Weather News

Huge waves bound for Australia

Ben Domensino, Monday July 16, 2018 - 14:22 AEST

One of the largest swells in recent years will slam into Australia's southern coast during the next three days.

A series of complex low pressure systems passing over the southern Indian Ocean are producing a powerful long-period swell that's heading straight for Australia.

The approaching swell will affect coastal areas from the southwest corner of WA across to Victoria and Tasmania between now and Wednesday.

While large swell events are to be expected at this time of year in southern Australia, this week's waves will easily be the biggest so far during 2018.

This swell event is being made particularly because the waves are being created by multiple strong low pressure systems passing over the same area of ocean. This type of setup allows each successive system to pass over a region with an already active sea state, effectively supercharging the rate of wave growth.

Waves are forecast to exceed eight metres along exposed coasts in the south and southwest of WA on Tuesday, although some waves are likely to be much larger than this. As the swell won't lose any energy crossing the Bight, parts of Victoria and Tasmania will see similarly huge conditions on Wednesday.

This swell will cause dangerous conditions for a large area of Australia coastline, not only in the water but along the shoreline as well. Visit http://www.weatherzone.com.au/warnings.jsp for the latest warnings.

- Weatherzone

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