The Southern Ocean will show why it’s one of the most powerful seas in the world this week. 

A deep low-pressure system is crossing the Great Australian Bight this weekend, building a large swell that will affect the coasts of WA, SA, VIC, and TAS. Waves of 3-4 metres, SW direction, and periods of 10-12 seconds will impact the coastal region of western WA, southern SA, western VIC, and western/southern TAS from tomorrow morning. 

This swell will move to the east and increase on Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th. Waves are likely to be largest on the coast western areas of VIC and TAS, potentially exceeding 5 metres high in the surf zone over western TAS. 

Significant Wave Heigh on Tuesday 17th at 7am using Wave Watch III 

Another important impact will be over the coastal areas will be the full moon on Monday 16th. During the full and the new moons (when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are reasonably well-aligned), the gap between the high and low tides is bigger and the waves’ impact on the coast is amplified.  

The impact of this big swell combined with the full moon over the coastal zones includes significant erosion and flooding, mainly for VIC and TAS.  

The waves will ease and move away from late Wednesday 18th.