Kahului Harbor Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – the outlook for Kahului Harbor over the next sixteen days is about as exciting as watching paint dry. The swell is nearly always coming from the east-northeast, which for this spot needs to swing around to the north-northeast to really line up right, and it almost never does.

Right from Saturday the 29th of August, it’s a write-off. We’ve got a 5ft east-northeast swell at a short 7 seconds, with a cross wind at 16 mph. The water is 80°, which is about average for this time of year. The combined energy is weak at 280, and the word on the street is “poor surf conditions.” That theme runs all the way through the first week into early September. Every day is the same story: moderate cross or cross-onshore winds, swell height hovering between 5ft and 6ft, period stuck at 7 to 8 seconds, wave energy staying in the moderate range (271 to 648), and the comment never improving beyond “poor.”

It gets worse before it gets better. On Saturday the 5th of September, a bigger swell pushes in – 8ft on Saturday morning, climbing to 8ft by the afternoon, with the period finally hitting 11 seconds. But the wind is still cross-onshore at 16 mph, energy jumps to strong at 1753, and it’s only rated as marginal. That’s not a session you drive for.

Sunday the 6th of September goes full-on angry: 13ft swell, 10-second period, wind screaming 22 to 31 mph from the east-northeast, energy reading a massive 5700. That’s a “near gale cross-onshore and blown out” situation – completely unsurfable. Surge from that much water moving around might be interesting for kite gear, but not for paddle surfing.

There’s a tiny window Monday the 7th of September, when the swell drops back to 7ft and the wind lightens a bit to cross at 13 mph. The energy is still moderate at 578, and it’s rated as marginal. It’s not a standout, just a maybe if you’re desperate.

After that, we slide back into the same poor conditions through the second week. From the 8th to the 13th of September, it’s all 3ft to 6ft, east-northeast or northeast swell, period 8 to 10 seconds, wind mostly cross-onshore, and energy dropping from 500 down to 155. The only glimmer is on Sunday the 13th of September afternoon, when the wind finally goes light and cross-offshore from the east at 6 mph, giving us a clean 3ft north-northeast swell at 9 seconds. That’s considered “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions” – barely worth a mention.

So here’s the bottom line: there are no true standouts in this 16-day run. The only day that might be okay is Monday the 7th of September, but it’s still marginal. Kahului Harbor is a reef break that needs a north-northeast swell and some offshore love to really work, and it’s not getting either. It’s a long, quiet stretch, and honestly, that’s just how it goes sometimes. Don’t hold your breath – forecasts can change, but right now, it’s looking like you might want to pick up another hobby for a couple of weeks.

Rusty.

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