At 6.25 a.m. on Wednesday 27th March 2024
Constantine (0*): 4 to 6 feet
It’s a wee bit chilly down in the bays this morning with a steady sou’ wester chopping out a lumpy and bouncing five feet or so of grey and very wintery looking swell.
And a short, sharp deluge reminds us that it might be sunny for a minute or two right now but those biblical downpours of a couple of days ago might not yet be far enough away.
Anyway, at the moment the surf is wild and woolly and forecast to get wilder and woolier as storm Nelson approaches.
Let’s have a look around at Harlyn………
Harlyn (3*): 2 to 4 feet
Three feet of grey and indecisive surf is bouncing in at Harlyn this morning at just about full high tide, a few bigger sets taking their time to tease you out there.
The stream is in full flow, although who knows what might be in there after all this rain but it is giving some direction to the way the bigger waves are breaking.
The dropping tide should sharpen things up while we watch the swell build in size through this afternoon.
Today’s Tide Times:
Low Tide: 12:56 (1.0m) High Tide: 18:47 (6.9m)
Surf Forecast for Thursday 28th March 2024
Super strong westerly going south westerly winds from storm Nelson will push really big waves our way today, really big and getting bigger!
Ten foot plus swells are expected but so too are gale force strengthening to storm force and stronger winds.
Harlyn will be our only option and that might be too windswept – we’ll just have to wait and see on that one. But we can be certain that if you want some enjoyable surf today, you’re going to have to travel!
Surf Conditions for the Rest of the Week
An eminent TV weather man used to often tell me how there’s always way more chance of us seeing snow at Easter than ever there is at Christmas, and since having our little store I have indeed had the dubious pleasure of opening up on a Good Friday amidst some thick, swirling snow! A long time ago maybe but with the weather patterns that we have been ‘enjoying’ who is to say that it won’t happen again?
Maybe not this year though.
This week looks like it’s going to be filled with blustery south westerly winds and they will keep the air temperatures up. They will also carry enough dampness with them to continue this winter’s ongoing theme of ‘wet ‘n windy’ well into Spring.
But those winds will also push a whole lot more swell our way too!
Locally, we enjoy the benefit of having Harlyn to surf when the wind screams in from the south west because as it tears and tatters all the waves on our main beaches, it blows nicely offshore at Harlyn. And that creates smooth and hollow, often testing conditions, especially at low tide.
And that’s what we should be enjoying all week long this week!
Big waves are going to start lumping onto our beaches from Tuesday, becoming really big as we go towards the end of the week.
The Easter Weekend is another story, the surf is just staring to look as though it could be a whole lot better than ‘good’ but it is just a bit early to be thinking of that.
So, enjoy those hollow, close-out, board snapping barrels at Harlyn and stay safe, stay happy, stay well and have the best week, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing!