South-east Queensland and Northern NSW Surf Forecast by James Casey (issued Wednesday 12th May)

Best Days: Thursday, S swell peaking Sunday and then again on Wednesday

Outlook:

• E swell to hang in around the 3ft mark until tomorrow, smaller for the MNC
• E swell will fade to 2ft on Friday smaller on Saturday with offshore winds in the morning
• S swell to move in on Sunday with strong S winds, biggest south of the border up around the 4ft mark for S swell magnets
• Offshores return for the start of next week before another S change moves through late Monday bringing S/SE winds into the middle of next week and a larger S swell up around 4-6ft south of the border

Recap

Early offshore winds and 3ft surf, there’s been plenty of options over the last few days. The afternoons have seen a seabreeze puff up out of the NE creating a bit of bump. 

South of the border winds have been a bit better, remaining light and variable, mainly out of the W, for most of the day.

Today waves will remain around that 3ft mark with SE winds pushing in later in the afternoon but remaining light. 

The rest of the week

The E swell will fade into Saturday as the ridge directing all the E winds over the last week and a bit breaks down.

Tomorrow (Thursday) will see SW winds early with a seabreeze in the afternoon. Waves will remain around that 3ft mark as the final pulse of E swell fills in into the afternoon.

Friday will see waves drop to 2-3ft with winds SW early but tending more S/SE later in the day. South of the border a new S swell will begin to fill in thanks to strong winds to the east of Tassie and out of eastern Bass Strait. There won’t be much size until later in the weekend though with a mix of E and S swell on offer.

The weekend

The E swell will fade into Saturday as the S swell starts to gain some momentum late Saturday afternoon for south of the border. I wouldn’t expect much more than 2ft waves with the last of the E swell as the trade setup finally comes to an end. 

Sunday will see a S swell move up the coast peaking around the 4ft+ mark at S swell magnets for N NSW and the MNC. It won’t fill in for most of SE QLD due to the acute angle of the swell direction. 

Winds will be out of the W/SW for most of Saturday strengthening and becoming more S/SE on Sunday.  

Next week

Offshore winds will return for the start of next week under a ridge of high pressure although a S change will make its way up the coast with the MNC getting windy by the mid morning, N NSW by the afternoon and SE QLD by the evening. These S/SE winds will continue into the middle of the week with SW winds early in the morning.  

Waves will ease on Monday before a larger S swell builds Tuesday into Wednesday reaching a peak of 4-6ft for N NSW and the MNC. SE QLD will fare better with this second S swell due to it having a bit more SE in it. Still it’ll be a fair bit smaller than south of the border. 

Tune in on Friday for an update.