Hookipa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – the outlook for Hookipa over the next couple of weeks is a tough one. We’re looking at a long stretch of challenging conditions. The swell’s there, no doubt, but the wind is going to be the main character in this story, and not in a good way. For the most part, we’re dealing with cross-shore winds that are just trashing the surface. We’ve got nearly two weeks ahead where the surf won’t be any good for a proper session.

Let's start from the very beginning. Wednesday the 12th and Thursday the 13th are write-offs. We’ve got a moderate cross-shore wind at 12 mph creating a messy cross-chop on a 5 ft to 5 ft swell from the ENE. The energy is weak, sitting around the 225 to 336 mark. Not worth getting wet.

Moving into Friday the 14th, the swell ticks up to 7 ft from the east with a 9-second period. The wave energy climbs to 625, which is a bit more moderate, but it’s still a poor forecast with a cross-chop ruining any chance of a clean wave. Saturday the 15th gets bigger – 12 ft to 13 ft from the east – but the wind is a strong breeze at 25 mph, smashing the surface into a messy lump. The energy is massive at over 4500, but it’s a complete mess. Honestly, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Now, Sunday the 16th of August is the one day that catches my eye. The wind shifts to a cross-offshore breeze from the ESE. It’s still fresh at 22 mph in the morning and a moderate 12 mph in the afternoon, but the description says it’s clean. The swell is still big – 12 ft in the morning dropping to 10 ft in the afternoon – with a short period of 8 to 9 seconds. That’s expert territory for sure, as anything over 8 ft is for experienced surfers only. This is the one standout in the whole forecast. It’s a risky call with the big swell and a chance of thunderstorms, but if you can handle it, it’s your only real window for a proper wave. The energy is strong (1117 to 2232).

After that, we fall back into the pattern. Monday the 17th through the rest of the month sees the swell dropping to 4 ft to 6 ft, but it’s back to that relentless cross-shore wind. The wave energy stays weak to moderate (below 500 for most of it). There’s a brief uptick on the 27th of August with the swell from the east at 6 ft and a 9-second period, bumping the energy to 493, but the wind is still cross-shore. It’s not enough to save the run.

So, bottom line: the next two weeks are mostly a bust for clean surf at Hookipa. The only real shot is on the morning of Sunday the 16th of August if you’re an expert after a big, clean wave with a cross-offshore wind. The rest of the time, the wind just won’t play ball. Keep an eye on it, though, because things can change.

Rusty.

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