Halawa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s break down what’s coming for Halawa.

Truth be told, it’s a slow and sloppy start. The wind is stuck out of the east-northeast, blowing across the break, and it just won’t let up. The swell is there, but the quality is nowhere. This is a reef/river wave that needs the wind to be kind, and for the first week plus, it’s just not happening.

Starting Friday, 28 August, through the weekend and into early September, we’ve got clear skies but persistent cross-shore winds at 15-19 mph. Swell builds from 4ft up to 7ft on Sunday morning, all from the ENE with a short, weak period of 6-7 seconds. The combined wave energy climbs from 125 to 374, but it’s all lumpy cross-chop. The surf is poor. Nothing to get excited about.

That pattern keeps going through the next week. Monday the 31st sees swell hitting 7ft, ENE, period still short at 7 seconds, combined energy at 428. Wind stays fresh from the east-northeast at 19 mph, cross, and it’s still poor. Tuesday 1 September shows a slight wind drop to 16 mph, combined energy jumps to 544, but it’s still cross-shore with a messed-up face. Poor.

There’s a weird little blip on Thursday afternoon, 3 September – swell drops to just 0.3ft from the west, period 9 seconds, but that’s not worth paddling for.

The second week finally starts to show something. By Wednesday morning, 9 September, we start seeing marginal surf with a rating of 1 out of 10. Swell is 6ft from the ENE, period 10 seconds now, combined energy 744. Wind is lighter, a gentle breeze from the NE, but it’s cross-onshore and still fairly choppy. Not clean, but closer.

Thursday 10 September is the standout in the whole outlook. Morning shows 7ft from the NE, period 10 seconds, combined energy 865, and the wind is light from the NNE at 6 mph – that’s cross-onshore but nearly glassy. It’s rated 2 out of 10, which is the best we see in this whole 16-day window. The swell direction is close to the optimum NNW, so it has some potential. This is the one to watch. It’s still a bit lumpy, but for Halawa, that’s the best we’ve got.

Friday 11 September brings the biggest swell of the run – 8ft from the ENE, period 9 seconds, combined energy 1230. That’s strong energy, but the wind is cross from the ENE at 6-9 mph, so it’s not clean. It’s marginal, and at 8ft+ with that short period, it’s really only for the experts. The waves will be powerful but messy.

After that, Saturday 12 September drops off hard – swell falls to 4ft from the NNE, combined energy 149, and the cross-wind picks up again. Back to poor.

So, overall, there’s a long stretch of poor surf through the first week and a half. The one real standout is the morning of Thursday 10 September – that’s your best chance for something half decent, with light wind and a solid NE swell. It’s still not perfect, but it’s the best on offer. The bigger Friday 11 September session is there for the experienced crew who don’t mind some chop.

No buoys to check, just what the models are saying. Keep an eye on that Thursday morning.

Rusty.

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