Western Australia Surf Forecast by Steve Shearer (issued Mon 1st May)

Features of the Forecast (tl;dr)

• Reinforcing mod-large sized mid-period S/SW swell Mon, easing slowly Tue and smaller Wed
• Moderate SE tending E/SE winds ahead of sea breezes Mon, fresh E/SE tending stronger S/SE winds on Tue
• Mod-fresh E/SE winds ahead of S/SE sea breezes Wed
• Smaller Thu with strong S/SE winds
• Moderate sized S/SW swell Fri with strong SE tending S/SE winds
• Easing into this weekend
• Mod pulse ahead early next week with a front due Wed

Recap

Easing but clean surf Sat saw 3-5ft surf between the Capes, smaller 2ft in Mandurah and Perth, with Sunday seeing funky winds and building swells to 6ft, smaller 2-3ft in Mandurah, 2ft in Perth. Today has seen easing 3-5ft surf in the Margaret River region with light/mod SSE-SE winds and size in the 2ft range in Mandurah, 1-2ft in Perth. 

Still a few sizey sets on the reefs, albeit slow

This weekend and next week (Apr 29 – May 5)

We’ll see a mostly offshore flow develop this week as a large high drifts below the state and sets up a ridge, with an inland trough staying semi-stationary for most of the week.

The storm track is below seasonal strength with the long wave trough not ideally positioned for large swells.

In the short run we’ll see easing swells tomorrow with an early peak in size to 4ft between the Capes, 1-2ft at Mandurah and 1ft in Perth. Offshore winds early tend S’ly through the day.

The trend will be down through Wed and into Thurs with small amounts of SW swell to 3ft at the magnets in the SW of the state, tiny in Mandurah and Perth. We should see improving SE to E-E/SE winds as the high ridges below the state. 

A nice kick in size from the SSW is expected Fri from a front and low pushing NE up from 55S at the edge of the WA swell window Wed/Thurs (see below). That should see size up into the 5-6ft range at reefs between the Capes, smaller 2-3ft in Mandurah, 2ft in Perth. Mod/fresh E/SE will be on offer as high pressure continues to ridge in under the state.

This pulse holds into Sat morning before easing with a small amount of reinforcing energy Sun rebuilding surf to 4ft. E’ly winds are expected across the weekend so swell magnets will be on the cards.

Into next week and we’ll see some moderate long period pulses arrive Mon onwards from storm activity below Africa this week which re-forms into rolling disturbances near Heard Island. Nothing huge but back up into the 4-5ft range between the Capes, smaller 2ft in Mandurah and 1ft in Perth. 

Winds remain mod/fresh E’ly early next week, likely to start clocking around NE later Tues into Wed with a front expected to impact the state Wed next week under current modelling. 

Check back Wed and we’ll see how it’s shaping up but looks like a nice period of small/mod surf with mostly offshore winds.