Halawa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m gonna be straight with you – this outlook for Halawa is a tough one to write. We’ve got a 16-day window, but honestly, there’s not a single session that’s worth paddling out for. The data tells me the surf is just flat-out poor for the entire period, with no recommendations at all. It’s a blank run, and that’s not unusual for this area when the swell and wind don’t line up.

Let’s start with what we’ve got. The water temperature at Halawa sits at 80°F, with an anomaly of just 0.2°F – that’s about average for this time of year, so no surprises there. The first few days, Wednesday 12th and Thursday 13th of August, are a write-off. Tiny swell of 0.7ft with a mix of cross and cross-on winds blowing at 19 mph, and the combined energy is in the single digits (8 and 5). It’s lumpy, messy, and there’s nothing to ride.

We do see a pulse of swell from Friday 14th through to Tuesday 18th, with heights climbing to 6ft to 7ft, but the wind stays a problem. Cross-shore and cross-onshore from the ENE at 19 to 22 mph, and the wave comment is consistently “poor surf conditions.” The periods are short too – 6 to 9 seconds – so it’s weak, wind-affected slop. The combined energy hits moderate levels (245 to 677), but it doesn’t matter when the quality is this bad. It’s a messy, lumpy cross-chop. For a reef/river setup like Halawa, that’s just not surfable.

From Saturday 15th through Monday 17th, the swell drops back to 0.7ft, and we get rain showers and even risk of thunderstorms. The wind is strong, 28 mph, with cross-shore and cross-off conditions. The energy is weak (9 to 25). There’s a brief moment Sunday afternoon with “clean” conditions, but the swell is still 0.7ft – it’s a flat, clean lake, not surf.

The second week, from Tuesday 18th August onward, doesn’t offer much hope. The swell picks up again to 5ft to 7ft, with periods of 6 to 7 seconds, and the wind stays moderate to fresh cross-shore at 12 to 19 mph. The combined energy is moderate (149 to 413), but the wave comment is still “poor surf conditions.” It’s all cross-shore chop with a lumpy surface. Even the best-looking day, Friday 21st, with a 7ft ENE swell, is ruined by a moderate cross-shore wind. The direction is coming from ENE, which is close to the optimum NNW swell direction for Halawa, but it’s not enough to save it.

Towards the end of the window, from Tuesday 25th to Thursday 27th, the swell fades to 0.7ft to 1.0ft. The wind is fresh cross-shore at 19 mph, and the energy is basically nothing (4 to 12). This run is a total dud.

Look, there’s no standout here. No hidden gem. It’s all flat, chopped out, or just plain messy. If you’re a kite surfer, the moderate to strong cross-shore winds on the bigger swell days might get you interested, but for paddle surfing, it’s a hard pass. The area tends to have runs like this, so don’t be too gutted – forecasts can change, and it won’t stay poor forever. But for now, store the boards and wait for the next window.

Rusty.

Read more