Kihei Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about the next couple of weeks. It’s a bit of a slow burner, so don’t expect any heroics just yet. We’ve got a lot of small, clean days ahead, but the real window of opportunity shows up late in the game.

Right now, the surf is pretty quiet. The swell’s small, maybe waist-high at best on the better tides at Kihei Cove (South Maui). The water’s sitting at 80°, which is pretty much spot on for this time of year. The early part of this stretch is more about getting wet than getting barreled. You’ll see some glassy mornings around the 20th and 21st, but the waves will be weak and a little disorganized. The energy is low, with combined readings mostly in the 170-290 range, just not enough push.

We’ve got a few days where the wind tries to mess things up, but nothing too gnarly. The mornings are your best bet, especially when it’s clean and glassy. Saturday the 22nd has a bit of a bump in period, but it's still just small. The crowds here are a given, it’s a popular spot, so be ready for that.

Then, it starts to build. The 26th sees the energy jump into the 400s, and the swell direction swings around to the south. That’s when the cove starts to show some life. The 27th of August is shaping up to be the standout in this whole stretch. We’ve got a clean 3ft SSW swell but the energy numbers spike hard to 716, which tells me there’s some real power in the water. The winds are light and offshore, so it should be proper clean. This is the one you want to circle on the calendar, a Thursday morning that looks like it could actually deliver some fun, rippable waves.

After that, it backs off again. A few fun ones early on the 28th, but then we slide back into the small stuff. The first week of September looks pretty poor.

We go through a spell of small, weak surf with the energy dropping below 200. The wind starts blowing more from the NE, which is offshore but it’s also inconsistent with the wave direction. The 3rd of September has the wind swinging onshore, and the surf turns to chop. It’s not looking good at all.

Then, right at the tail end, the finder throws us a curveball. The 4th looks dicey early, but by Friday afternoon the wind dies completely, it’s glassy and the swell period jumps to a very long 19 seconds. The energy is back up to 479. That’s a big, clean, long-period groundswell for the cove. It’s a Friday and it’s promising, but it’s a long way out, so take it with a grain of salt.

So, in short: the 27th is your best bet. Don't hold your breath for much else before that. The 4th of September is a potential gem, but that’s a long ways away. For a beginner-friendly reef like this, the bigger days at the end are fine, still small enough for most.

-Rusty

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