Surf Forecasts:
Hakalau surf forecast from 10 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 11 Sep, 11PM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 10s period, ENE swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 11 Sep, 5AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 11s period, ENE swell with 408 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 11 Sep, 11PM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 10s period with ENE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Hakalau this week:
The surf forecast for Hakalau over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (Sep 11) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.7m and 8s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Hakalau in the next 16 days are 1.3m 11s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Sep 11) at 5AM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.4m 10s period and expected on Thursday (Sep 10) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (HST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Fri 11th Sep) | 3ft (0.9m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 11PM (Fri 11th Sep) | 3ft (0.9m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 5AM (Fri 11th Sep) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 11s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Hakalau over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, let’s get this straight. The ocean’s lookin’ at us with a bit of a stink-eye right now out Hakalau way. For the first stretch, there’s just nothing worth paddling out for. The surf is small, weak, and the trade winds are coming at us from the wrong direction, messing up any chance of clean lines. It's gonna be a slow start, with the first couple of days being properly junky – we’re talkin’ Thursday the 10th and Friday the 11th, where the swell’s barely 3 feet and the wind’s cross-onshore. The energy’s there (291 and 310 on the energy scale) but it’s all messy and short-period, nothing that’s gonna have you jumping out of bed.
We have to wait a while for anything to change. The whole first week is pretty much a write-off. The swell does start to build a bit from Monday the 15th, but the wind stays cross-onshore and those pulses are still short-period, so it’s just gonna be lumpy. By Wednesday the 16th, we’re seeing 5-foot plus of that short-period windswell, but the wind’s up to 12 mph, making it choppy and unpleasant. It ain't surf. Then we get a bit of a push on Friday the 18th – the swell jumps up to 6 feet, and the energy starts to read as proper moderate (509, then 554). The wind is onshore, but it's light. It’s better, but it’s still going to be lumpy and unorganized.
The second week continues on this path, with the swell holding around 5-6 feet, but the wind is just never in our favor. It's constantly cross-onshore or onshore, with a lot of storm clouds around from the 20th onward. The energy gets strong – the 21st sees readings of 503 and 521 – but it’s all short-period, wind-blown slop. Honestly, for the whole 16 days, I don’t see a single standout session.
The water temp’s about average for this time of year, sitting at 81°, nothing weird there.
So, plain and simple: we’re looking at a long, blank stretch of poor surf for the entire forecast. Hakalau, a river break, is exposed, and it’s just not doing its job. Conditions are that bad that maybe the kitesurfers will have some fun, but for us paddle surfers, it’s going to be a long wait. The forecasts can change, but right now it’s a whole lot of nothing.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 12mm), heaviest on Wed night. Warm (max 27°C on Wed afternoon, min 24°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummarySome drizzle, heaviest during Mon night. Warm (max 27°C on Tue morning, min 24°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Wed 9 | Thursday 10 | Friday 11 | Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | Tuesday 15 | ||||||||||||||
PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 12 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 11 | ENE 11 | ENE 11 | ENE 10 | ENE 10 | NNE 9 | NNE 9 | NNE 9 | NE 8 | NE 8 | NE 8 | NE 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 190 | 203 | 178 | 149 | 401 | 249 | 240 | 169 | 154 | 108 | 116 | 116 | 138 | 201 | 154 | 125 | 117 | 135 | 248 | 362 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | on | on | glassy | on | on | glassy | on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 2:13PM1.00m | 2:20AM0.74m | 2:41PM0.97m | 2:59AM0.80m | 3:08PM0.91m | 3:37AM0.85m | 3:32PM0.84m | 4:14AM0.87m | 3:53PM0.76m | 4:51AM0.86m | 4:11PM0.69m | 5:32AM0.83m | 4:23PM0.62m | |||||||
Low Tide | 8:40PM0.18m | 8:13AM0.12m | 9:03PM0.15m | 8:55AM0.16m | 9:26PM0.12m | 9:35AM0.22m | 9:48PM0.11m | 10:14AM0.28m | 10:11PM0.11m | 10:54AM0.36m | 10:33PM0.13m | 11:37AM0.43m | 10:56PM0.16m | |||||||
 |  |  | |  |  | |  | | | | | | |  | | | |  |  | |
 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — |
 | 6:28 | — | — | 6:27 | — | — | 6:25 | — | — | 6:25 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:23 | — | — | 6:22 | — |
mm | 2 | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | 7 |
Temp °C | 27 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 26 |
Feels °C | 29 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 28 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 8 | E 12 | E 11 | ENE 7 | ENE 11 | ENE 11 | ENE 11 | ENE 10 | ENE 10 | NNE 9 | NNE 9 | NNE 9 | NE 8 | NE 8 | NE 8 | NE 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 |
| kJ | 161 | 139 | 93 | 149 | 401 | 249 | 240 | 169 | 154 | 94 | 116 | 116 | 138 | 201 | 154 | 125 | 117 | 135 | 248 | 362 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 12 | NW 10 | SE 9 | ENE 11 | SE 9 | NNE 8 | NNE 8 | NNE 8 | NNE 8 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 8 | NE 8 | NE 8 | NNE 8 | E 11 |
| kJ | 190 | 35 | 20 | 102 | 27 | 37 | 45 | 52 | 61 | 108 | 82 | 80 | 24 | 48 | 43 | 66 | 84 | 84 | 51 | 55 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 9 | SE 9 | NW 9 | SE 9 | NNW 9 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 9 | SE 8 | SE 8 | NW 13 | NW 12 | S 8 | S 7 | E 11 | E 11 | SSE 12 |
| kJ | 30 | 21 | 14 | 27 | 8 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 10 | 15 | 53 | 69 | 33 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 22 | 38 | 14 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | 203 | 178 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 20 | 156 | 0 | 122 | 95 | 14 | 72 | 72 | 0 | 20 | 74 | 18 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Big Island | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Hakalau surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Hakalau Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Hakalau provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Hakalau can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Hakalau surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Hakalau) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Hakalau may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Hakalau is 21 km (13 miles) from Hilo. If you plan a vacation in Big Island, look for hotels and other accommodation in Hilo. Hilo has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest