South Australian Surf Forecast by Craig Brokensha (issued Wednesday January 10th)

Best Days: South Coast magnets this morning, both coasts tomorrow (more so afternoon and evening Mid Coast), both coasts Friday, Mid Coast Saturday for the keen

Features of the Forecast (tl;dr)

• Small-moderate sized mid-period W/SW swell building Thu, peaking Fri more in the moderate size range
• E/SE winds on the Mid tomorrow AM, light E/NE down South ahead of sea breezes
• E/NE winds on the Mid Fri AM, N/NE down South ahead of sea breezes, strengthening S'th later
• Easing surf Sat with possible variable winds ahead of a strong S/SE change
• Strong SE-S/SE winds Sun, fresh SE tending strong S/SE Mon with average levels of S/SE windswell
• Lighter winds Tue with fading S/SE windswell

Recap

Light winds created OK conditions across the South Coast yesterday with 2ft+ of swell and workable waves most of the day.

The Mid Coast saw a sneaky 1ft of swell yesterday, just a tease but surfable on bigger boards and ideal for learners.

This morning conditions are cleaner down South but with smaller 1-2ft sets, while the Mid Coast is continuing to pick up tiny sets.

This week and weekend (11 - 14)

The coming days are looking fun across the Mid Coast as some fun W/SW swell energy fills in with various pulses due from tomorrow through until Saturday. Just keep in mind we'll be seeing huge early morning high tides.

The source of these swells was and still is back to back fetches of strong W/SW winds moving through our western swell window, developing to the south-west of Western Australia on the weekend and now continuing south of the Bight today.

An initial front will produce an inconsistent but good W/SW pulse for tomorrow, building to 1-2ft on the favourable parts of the tide into the afternoon with 3ft+ sets across Middleton.

The secondary fetch which is passing south of the Bight today should generate similar though more consistent 2ft waves on Friday across the Mid Coast and 3ft+ across Middleton.

Saturday should then see easing surf from the 1.5ft range on the Mid Coast, 2-3ft down South.

Coming back to the local winds and the Mid Coast will be cleanest tomorrow morning with an E/SE breeze, not bad down South with light E/NE winds, with both coasts giving into sea breezes, tending back offshore late in the gulf.

Friday looks great across both coasts with a N/NE offshore down South and E/NE winds on the Mid. Afternoon sea breezes will kick in again and a trough will bring stronger S/SE winds later in the day.

Moving into the weekend, there's an outside chance of variable winds Saturday morning but otherwise we're looking at strengthening SE-S/SE winds. With the easing swell the Mid Coast will be cleanest and best for beginners and larger surfcraft.

Sunday and Monday look poor as the Mid Coast becomes tiny to flat and strong SE-S/SE winds make a mess of the South Coast.

The longer term outlook consistents of persistent S/SE winds so make the most of the cleaner windows across the South Coast and swell in the gulf.