Halawa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Well, I’ve had a good look at the charts for Halawa, and I’ve gotta be straight with you – this stretch of 16 days looks pretty grim. There’s hardly a window worth paddling out for. The northeast trade winds are just relentless, blowing cross-shore almost the whole time and messing up any chance of clean faces. The weak energy levels most days, with combined readings down around 21 to 450, tell the story – it’s mostly weak to moderate at best, and the wave state is always described as poor.

The only flicker of hope comes on Tuesday the 8th of September. The morning sees the wind finally swing offshore from the south at 19 mph, a fresh breeze that’ll clean things right up. Swell jumps to 7 ft out of the ENE with a period of 11 seconds – that’s a nice little groundswell, long enough to wrap in and give some shape, though it might break a bit straight on the beach. The combined energy hits 904, so there’s moderate power behind it. This is your standout for the whole outlook. The afternoon gets even better with a moderate offshore breeze from the south at 16 mph, swell dropping slightly to 6 ft still from the WSW, but the energy bumps up to 1228. It’s clean, it’s offshore, and though the forecast says marginal due to tide, this is as good as it gets. Halawa is a reef and river setup, exposed to the optimum NNW swell direction, so this bit of ENE and WSW energy is a little off its best angle, but the offshore wind is the real hero here. It’s a fairly consistent break, but expect crowds sometimes. Water temp is about average for this time of year.

After that, it’s a dry spell. Wednesday the 9th starts with rain showers and the wind turning cross-off, but the swell period drops to just 8 seconds – short and weak – and the energy tanks. From Thursday the 10th right through to the 21st, it’s all cross-shore wind and poor surf conditions. The combined energy sits mostly below 400, with some days dipping under 100, like Saturday the 12th morning at 72. This is a long, frustrating gap of nearly two weeks with nothing worth chasing.

Then on Thursday the 17th of September, swell rises again to 6 ft from the ENE, but the period is a short 7 seconds and the wind is still cross-shore at 12-19 mph. The energy is moderate at 325-337, but the wind just ruins it. Same story from the 18th to the 20th – consistent 6 ft ENE swell, but cross-shore trades hammering at 19-22 mph, making it lumpy and choppy. This kind of setup, with significant swell and strong cross-shore wind on a beach and reef break, honestly looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

The tail end of the outlook on the 21st and 22nd sees the swell drop back to tiny, with some long-period 11-13 second energy from the NW and W, but the combined energy is weak (56-92). The trades keep blowing cross-shore. There’s just no clean, rideable wave in this whole window beyond that one Tuesday the 8th. If you’re desperate, that Tuesday morning and afternoon are your only real chance for a clean surf. Otherwise, I’d be patient and wait for the next forecast run.

Rusty.

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