Sydney, Hunter and Illawarra Surf Forecast by Guy Dixon (issued Wednesday 13th April)

Best Days: Each morning, particularly Saturday. Open beaches on Sunday morning.

Recap: 

A southerly groundswell peaked across the NSW coast late on Tuesday afternoon and into the evening with sets in the 4ft range. A south/southeasterly breeze dominated throughout the day however, so the exposed beaches which were picking up the size weren't seeing much shape. More protected locations were smaller but cleaner.

Today, we are coming off the back of this swell and have been seeing sets in the 3ft+ range, easing. Conditions have slowly deteriorated as breezes have tended southeasterly.

This week (Thursday 14th - Friday 15th) and this weekend (Saturday 16th - Sunday 17th):

South facing beaches should continue to fade throughout today, with Thursday morning offering 2-3ft options across south facing beaches, generated by trailing fetches off the back of the last frontal progression.

The early morning session will be the best chance for a wave under a light variable, likely offshore airflow, before giving way to an east/northeasterly seabreeze soon after.

The rest of the week will then rely on a mix of building easterly energy with small pulses of southerly swell generated by poorly aligned and distant fetches.

Hints of energy should be showing across south swell magnets in the afternoon, before peaking on Friday morning with sets in the 2-3ft range, perhaps up around the 3ft range across the Hunter. The system responsible has been moving over the deep Southern Ocean, moving south of Tasmania overnight with ordinarily aligned westerly fetches of up to 45kts.

Again, the early morning holds the best chance of a clean wave under a northwesterly breeze, giving way to a northeasterly airflow as the morning wears on.

The next pulse should begin to show later in the day, peaking on Saturday morning generated by a distant frontal progression over the Indian ocean earlier in the week. This pulse isn’t looking like anything to get excited about, with inconsistent sets really only likely to break in the 2ft+ range at the magnets.

A better swell source will be filling in out of the east as a result of a stationary southeasterly fetch steered by a Tasman ridge. Small intensifications should provide a pulse from Friday's 2ft+ to around 2-3ft on Saturday, with a second pulse due Sunday afternoon keeping 2-3ft waves hitting open beaches.

Also in the mix on Sunday should be a small, local south/southeasterly windswell following a change from the day before. This should add around 2ft to the mix, with more size on Monday as the fetch pushes northward with better alignment to the Illawarra, Sydney and Hunter coasts.

Saturday should remain cleaner for longer as a northwesterly breeze persists, tending easterly from around lunchtime. Sunday however looks to be under a southerly component airflow from the word go, with the best chance of a wave being found at southern corners. The early session should see a southwesterly breeze along the Illawarra and Sydney Coast, tending south/southeasterly later.

Next week (Monday 18th onward):

The local south/southeasterly energy should provide options in the 3ft range on Monday morning across south facing beaches, with a more substantial groundswell building into the afternoon.

A strong frontal progression looks to move over the Southern Ocean, with broad southwesterly trailing fetches moving in good alignment through the NSW swell window. Two pulses are expected off this system, first less ideal swell off the leading edge, with stronger energy off the broader, more substantial trailing fetches.

South facing beaches should be seeing sets in the 3-4ft+ range by the afternoon, although lacking shape and quality under a south/southeasterly breeze which looks to dominate for the majority of the day.

Further ahead, long range east/northeasterly energy is due, generated by an easterly dip over the South Pacific. Inconsistent energy should build throughout Tuesday to a peak on Wednesday with sets in the 2ft+ range breaking across open beaches. Meanwhile, background southerly energy produced by trailing fetches over the Southern Ocean should maintain options in the 2ft+ range.

Get out early for the cleanest conditions, as seabreezes are likely from mid-morning each day.

More detail on Friday.