Wild weather hits Albany as three cold fronts cross southern WA, with conditions set to ease by Friday

Albany was hit by the third cold front in as many days on Wednesday, with huge swells and high winds pounding the Great Southern coast, with conditions set to ease by the end of the week. The South West Land Division was hit by a series of cold fronts on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with the brunt of it hitting Albany on Tuesday night. Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Luke Huntington said about 13mm of rain had been recorded at Albany Airport by midnight Tuesday, with a further 10-20mm expected to fall on Wednesday. Seven to 10m swells were also expected off the Great Southern coastline set to ease by Thursday morning. “Those 10m swells will probably be more offshore but in shore you’re probably looking at more around 7m,” Mr Huntington said. The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds on Wednesday, describing the weather system hitting the south of the State as “windier and longer-lasting than a typical front” and was “only seen about once per year”. A further marine wind warning for gale force winds was also in place for the Albany coastline on Wednesday and Thursday. The Albany Airport weather station recorded 75-80km/h wind gusts on Wednesday morning, and Mr Huntington said wind gusts could hit 100km/h in Albany throughout Wednesday. He said he expected the wild conditions would ease towards the end of the week. “By Friday, we do have a high-pressure ridge coming in which usually means settled conditions so it’s really just Wednesday with the severe weather,” Mr Huntington said.