The start of the year was brought in with a drenching with ex-tropical cyclone Seth whipping up the beaches and providing for great conditions for the experienced surfers. Most of the festive break saw rainy conditions prevail with the official word from the bureau of meteorology stating that 2021 was the first time in many years the no large parts of the country was suffering from a lack of rain or drought-like conditions. A La Nina was predicted and Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography Dr Javier Leon from the University of the Sunshine Coast explained that La Niña rotates waves anticlockwise, which means an increase in waves approaching from the northeast and east, which can create great surfing conditions along the south-east coast. “The flip side is that La Niña increases the chances of cyclone formation. Combined with underlying warmer waters due to climate change, this might mean that stronger cyclones could travel to southern locations, such as the Sunshine Coast.” Seth certainly whipped up the beaches and made for some great waves and swell with local photographer Matt Saxton capturing this shot from Monday, January 3 at Yaroomba as the skies cleared and made for a rare sighting of the sun.