Western Australian Surf Forecast by Steve Shearer (issued Mon September 11th)

Features of the Forecast (tl;dr)

• NW winds Tues with a solid W/SW swell
• Large mix of W/SW groundswells building Wed with strong NW winds 
• XL surf next Thu, easing  Fri with strong NW-W/NW winds, tending W/SW Fri
• Plenty of size Sat, building again Sun with onshore W-NW winds
• More large surf and onshore winds next week

Recap

Onshore winds and small surf Sat topping out at 3ft but not worth surfing. Sunday perked up in size to 4-6ft between the Capes but with onshore winds. Smaller 2-3ft in Perth/Mandurah with a window of offshore winds. Size has eased today with light N’ly winds, now tending NNW-NW and freshening in the SW corner. Lots of large, onshore surf ahead. 

Onshore NW winds ripping into it

This week and next week (Sep 11 - 22)

We’ve got an extended period of large swells and onshore winds ahead, kicking off Wed. In the short run a trough in advance of the  front will maintain a NW-NNW flow through tomorrow, possibly lighter and more variable in the a’noon . W/SW swell from an earlier incarnation of the frontal progression makes landfall with sets building to 6ft+ in the a’noon, smaller 3ft in Perth and Mandurah. 

Winds freshen from the N-NW Wed before the front slams the state late a’noon or early evening bringing strong W’ly winds. Solid W/SW to 6ft+ likely eases a notch before the swell front consisting of longer period and storm surf rapidly builds on dark to 10ft+ across the SW corner. 

Thurs will be a storm surf day with L-XL surf (12-15ft) across exposed breaks, and smaller 3-4ft across Perth/Mandurah. Only sheltered winter spots will be surfable under fresh W-NW winds apart from Perth beachies. 

What follows will be an extended period of onshore winds and large surf, with embedded pulses in the 8-10ft range as the storm track is elevated and the SW of the state is in the W’ly flow.

Solid 8-10ft Fri, an trend easing Sat, but not below 8ft before another pulse Sun into the 8-10ft range. Winds from the W-NW across this period will restrict surfing to onshore beachies and winter spots. 

Looking into next week and more solid surf is expected. A front and deep low passing to the south look to tip the state Mon, maintaining the onshore flow and holding surf in the 8ft+ range from a more SW-SSW direction.

The high pressure belt remains elevated northwards and another strong frontal system looks to move NE from Heard Island mid next week suggesting more strong surf and onshore winds possible right through next week. 

Check back Wed for the latest.