Halawa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let me tell you straight: the next couple of weeks are looking pretty grim for a proper paddle. We’ve got a lot of onshore and cross-shore energy coming through, and every single forecast window is marked as poor surf. I’m not going to sugarcoat it – you might be better off doing something else with your time for a while.

The first few days, from Wednesday the 9th through the weekend, are a write-off. We’ve got swell in the water, but it’s short, weak, and coming from the wrong directions. Wednesday morning kicks off with a 4.3ft ENE windswell, but the period is a short 8 seconds, and the wind is a cross-shore 12 mph. That combo is going to leave it lumpy and messy. The afternoon sees a slight bump to 4.9ft, but the period drops to 8 seconds, and the rain and cross-breeze will make it feel like a washing machine. The combined energy is moderate at best – 481 and then 434 – but that doesn’t matter when the quality is this bad.

Thursday the 10th is no better. Morning drops to 2ft and basically flat, and while the afternoon has 5.2ft on offer, it’s a 7-second period, which is just mush. The energy is there, 238, but it’s short and weak. Friday the 11th gets a brief tease – the morning pushes to 3.9ft with a longer 11-second period, which could have been interesting, but the cross-offshore wind and the fact it’s still coming from ENE means it’s just going to close out or blow out. The energy is moderate at 420, but it’s all for nothing.

The weekend continues this rubbish trend. Saturday and Sunday have small, short-period swell, never above 3ft, and the wind stays cross-shore. The energy is all over the place – from 170 to 217 – but it’s all under 10 seconds, so it’s going to be small, weak, and messy. This pattern holds through the start of next week. Monday the 14th has a slight drop in wind, but it turns more onshore, and the swell is still weak. Tuesday is more of the same – 3.6ft of 7-second slop. Nothing to get excited about.

Now, we do see a push in size mid-week. From Wednesday the 16th through Friday the 18th, we get a consistent 6.9ft to 7.2ft swell, but the period is a terrible 7 seconds, and the trade winds are blowing 19 mph cross-shore. That’s a lot of energy – we’re talking 388 to 489 – but it’s all short, stormy, and blown out. It’s not surf; it’s just a messy, bumpy ocean. If you’re into kiting, this stretch might actually look fun, because there’s plenty of wind and raw water, but for a paddle, forget it.

The weekend of the 19th and into the 20th is a crash. Saturday morning still has that 7.5ft slop, but by Saturday afternoon it drops off a cliff to 0.7ft. Sunday plummets further, with tiny 1.3ft and 1.6ft swells from the NNW with a longer period (11-13 seconds), but the energy has vanished – down to 74 and then 71. It’s flat, plain and simple.

The tail end of the forecast, from the 21st to the 24th, shows a little more life but still nothing worth paddling out for. The swells stay small, under 3.3ft, and the period fluctuates between 9 and 15 seconds. The big swells on the 23rd and 24th – with periods of 14-15 seconds – have some decent energy behind them (267 to 371), but it’s coming from NNW, which is a bit inconsistent, and the wind is still a fresh cross-shore. It’s just not clean, and it’s still not breaking well.

Honestly, for the entire 16-day window, there is not one single moment I’d recommend. It’s a blank run. Now, Halawa is a reef/river setup, and it’s fairly consistent, so it tends not to stay this poor for too long. The forecasts can change, but as it stands, you’re looking at a long stretch of nothing. The water temp is 80° – that’s about normal for this time of year, so it’s not a factor. It’s just the wind and the short-period junk that’s killing it.

Hang loose and check back later. This is a bust.

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