Western Australia Surf Forecast by Ben Matson (issued Wednesday 10th June)

Best Days: No great days. Maybe some OK metro beachies over the weekend, with pockets of lighter winds, but nothing amazing.

Recap: Super inconsistent though well defined 6ft surf has been on offer throughout Margaret River for the last few days, with light N’ly winds Tuesday freshening from the NE today and then N’ly this afternoon, ahead of a recent gusty W/NW change. Perth increased from 1-2ft Tuesday to 2ft+ today, with slightly bigger waves reported throughout Mandurah. Light winds Tuesday and early this morning freshened from the north late Wednesday morning, then N/NW into the afternoon. 

Wednesday morning goods in Margs

Pitching Perth beachies this morning

This week (June 11 - 12)

*This week's Forecaster Notes will be a little sporadic, and sometimes brief, as Craig is on leave*

A mid-latitude low west of Perth is pushing towards the coast and will strengthen N’ly winds across all coasts on Thursday.

The broad, slow moving nature of this system is a little unusual, and we’ll probably see short range NW swells build to 2-3ft across Perth and Mandurah throughout the day, though quality won’t be high. Winds will then swing fresh W’ly into the afternoon as this system crosses the coast. The current SW groundswell will be on the way out and therefore small in size.

Wave heights will be bigger throughout Margaret River but there won’t be anywhere to hide from these poor winds. 

Strong SW winds will then envelop all coasts into Friday, and with mainly locally generated swells on offer, there won’t be much surf to get excited about. It'll be too small throughout Margaret River for the protected bays and points to offer any rideable options. 

This weekend (June 13 - 14)

There’s been a very slight downgrade in the strength of the approaching lows/fronts generating our large weekend swells. 

But, it doesn’t matter much as we’ll be under the influence of fresh W/SW winds both days (throughout Margs) so conditions will be very ordinary. Surf size should lift from 4-6ft to 8ft+ on Saturday, and then further to 10-12ft on Sunday - but your only surfable options will be at sheltered points and coves. 

The slight weakening in this synoptic pattern since Monday's model runs now lends itself to the possibility of pockets of light winds through Mandurah and (moreso) Perth over the weekend. With building size in the 2-3ft range Saturday and then 3-4ft on Sunday throughout Perth (bigger in Mandurah) there’ll be plenty of lumpy waves on offer, but don’t expect any great quality. 

Next week (June 15 onwards)

Strong fronts will continue to dominate the swell window over the weekend, maintaining elevated wave heights through most of next week. Unfortunately, winds will once again veer W/NW so most coasts will be blown out. It's looking like an extended period of poor surf ahead.

The model guidance is split as to the long term outlook from Thursday, but it appears there’ll be a disruptive influence of some sort that’ll bring about a change to this persistent westerly pattern. 

More on this in Friday’s update.