BoM severe weather warning

28 May 2010

Significant Weather Media Release
Severe Weather Alert for Coastal Areas of Southern NSW on Sunday

A developing weather system is forecast to bring severe weather to some coastal districts of southern NSW on Sunday.

A low pressure system is expected to deepen off the southern NSW coast early Sunday morning and move northwards.

“The low will bring very heavy rain to a wide area, leading to possible flooding. Very strong to gale force winds are expected along the southern coast, which will also result in very dangerous sea conditions and coastal erosion in vulnerable areas. Present indications are that the rain and wind will affect the South Coast early on Sunday, with the wet and windy weather extending to Sydney and the Central Coast late on Sunday or overnight into Monday,” said Barry Hanstrum, Regional Director of the Bureau of Meteorology in New South Wales.

“Our clear message is to keep a close and regular watch on the latest updates of all weather forecasts and warnings.”

“It is too early to predict the precise location of the heaviest rainfall and strongest wind, as this will depend on the eventual position and movement of the centre of the low. However, we are advising people to keep monitoring our forecasts and warnings, as they will be updated as the weather system develops,” said Mr. Hanstrum.

The Commissioner of the NSW State Emergency Service Murray Kear said that the SES has been working closely with the Bureau and is planning and preparing its support for communities likely to be affected by the forecast severe weather.

“Simple preparations undertaken now can help reduce the likelihood of property damage and help keep people safer,” Mr Kear said.

“Clear leaves and debris from gutters and downpipes; where safe, trim overhanging trees and branches; check your roof is in good repair and put away loose items from yards and balconies.”

‘There are many other things that people can do to help prepare themselves, to find out more, go to the SES website at www.ses.nsw.gov.au.”

Futher information:

* Latest NSW Warnings & Forecasts
* Forecast Maps: Rainfall | Wind
* SES Website
* Latest Rainfall Map
* Latest Observations

PICS: Manly was firing

Hello Friends,

Had a look around this morning and can report that before lunch the spot to be was probably Manly. There were definitely waves elsewhere (Dee Why point and beach of course, the Bower, Northy, Mona Vale and even Longy), but the Queensie to North Steyne stretch was the best – and most crowded. I took pictures for an hour or so.

Manly Fri 28 May 2010 (am) – Images by Don Norris

As the sun sets on Friday it seems that we can look forward to a week of showery weather ahead. Late in the day the swell was still a couple metres from the SE at 10-12 sec, so the size down at Dee Why looked pretty similar to this morning. But the Bureau says we can expect it to fade overnight and tomorrow, in addition to being showery, is set to be smaller. The models are looking kinda grim it has to be said. But the Goat is more hopeful, so I’m going with his call because he’s got a peerless record – and it sounds better!

Sydney Coastal Waters, Broken Bay to Port Hacking and 60nm seawards:
Friday until midnight: Wind: Variable 5 to 10 knots early, tending north to northeasterly 10 to 15 knots in the afternoon and increasing to 15 to 20 knots offshore in the evening.Sea: to 1 metre. Swell: Southeasterly 2 to 2.5 metres, decreasing.
Saturday: Wind: Northeast to northwesterly 15 to 20 knots early, becoming northwesterly 15 to 20 knots.Sea: 1 to 2 metres. Swell: East to southeasterly 1.5 to 2 metres.
Sunday: Wind: West to southwesterly 10 to 20 knots, turning east to southeast 20 to 30 knots during the afternoon, possibly increasing to 25 to 35 knots.

Dee Why: Nice conditions, plenty of crew out and about already

Loads of waves around this morning and some sunshine to boot.

Curly-Freshy Rpt

Looks like the size has returned to something more manageable, and the wind is offshore this morning, too! A handful of bods are out at Curly & Freshy where generally the banks aren’t really coping. However, every so often something headhigh+ sneaks in & provides a ride

Why do you surf?

Last night I came across an interesting blog by a Santa Cruz surfer named Natalie Williford. She’s set herself a little challenge that I thought sounded kinda cool.

Basically she plans to ask surfers from her region about how surfing informs their lives.

In a way, it can be boiled down to a simple question:

What does surfing mean to you?

Why not use the comment form below* this post to give your own answer to that simple but profound question?

*some browsers put the form right at the bottom of the page, so just scroll down!

Some water movement about….

Cloudy, dry and cooler on the Central Coast this Friday morning.  The swell is semi-smooth at 2 – 4 feet from the east southeast.  There is light northwest breeze forecast to go northeast later.  High tide at 0830 and low tide around 1400.  Local barometer 1013 hpa, 10 degrees C. 97% humidity.  Have a good weekend!

Blown Away, In Byron Bay Today.

Twas a case of grab hold of something solid and hang on tight, in Byron Bay today. The low pressure system that formed off the coast down south hit us early morning in the bay. From that point on it was rain, wind and more wind as the airstream charged up the coast. There wasn’t really a long enough fetch to it all to produce any really serious swell, but there were some wind waves available for the more stoic of the crew. Problem was, to get out of the wind meant being in the lee of the swell. So it was a matter of very small and clean or midsized, bumpy and windy. Either way as unsuspecting hippies rolled along main beach like tumble weeds, the occasional windswept wave popped up to be enjoyed, In Byron Bay Today.

Rough as

PICS: Dee Why point watershots gallery

26th of May was supposed to blow out early, but it stayed glassy until after midday and the swell was pumping under rainy skies. I took Sony’s little DSC-TX5 waterproof camera out surfing with me and grabbed a few test shots (as well as some video). Light levels were very low, so I ended up chucking out lots of blurry shots… these are what I had left… enjoy!

Dee Why point 26 May 2010 watershots – Images by Don Norris

The Goat’s Surf Forecast

Surf Forecast issued Thursday 27 May 2010.  Seven day outlook for Sydney:

Well…depending on the weather (!) and how it turns, there could be some nice waves around over the next few days.  Will depend on whether (!)  and how soon the wind goes Nor East, Nor West or offshore West…Current outlook for that is below…. If the wind tidies up the waves, there should be waves to enjoy.  Have fun.  Surf outlook below…

Friday:  about 2 metres or more East South East.

Saturday: ditto.

Sunday: little bit bigger – say 2-3 metres East.

Monday: maybe a bit bigger again East.

Tuesday: back a bit but still 2-3 metres+ East.

Wednesday: about 2-3 metres East.

Thursday: about 2 metres East, easing back.

Weather from the Bureau

Forecast for Thursday evening

A shower or two. Light to moderate south to southeast winds. 

Precis: Shower or two.               

Forecast for Friday  

Cloudy periods with the chance of a shower or two. Light to moderate

northwest to northeasterly winds.

Precis: Chance shower or two.        

City:         Min:  13 Max:  20   Parramatta: Min:   9 Max:  20

Terrey Hills: Min:  11 Max:  19   Penrith:    Min:   9 Max:  20

Liverpool:    Min:   8 Max:  20   Richmond:   Min:   7 Max:  20

UV Alert:   Nil , UV Index predicted to reach 2 [Low]

Saturday  Rain developing.

City:          Min:   13  Max:   19

West:          Min:    9  Max:   17

Sunday    Rain periods.

City:          Min:   11  Max:   19

West:          Min:    5  Max:   18

Monday    Showers.

City:          Min:   13  Max:   20

West:          Min:    7  Max:   19

Tuesday   Shower or two.

City:          Min:   14  Max:   18

West:          Min:    9  Max:   18

Wednesday Shower or two.

City:          Min:   14  Max:   19

West:          Min:    8  Max:   20

Thursday  Shower or two.

City:          Min:   13  Max:   19

West:          Min:    7  Max:   19

Sydney Coastal Waters, Broken Bay to Port Hacking and 60nm seawards:
Thursday until midnight: Wind: Southerly around 10 knots.Sea: Decreasing to below 1 metre.Swell: Southeasterly about 2 metres.
Friday: Wind: East to northeasterly 5 to 10 knots tending north to northeasterly 10 to 15 knots in the afternoonSea: to 1 metre. Swell: Southeasterly about 2 metres.
Saturday: Wind: North to northwesterly 10 to 20 knots increasing north to northwesterly 15 to 20 knots around midday.
Sunday: Wind: Westerly 10 to 15 knots increasing to 15 to 25 knots during the morning then increasing to 25 to 30 knots during the afternoon. Winds northeast to northwesterly during the evening.