A pulse of swell across northeast NSW and southeast Queensland put new Christmas surfboards to the test this morning. 

A brisk southerly wind marching up the NSW coast and into southeast Queensland following passage of a trough and front into the Tasman Sea led to a rapid spike in southerly swell. Combining this pulse of swell with a public holiday and a plethora of brand new surfboards delivered recently by Santa, it was understandable to see the many point breaks of the Gold Coast and Tweed/Ballina shire busy with keen surfers. 

The Byron Bay waverider buoy measured a peak in Significant Wave Heights (Hs) of 4.6m earlier this morning, along with a Maximum Wave Height (Hmax) of 8.4m (as seen in the figure below). Not too long afterwards, the buoy located off North Stradbroke Island (offshore of Brisbane) saw Hs reach similar levels, with an Hmax value getting close to 10m! Gusty south-to-southeasterly winds have also been measured across the region, with Cape Moreton registering a wind gust of 87km/h and Cape Byron a gust of 78km/h. 

Figure: Plot of Hmax and Hs for the Byron Bay waverider buoy showing a spike in swell on Tuesday morning, with peak values of 4.6m for Hs and 8.4m for Hmax. (Manly Hydraulics Laboratory) 

This swell will be short lived, and is already on the decline from this morning. Winds have also swung more southeasterly since then, decreasing the quality of the waves at the points. Swell height will continue to decrease gradually into Wednesday and Thursday, with winds generally maintaining a south-to-southeasterly direction, with the best opportunity for clean surf in the mornings. Onwards from this, tropical activity to the north may begin sending some solid easterly swell into the New Year, possibly lighting up the Superbank once again.