE tending E/SE winds Fri with smaller, easing surf
• Small background W/SW swell Sat/Sun with fresh NE winds Sat, tending N/NW later, strong W/SW tending SW Sun
• Building windswell across both coasts Sun
• Moderate + sized mid-period S/SW swell Mon with strong SW winds
• Easing surf Tue with gusty W/NW tending SW winds
• Moderate + sized S/SW swell for later Wed, peaking Thu with SE-S/SE winds

Recap

A tiny, fading swell across the Mid Coast yesterday, flat today. The South Coast saw an improvement in conditions as spots that handle east winds and the swell was weak and easing from 2ft+. Goolwa faired best before sea breezes kicked in through the day.

Today, a trough has brought strong onshore winds and terrible conditions with a low point in swell.

Peaky options midday yesterday

This week and next (Dec 8 - 16)

Into this afternoon a new, moderate sized + SW groundswell is due, generated by a strong low that formed south-west of Western Australia earlier this week.

The swell should build to 4ft+ across the South Coast and 1ft on the Mid Coast, peaking overnight and then easing from 4ft tomorrow and 1-1.5ft respectively across the Mid Coast.

A high should move in behind today's trough, bringing moderate to fresh S/SE winds on the Mid Coast, tending SE later, with strong S winds on the South Coast.

Friday will start to improve down South with a moderate to fresh E/NE breeze, though conditions for the most part will still be lumpy, peaky and raw. Goolwa will be best and sets should be easing from 2-3ft (tiny to flat on the Mid Coast).

Saturday will be smaller and back to 1-2ft across Middleton and winds will become gusty out of the NE, tending N/NW later in the day ahead of a strong W/SW tending SW change on Sunday.

A small reinforcing mid-period SW swell is due on Saturday afternoon, followed by a secondary increase on Sunday, generated by a broad, relatively weak but healthy low that's south-west of Western Australia.

Unfortunately it doesn't look to get above 2ft across Middleton and 1ft on the Mid Coast, and a local windswell from Sunday's change will kicked up a larger, close-range swell. The strong W/SW winds should kick up 2ft+ waves on the Mid Coast and 3ft surf down South, becoming bigger into Monday as the trough forms into a low and stalls south of us.

It'll be mid-period energy but sizey and to 3-5ft across the South Coast on Monday with continuing 2ft+ waves on the Mid Coast but with strong SW winds.

Another approaching low should tip winds back to the W/NW on Tuesday morning as the S/SW swell starts to ease from 4ft, swinging strong S/SW late morning and persisting Wednesday ahead of another good pulse of swell energy later in the day/Thursday to 4-5ft.

The Mid Coast only looks to come in at 1-2ft with this secondary swell as winds will improve on Thursday, shifting SE, creating clean conditions. Longer term it looks like we'll see a run of SE winds and smaller surf into next weekend and beyond. So try and make the most of the windows of cleaner, but not perfect conditions this period.