Hakalau Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here again. Let’s talk about what’s coming up.

Honestly, for the next couple of weeks, it’s looking like a rough go for a paddle. We’ve got a long dry spell to start, with no decent surf on the table. The whole first week and into the second is dominated by cross-onshore wind and choppy, messy conditions, with the highlights only coming through as "marginal" at best. It’s one of those periods where you’d be better off doing something else. The combined swell energy is mostly weak to moderate, with the reading sitting around 168 to a few hundred early on, so not much punch behind it.

Then, there's a slight shift around Thursday, August 27th. The swell goes long period—around 16 seconds—coming from the east. That’s groundswell, and the combined energy picks up to 441. But the wind is still onshore or cross-on, and the height is only around 2ft to 3ft. It’s not clean enough to get excited about.

Now, if you’re looking for the best of a bad lot, you gotta skip ahead to Monday, August 31st. By the afternoon, Hakalau (Big Island) sees an 8ft swell from the ENE, with period around 11 seconds, and the combined energy is strong at 1808. The wind switches to a light cross-shore from the NNW, which will clean it up a bit. It’s still a marginal call, but that’s the best shape we’ll see. That kind of size (over 8ft) is for experienced surfers only though. The cross-shore wind will help keep it from being a complete mess, but it’s not glassy.

Earlier in the day, on the same Monday morning, the swell is similar in size but the wind is a moderate cross-onshore at 12 mph from the north, causing more chop. So the afternoon window is your pick. Crowds are possible here sometimes.

Other than that, Tuesday, September 1st morning has the same 8ft from the NE with a 10-second period, but it's a light cross-onshore again, so it’s still not a standout. Energy is 1220. The rest just fades back into smaller, shorter-period, wind-affected surf.

So, the long and short of it: wait until the very end of August and hope the wind plays nice. The water temp is sitting around 81°F with a slight positive anomaly of 1°F, so it's pretty average for this time of year—nothing unusual.

Rusty.

Read more