NORTHERLY winds have battered the southern Gold Coast's famous point breaks these past few weeks.

They have brought warm boardshort weather but sloppy swells during what Weather Channel chief meteorologist Dick Whitaker said was becoming the driest start to November since 1919.

Nathan Dorrington from Coolangatta was heading for a wave at Snapper Rocks yesterday afternoon during easing winds which still kept many surfers at bay.

He said the northerlies had persisted for the past three weeks.

"And, yeah, they'll probably last longer, maybe three weeks or even a month," Mr Dorrington said.

"I'm sort of used to this happening about this time each year, but it wasn't too bad last year because it was raining a fair bit.

"They're saying it's going to be a wet summer, but I don't know."

Mr Whitaker said a slow-moving high pressure system in the Tasman Sea was leading to "west flank winds from the north, in a persistent fashion, for the last week or so".

"And you won't see any real change in that pattern until Monday, if at all, and the forecast is for no significant break until Thursday."

Mr Dorrington was philosophical about losing precious time on the board by catching up on work at family business, Dorrington Surfboards' Global Headquarters in Kirra.

"I just end up stuck at the surf shop," he said.