Hookipa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it. I’ve been staring at the charts for our region, and honestly, it’s a bit of a rough patch ahead. We’re looking at a long stretch of tricky conditions, but there’s a glimmer of hope if you’re patient and an expert on a bigger board.

The overall pattern is dominated by a persistent, moderate cross-shore wind out of the east and east-northeast. This breeze is going to be a thorn in our side for the vast majority of the next 16 days, keeping the surface lumpy and crossed up. The swell is present, but it’s short-period, wind-affected stuff for the most part, which means poor quality and a lot of chop.

We kick off the window on Monday, the 31st of August, with Hookipa looking at a 6 ft swell from the east-northeast, but that 16 mph cross-wind is just ruining it. The combined energy is moderate at 441, but the wave comment says it all: “poor surf conditions.” That’s our reality for the first week, really. We get a bump in size on the 2nd of September, hitting 7 ft, and the energy jumps to 647, but the wind freshens to 19 mph, making it a lumpy, cross-chop mess. This continues day after day with the same story – size hanging around 6 ft to 8 ft, but the wind never lets up. The water temp is a balmy 80°, which is bang on average for this time of year.

Now, the first real standout shows up on the 4th of September. The Friday afternoon session sees the swell period stretch out to a proper 13 seconds of groundswell, and the combined energy rockets up to 1567 – that’s strong wave energy. The swell size is 7 ft from the east, and while the wind is still cross-shore at 16 mph, the quality is finally described as “marginal” instead of poor. This is a step up. The direction is off the optimum for Hookipa (which likes a north-northeast swell), but the long period will give it some push.

The best of the lot, and the only real standout I’d paddle out for, looks to be the morning of Saturday, the 5th of September. The swell holds at 8 ft from the east-northeast with that same long 13-second period, and the energy is a massive 1731. The wind is a bit lighter at 12 mph, which is still cross-shore, but it’s the best wind we’ve seen in the whole window. For an expert surfer, this is your window. The 8 ft height is getting into the "experts only" territory, especially with that long period that will make it wall up and break a bit straight at a beach break, but Hookipa is a reef. The long period groundswell is better suited for reefs and points, so the shape has potential. Expect it to be a bit fat and closed out in sections, but there will be some bombs.

After that Saturday, the energy drops off quickly. By the 8th of September, we’re back to short-period, weak swell and lumpy winds. The rest of the second week tails off into really weak surf, with the 14th and 15th of September barely registering 2 ft to 3 ft of swell with low energy. It’s a flat spell to finish the outlook.

So, in summary: the first week is a write-off due to constant onshore wind. The standout is the morning of Saturday, 5th September, at Hookipa. The 8 ft, 13-second east-northeast groundswell with 12 mph cross-wind is the best we’ll see. It’s a big, powerful, long-period swell that is only for experienced surfers who know the reef. Get on it if you can, because after that, it’s a long wait.

Rusty.

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