Kahului Harbor Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's talk about what's on the menu for Kahului Harbor over the next couple of weeks. It's a bit of a mixed bag, and honestly, there's a lot of waiting involved for the true standout sessions.

Right now, the water temp is sitting about average for this time of year, so no surprises there. The immediate outlook is pretty gnarly, but in a frustrating way. We've got a solid 6ft cross-shore chop from the ENE with a short, weak 7-second period (combined energy of 439), making for some real poor surf conditions. That's the story for Thursday and into Friday morning – lumpy, cross-shore junk. Friday afternoon actually sees a jump in swell height to 7ft and a longer 14-second period (1731 energy), but it's coming in cross-onshore and choppy, so it's a no-go.

Saturday holds some hope but still marred by onshore winds. The swell stays in the 7ft to 7ft range from the ENE with a nice 13 to 14-second period, giving it some grunt. But the wind is ruining it – still cross-onshore and choppy. It's a marginal call at best.

Now, Sunday the 6th and Monday the 7th start to get interesting, even if the conditions aren't perfect. We've got a consistent 7ft to 8ft swell from the ENE, with a long 13-second period. The combined energy is building from 1385 up to 1825 – that's some solid, moderate to strong wave energy. The wind is still cross-shore, but it's lighter, only a gentle to moderate breeze, which keeps the chop from being total chaos. These are marginal days, but the swell is there and it's better than the early week crap. Monday afternoon sees a bigger jump to 10ft ENE swell (3862 energy), and while the wind is still cross-shore, the model is flagging that this might actually be too big for this harbor break, making it an expert-only zone.

The best on offer is looking like Tuesday the 8th. The swell drops back, but the stars align. Tuesday morning we get a 4ft ENE swell with a 10-second period, and the wind swings to a clean offshore from the S. It’s only a moderate breeze, but it's offshore, which for a reef break like Kahului Harbor (Hawaii) is a huge plus. The water will be smooth. The combined energy is a moderate 469, but the quality is what counts. Tuesday afternoon gets even better: the swell drops to 2ft, but it's a long-period 14-second groundswell from the E (382 energy) with a glassy, clean SSW wind that is nearly calm. This is a window for some clean, if small, waves.

After that, from Wednesday the 9th through the weekend, we're looking at a mix of small, marginal ENE swell and persistent cross to cross-onshore winds. The swell drops to around 3ft to 3ft but with a nice 14-second period – you might get a clean one on Wednesday morning with light cross-shore winds, but don't get your hopes up.

The following week gives us a big pulse of swell. Monday the 14th and Tuesday the 15th see the swell absolutely pumping from the ENE and E, hitting 12ft to 15ft with strong to very strong energy (2733 to 4396). The wind is cross-shore but the model is again screaming that this is too big for the break. That's a "brave only" kind of session – if you're not an expert on a big gun, stay far away. The period is 10 to 11 seconds, which is a bit short for that size, so it will be a thumping, relentless wall of whitewater.

The tail end of the forecast, from the 16th onward, fades back into poor, choppy, cross-onshore conditions with dropping swell.

So, to sum it up: cleanest conditions by far are Tuesday the 8th. The biggest, most powerful swell windows are Monday the 14th and Tuesday the 15th, but only for the experts who know the harbor's ins and outs when it's maxed out.

Stay safe out there.

Rusty

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