Nada

Swell but no waves today. Low tide, straight handers and northerly winds.

According to the Weather Bureau we are in for gale force winds from this afternoon with another front coming through.

Gale Warning
Mandurah to Walpole
Winds increasing to north to northwesterly 20 to 30 knots early Tuesday evening and further to northwesterly 30 to 40 knots during Tuesday evening. Winds shifting to west to southwesterly 25 to 35 knots early Wednesday morning and easing to 20 to 30 knots by sunrise and below 25 knots during Wednesday morning. Seas 3m to 4m. Swell 2 to 3 metres.

Doesn't look like there will be much surfing for the next few days.

0.80 @ 13

Dropped

The swell has dropped a little but there are a few waves at BP. Its pretty cold, the wind is calm and the water brown.

The rips or the groyne are the go but I wouldn't wait to long. There is another front due this evening and the wind should be swinging into the north west by mid morning.

Judging by what I saw yesterday there should be a few corners at Back Beach into the gutters.

Looks onshore until Saturday morning at this stage.

0.79 @ 12

Offshore

It was sort of offshore late this arvo. Not surfable but a change from the smashing we got from late Thursday.

Yesterday was ridiculous. The winds were over 30 kph for the whole day and gusting around 50 hour after hour. The wind peaked at 82 kph at 2.30 and 74 at 7.30 pm.  At 7.00 am this morning the winds stopped gusting over 50 kph and it wasn't till 4.00 pm that gust finally fell consistently below 30 kph.

Swell wise it peaked at around 1.5 metres but combined with the big seas it hit 2.75 metres for a while. Even deep inside the harbour was rocking. The Naturaliste buoy peaked over five.

Tomorrow is forecast as being offshore in the morning but with a sea breeze around noon. I wouldn't think it would be very good but it might be work a quick look at the Capel Cut and maybe Binningup. The boogers should add the Bay to that list.

We'll see !


1.05 @ 13

Its back

Two fronts in a row to start Spring. Severe weather warning issued for today with the front due to hit the capes about 9.00 am.

WEATHER SITUATION
A strong cold front is approaching from the southwest, expected near Cape
Leeuwin about 9am and extending throughout the area by 5pm. Widespread showers,
isolated thunderstorms and squally conditions expected with the front. Squalls
may cause DANGEROUS WINDS in excess of 125 kilometres per hour that could cause
SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OR DESTRUCTION TO HOMES OR PROPERTY IN LOCALISED AREAS.

Tomorrow's front is also meant to be strong as well.

Surf wise it is what you would expect. Onshore, sloppy and brown. The swell has dropped a little, not that it matters. The forecast is for 4 - 7 metres on Tuesday.

0.76 @ 12

They were right

Front started to hit early this morning and it has been windy and rainy since.

Don't expect much change or to get ocean wet today. I'm guessing that a few will head to the Wall for a look but you'd need to be keen.

As usual in this weather the harbour buoy has dropped out.

WEATHER SITUATION

A strong cold front and associated rain band approaching the South West of the
state may cause HEAVY RAINFALL that could cause FLASH FLOODING and DAMAGING
WINDS to  100 kilometres per hour which could result in DAMAGE TO HOMES AND
PROPERTY from mid to late Sunday morning about the SW district, extending
throughout Sunday afternoon and evening. DANGEROUS GUSTS in excess of 125
kilometres per hour could cause SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO HOMES AND PROPERTY IN
LOCALISED AREAS.

HIGHER THAN NORMAL TIDES are expected near the south coast .

People in the southwest of WA experience a front as windy as this about 5 times
per year.

Last chance

If you need to get wet this weekend you've got about an hour. A severe weather warning has just been issued for tomorrow from dawn and it looks like we'll be battening down for the day.

It's onshore but about 1 in 10 holds up. I just had a quick bash and it wasn't easy out there. It not the size but the strength of the rip thats making it a little difficult. Lots of paddling in, out and sideways.

If you aren't keen start putting away your outside stuff instead.

0.73 @ 12.

Here it comes again

Another front on the way tomorrow with damaging winds. Good job I didn't put the outdoor furniture back after the last one.

Bit of a pre-front northerly wave for those who were quick this afternoon. I saw a guy take a clean head height drop on what looked like the best peak in front of the surf club.

The sea and swell have both swung north west and are climbing rapidly.  The sea is 1.12 and the swell 0.73. The swell period has dropped four seconds since midday and is sitting on 10.

There are some weird blobs on the Stormsurf wave models for the next week or so. It has a 30 foot swell hitting Marges in 72 hours with Perth getting 18 - 20. Forty seven feet of swell is passing the south coast. There are then two follow up 15 to 20 foot swells in the following few days

The models can be a bit funky and this is super unusual

WEATHER SITUATION
A cold front moving over the area during Tuesday is likely to cause WIDESPREAD
DAMAGING WINDS to 100 kilometres per hour that could result in DAMAGE TO HOMES
AND PROPERTY. In isolated areas DANGEROUS GUSTS in excess of 125 kilometres per
hour could cause SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OR DESTRUCTION TO HOMES AND PROPERTY.
DAMAGING winds are likely to develop about the Capes early on Tuesday morning
and extend to remaining parts later in the morning. Thunderstorms are also
possible.

Higher than normal tides may result in flooding of low-lying coastal areas in
the Geographe Bay area, including Busselton and Dunsborough, on Tuesday morning.

This is typical weather for this time of year.

I wonder

On days like today what Bunbury would be like if a massive clean swell hit. There are some huge waves capping and breaking way out and some big walls amongst the carnage.

The harbour buoy is 1.19 metres and Naturaliste is just a touch under six. Winds have been gusting in the high 30 kph since early this morning and as high as 50 at times. Augusta is being smashed as usual with winds getting close to double our worst.

Wouldn't be planning on getting wet for a few days (excluding getting caught in the rain). Neither Fraggles or the wall have decent banks yet but this front will help.

Changes

Seems like Autumn may have arrived. Yesterday was iffy and today has seen the first front of 2012.

It's howling onshore and messy but there is good size. There are a couple out at BP and another guy at Juniors.

The Juniors guy is getting some nice drops and a little sucky face before the wave flattens out. He pulled off a nice lip throw floater on a head height face just before I left.

I don't recommend that you bother, especially if you're not skilled. The water is messy and there are rips everywhere. With a bit of a surge the rocks that are normally on the waters edge are out a fair bit and hard to see until you hit them.

Size : solid head height sets
Wind : strong onshore WNW gusting to nearly 50 kph
Swell : 0.53 at 12 with seas 1.42
Desperation level : waterman
Recommendation : lounge chairs

Draining

The flat spell continues. No swell and no breeze to either make some or give some wind wave release. The swell buoy has been out of action for a few days but would be pretty straight lined.

There is a glimmer with the passing of a weak front tomorrow. The swell is meant to rise to 2.5 metres but the winds will be onshore. We'll just need to hold our breath and wait.

Orange means go faster

The winter of swell doesn't seem to want to give up. The last three days had offshore full tide mornings and low tide glass offs in the afternoon and a front that should hit in the next few hours will bring another big red blob of swell next week.

There are a few out at the moment snaring some small side riders in the north westerly, the wind is picking up so the window for the next few days is closing quickly.

Stay home

Blowing a gale and has been for days. There was a 72 kmh gust around 7.00 am and it isn't backing off.

The beach is a massive washing machine. Shouldn't really call it the beach because the water is lapping on the dunes, old swimming baths, rocks, sea wall and anything else that is usually dry. There are huge waves bashing in  everywhere.

It looks like the Wall is the only place surfable. There are a truck load of cars at the gate but with spray coming over the seawall I wasn't walking down to find out. Looking from a couple of other vantage points I would say there are waves but they won't be very good.

Keep out

The ocean was a no go area today as massive waves battered the beach. With no reference point it was hard to tell how big the Back Beach was but I suspect it was a solid eight feet. I watched a wave break probably ten time further out than normal and then smash into the rocks.

The wind is back up again and it looks pretty marginal for the next few days at least. I have been told that due to the west in the swell the Wall was flat but it might start to fire with the right tide.

Stormsurf.com shows some massive swells out to sea and predicts over 30 feet on the weekend.

Oahu back beach

Bunbury turned on another classic winter's day today. There was a huge amount of swell hanging around and very light winds that were offshore this morning.

There was only one taker out at BP first up this morning in waves that had some size and power but also the off bit of shape.

All day it pumped. I was at work but have seen some photos of head height make-able death pits at the Back Beach. The pics are on my work computer so stay tuned (the camera is a lot better than mine !)

The crowds picked up in the late afternoon as the wind stayed calm and the waves kept pumping in. The Back Beach was still the pick, especially out the front of the Surf Club.

Another front coming tomorrow afternoon with some windy and wet weather into the weekend according to the forecast. Could still be the chance of a wave in the morning and I wouldn't write off Saturday and Sunday just yet.

Novelty waves

Looking at the severe weather forecast for tomorrow some of my favourite Dunsborough novelty spots might be worth a look. Places like the old Dunsbrough boat ramp or the corner of Eagle Bay could be a goer if the proper spots are blown out. Otherwise Wednesday might be ok for the Farm and Rocky Point before another front on Thursday.

If you haven't already it might be a good idea to drag loose stuff inside and check the insurance policy as it could be a bit blowy first thing. The last time I can remember a front being due around 6 am was when the tornado rip apart the town in 1995.

Coastal waters forecast

Tuesday: W/NW winds 30/40 knots with squalls to 55 knots in showers and thunderstorms. Winds easing to W'ly 20/30 knots late morning and W/NW 20/25 knots during the evening. Higher than normal tides and dangerous surf conditions expected north of Cape Leeuwin. Seas 2.5m to 3.5m. Swell to 5.0m.

Another front

Another front on the way. It should hit any time now and be basically over by tomorrow morning.

There is a huge crowd out at The Wall for the arvo session. There are plenty of waves rolling off the inside but with 20 plus out it is a bit of dodgem cars, especially as a group of mindless body boarding groms as sitting down the line and dropping in on everyone. One was lucky that a shortboarder sacrificed himself and his board on the rocks rather than into his head.

One surfer per wave GROMS - learn the rules before you paddle out !!!!


There is a nice bank at The Wall at the moment. It is really close to the rocks and closer to the beach than normal. There isn't meant to be a massive wind with this front but the swell at Naturaliste has peaked over four metres but is slowly dropping. Might be some more Wall waves tomorrow.

The best surfers of the session needed no boards and were way out the back. Two show off dolphins were cruising, jumping out in front of the swells and doing a roll in the air. You could almost hear them say "beat that humans !"

Apologies

I have been sick as a dog for the last week plus and have struggled to get of the lounge so the beach has been off limits as well. I'm still no better and this is the first time I have actually cracked out the computer for more than 10 minutes.

Seems that after the front went through mid-week there was some swell. I have seen the odd photo of places down south like Boneyards with waves. Maybe some of you were able to score during the light winds between fronts.

Today isn't looking great. I'm not lucky enough to see the beach from my front verandah but I can see that it southerly and the harbour buoy is telling me that sea is up but the swell isn't. At least I didn't really miss too much  while I was sleeping. Might be another day with the V8s.

Sick

I've got one of those colds that won't quit and keeps coming back. While it gave me a day off work it has also kept me out of the water. Judging from the flag in my neighbours's back yard the winds had a little offshore in them for most of the morning.

By the time I felt human enough to go outside the wind had swung but it was still pretty light. There were a couple of guys out here and there and there were some rideable if mushy waves. BP Groyne seemed to be popular.

Swell is still over 0.5 but the wind should go more onshore tomorrow with another front on Friday. The long range forecasts for Sunday to Tuesday look ok.

Battering

This front is a beauty. Winds have been over 75 ks a few times during the night and it is still smashing through. At 6.00 am the wind was a gentle 76 kmh. Overnight it sounded like trucks were smashing into the house.

We are being hit by the low behind the main front. It's always worse when you can see speckled clouds on the satelitte following the main band and that is what we have at the moment.

It will be interesting to see what the beach is like. The swell at Naturaliste has doubled since lunch time yesterday and is now sitting near six metres. The harbour is nearly 1.3 but the seas are a touch under two metres. The ocean will be a good thing to look at but not to venture into.

Batten down

The next front is just starting to smash in. The wind has picked up and the rain is pretty solid. Just went to check out the Wall but the rain turned me back. There was a few cars parked at the entry so I'm thinking that people got there before the weather. With the lowish tide it was probably alright.

Fraggles is big and messy and waves along the back beach are very very solid.

Looks like an afternoon to stay inside. I suspect that tomorrow wont be great either.