Southern Tasmania Surf Forecast by Craig Brokensha (issued Monday 20th August)

Best Days: Wednesday, Thursday morning, Friday morning, Saturday morning, Sunday morning, Monday more exposed breaks

Recap

Clean easing S/SW swell from 2ft on Saturday, with stormy poor conditions yesterday, much better today as the swell eased under offshore winds.

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This week and weekend (Aug 21 – 26)

We've got an upgrade in the W/SW swell due tomorrow, with the low coming in stronger than forecast on Friday.

Over the weekend we saw a tight and intense low form under WA and project a fetch of severe-gale to storm-force W/SW winds through our western swell window.

The low is now easing while pushing closer towards us and will pass across us this evening.

With this though we'll see strong SW winds projected up into us, and this will create poor conditions along with an additional SW windswell in the mix.

We should see Clifton build to an easy 4ft with the groundswell component into the afternoon but with strong SW tending S/SW winds.

Winds should swing back N/NW for Wednesday morning as the SW and W/SW swells ease back from 2-3ft, smaller into the afternoon with SE onshores.

A low point in swell should be seen Thursday but not below 1-2ft, and conditions will be clean again through the morning.

Into Friday and more so Saturday and Sunday we'll see some new very inconsistent long-range W/SW groundswell filling in.

Friday's pulse will be the least consistent and smallest of the swells, generated in our far swell window in the Heard Island region on the weekend.

We'll be lucky to see very inconsistent 1-2ft sets on Friday with a NW tending SE breeze.

A slightly closer, stronget and better aligned fetch of pre-frontal W/NW gales will push in from the south-east Indian Ocean, generating a better W/SW groundswell for Saturday to a similar 2ft on the sets.

We're likely to see this system restrengthen south-west of us on Thursday evening, generate another pulse of SW swell for Sunday to 2ft or so.

Similar winds are due to Friday with morning NW winds, and weak SE sea breezes, more NE into Monday as the swell fades.

Longer term there's nothing too significant on the cards for next week, but we'll likely continue to see small 1-2ft sets on the coast. More on this Wednesday.