Southern Tasmania Surf Forecast by Craig Brokensha (issued Wednesday 23rd May)

Best Days: Protected spots tomorrow, Friday, Saturday, Sunday morning

Recap

Bumpy 3-4ft waves yesterday morning, kicking larger into the afternoon opening up options in protected spots, with cleaner easing surf into today.

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This week and weekend (May 24 – 27)

Today's easing trend is only temporary as we've got another large and powerful SW tending S/SW groundswell due tomorrow and Friday morning.

Currently the second of three vigorous polar lows is currently south-west of us, generating a fetch of severe-gale to storm-force W/SW winds (satellite confirmation right).

We'll see this system project up towards and into the Tasman Sea tomorrow, with a fetch of storm-force SW winds being drawn out from the polar shelf in our southern swell window.

This will create a large and powerful SW tending S/SW groundswell that should build to 5-6ft across Clifton through tomorrow, peaking into the afternoon and then easing overnight, dropping from 3-4f+ early Friday, smaller into the afternoon.

There should be some fun S/SE swell in the mix Friday afternoon and Saturday from a fetch of S/SE gales on the backside of the low tomorrow afternoon.

This will likely keep 2ft to maybe 3ft sets into Saturday morning, easing through the day.

Winds tomorrow look W/NW early, but a shift to the W/SW is due through the morning, favouring protected locations.

Friday will then see a NW offshore, tending variable into the afternoon, similar Saturday.

The third and final low has fallen apart a little, with only a brief and small fetch of strong to gale-force W/SW winds being generated in our southern swell window Friday.

This will produce a small S/SW swell for Sunday morning to 2ft, easing through the day with N/NW tending N/NE winds.

Longer term we've got a mix of long-range and inconsistent swells due Tuesday onwards, mixed in with some closer-range swell, but more on this Friday.