Halawa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surfers, Rusty here. Let’s be straight up – this outlook for the next 16 days is a bit of a heartbreaker. We’re looking at a persistent cross-shore wind that’s going to mess up just about everything that comes through. There are a few moments where the energy picks up, but the wind stays wrong.

The only break on the radar is Halawa, a reef/river setup that needs clean conditions to really shine. Over the next two weeks, we just don’t get that. Water temp is sitting at 81°, which is bang on normal for this time of year – not that it’ll matter much if you can’t get a clean face to ride.

Right now, into Monday the 24th of August, the swell is tiny at 2 ft from the NW with an 11-second period. The combined energy is a weak 58, and we’ve got a strong E crosswind at 25 mph. Messy cross-chop. Not worth paddling out. That theme holds through Tuesday the 25th: tiny swell, 1 ft, crosswind, energy dropping to 22 – forget it.

Wednesday the 26th morning sees a spike in energy to 199, with 5 ft of swell, but it’s short-period ENE windswell at just 6 seconds and that same cross-shore wind. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. Thursday the 27th and Friday the 28th are much the same – moderate energy in the 150-180 range, but the wind chops it all up.

Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th bring the swell up a notch to 6-6 ft from the ENE, with energy climbing into the 270s. Still, the wind is cross-shore every session. The waves will have push, but they’ll be lumpy and hard to enjoy.

Then we hit Monday the 31st of August through to Wednesday the 2nd of September. This is the most significant size of the whole period. Swell hits 7 ft to 8 ft from the NE and ENE, with combined energy surging to 730 and 784. That’s moderate-to-strong wave energy. But here’s the kicker: that’s getting into expert-only territory size-wise, and the cross-shore wind is still blowing 15-19 mph. For a reef setup like Halawa, that’s a no-go for most of us. It’s messy, it’s big, and the wind is just wrong.

After that, the energy tapers. Thursday the 3rd of September has 6 ft ENE swell, energy at 357, but still cross-wind. Friday the 4th drops right off to 1 ft. The weekend of the 5th and 6th sees a bit of a bounce back to 5-6 ft, but the cross-wind and short periods (5-6 seconds) kill the quality.

There is one wildcard – Monday the 8th of September. A long-period NW groundswell rolls in at 3 ft with a 16-second period. That long period means better shaped waves at a reef like Halawa, but the combined energy is only 542 and the wind is a strong cross-shore at 25 mph. The swell direction from NW is right in Halawa’s optimum zone (NNW), which is a tease. But with that wind, it’s a classic case of "if only."

In short, there are no standout sessions in this 16-day window. The energy comes and goes, but the wind stays cross-shore and the surf quality never breaks out of "poor." For a spot that’s fairly consistent, this is a frustrating run. But around here, forecasts can change, so don’t write the whole month off yet.

Rusty.

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