South-east Queensland and Northern NSW Surf Forecast by James Casey (issued Friday 7th May)

Best Days: Saturday, Sunday

Outlook:

• Pulse of larger E swell to continue to build today up towards 4-6ft SE Qld, bigger south of the border, 6ft+ for N NSW and 6-8ft for MNC
• E pulse on Saturday sustaining waves around that 4-6ft mark, bigger south of the border
• Swell easing into Sunday 
• Start of next week hitting a low point of 3ft on Monday/Tuesday
• E swell to continue into the tail of next week with another pulse on Wednesday/Thursday

Recap

Waves have been cooking with really nice conditions on offer. Yesterday saw waves range in the 3ft range with the odd 4ft range only for it to slow down a little before pulsing late. Winds stayed relatively light and offshore all day meaning there were options all over the place spreading the crowds out nicely. 

Today waves are larger with 4-5ft sets and larger waves south of the border, hitting 6ft for N NSW and 6ft+ for the MNC. Winds are light and offshore so find a place that is handling the swell and you’ll score some good waves. 

Into the weekend 

We will see wave heights continue to build throughout the day. Winds will strengthen out of the N/NW later this afternoon making it a bit ruffled along the points but the beachies will still have clean conditions. South of the border winds will tend NE for N NSW and SW for the MNC with light and variable onshore winds between Coffs and Yamba. 

Tomorrow (Saturday) we will see wave heights peak at 4-6ft for open beaches in SE QLD, 6ft+ for N NSW and 6-8ft for the MNC. Winds will be light and offshore across the entire region for most of the morning tomorrow before tending NE in the afternoon. Make the most of the morning of waves but expect plenty of water moving. The afternoon you’ll need to find a protected northern corner for cleaner conditions but wave heights will have dropped a fair bit by then.

Winds will once again be light and offshore on Sunday morning mainly out of W/SW. By the middle of the day winds will have turned E, more NE for SE QLD and more SE south of the border. Waves will be hanging in there but be on the downward trend. I’d expect waves around the 3-5ft mark across the region.

Next week

The start of next week will see more settled conditions with the trade swell setup providing more waves out of the E around the 3ft mark. Conditions will be nice and clean with light and variable offshore winds in the morning turning NE in the afternoon.

SW winds on Tuesday will see another beautiful morning with a little pulse in the E trade swell keeping it fun and in that 3ft range. Winds will build out of the S/SE in the afternoon as a strong front passes to the southeast of the nation.

This E trade swell will continue to provide 3ft of E swell into the end of the week. An additional S windswell will fill in on Wednesday morning providing 3ft waves south of the border before a larger mid period S swell arrives on Thursday bringing 3-4ft waves south of the border for the S swell magnets. 

Winds will continue out of the S on Wednesday, more SW in the morning and more SE in the afternoon.

Thursday will see lighter SE winds with an offshore breeze in the morning.  

The S swell will linger into Friday in the 3ft range south of the border while the E swell will keep waves in SE QLD in that 3ft range as well. Winds will be SW early tending SE later. South of the border winds will be more offshore for the MNC and more SW for N NSW before tending more SE in the afternoon. 

Further ahead the E trade swell setup looks to break down next weekend as a region of low pressure lingers in the Tasman.