Kahuku Ranch Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at the upcoming surf for Kahuku Ranch.

We got a run of small to moderate south swell coming through over the next couple of weeks, but the wind’s gonna be the main story. The early part of the window looks pretty good, but after a few days the trades crank up and it gets ugly. Water temp is about 81°, right around normal for this time of year.

Straight up, the best session on the board is Wednesday morning, August 12th at Kahuku Ranch (Big Island). There’s a clean 3ft south swell rolling in with a very long 18 second period – that’s real groundswell, gonna have some serious juice and those long lulls between sets. The wind is a light 9 mph cross-off from the east, keeping the surface glassy. Combined energy is 912 (moderate), and it just feels like a really good morning. That’s the one to set the alarm for.

Following that, Thursday morning, August 13th is also worth a paddle. Similar setup: 4ft south swell, 15 second period, with a lighter 6 mph east cross-off breeze. Combined energy is 746. Clean again and should be really fun. The south direction ain’t perfect (SW would be ideal), but it’s working fine.

Friday morning, August 14th, looks odd. Swell is still 4ft from the south, period 14 seconds, but the wind finally swings to a light 6 mph onshore from the southwest. That ruins the quality and energy drops to 591, so it’s marginal at best.

From Friday afternoon onward, it’s a long stretch of pretty poor conditions. The trade winds get up strong – 16 to 22 mph from the east – and stick around for days. The swell drops to 2ft to 3ft, period gets shorter, and most of the time we’re looking at poor or marginal scores. There’s a brief flicker on Saturday morning, August 15th with glassy 3 mph wind from the northwest, but the swell is only 3ft at 13 seconds and combined energy is just 422. It’s surfable and clean, but not a standout.

The rest of the second week into late August is a write-off for quality surfing. The swell does bump up again around August 25th to 4ft from the SSW, and the energy gets strong (1065), but the trades are howling at 22 mph. That setup is way better for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer – the wind and chop will make it a battle. Conditions are marginal at best, and that long period (14-15 seconds) south swell on a reef like Kahuku Ranch can sometimes run a bit straight and fast, so it’s really only for experienced crew if they’re desperate.

So, wrap it up: get out on Wednesday morning, August 12th. That’s the clear winner. Thursday morning, August 13th is your backup. After that, it’s a long dry spell with mostly strong winds and ordinary surf until the end of the forecast.

Rusty.

Read more