Little Makaha Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into what we’ve got on the immediate horizon.

Look, to be straight with you, it’s a slow start. We’re looking at a long stretch of very little to nothing surfs up. From now through the first week of September, the swell is tiny or flat for most sessions, with a constant cross-off wind from the ENE that’s keeping things messy. The water temp here at Little Makaha is sitting right around 81°, which is bang on average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

For the first few days, expect nothing but small, weak dribble. You’ll see waves around 0.7ft to 1ft max, with combined swell energy readings stuck between 8 and 29 – that’s very weak. The period is all over the shop, but when it does show, it’s short-period stuff, not holding any shape. Take Monday the 24th, for instance; a 1ft NW swell with an 11-second period gives us just 29 units of energy, and the wind is cross-off at 30 km/h. It’s not happening. This pattern of tiny surf and fresh breeze holds through most of the week.

There’s a notable gap of near-flat conditions around the 27th and 28th of August, where the combined energy is literally zero for the morning sessions. A little spike pops up on the 29th with a long-period 1ft SW groundswell (17-second period) giving us 46 units of energy, but it’s still just too small to get excited about.

Then we hit a bit of a shift. On the 30th of August, we see a jump to 4ft from the NE with a 7-second period, pushing the energy up to 204 (moderate) in the morning. The wind is still cross-off, so it’s not ideal, but for Little Makaha, that’s a bit more size. It’s still windswept and short-period though, so don't expect any gems.

The real standout – and I’m only calling it that because it’s the biggest we see – arrives on Monday the 31st of August into Tuesday the 1st of September. The NE swell kicks in strong. On the 31st afternoon, we get a big 7ft NE swell with a short 8-second period, cranking the energy up to 557 – that's strong. Tuesday morning the 1st holds 6ft NE at 395 units, and the afternoon drops to 5ft at 315. Now, 7ft is getting big for beginners, and 6ft is still solid. The problem? The period is only 8 seconds. That’s a short-period swell, meaning it’ll be lumpy and sectiony, especially at a fairly exposed reef like Little Makaha. The wind is still cross-off from the ENE at 25-30 km/h. It’ll be chunky and powerful, but more of a grindy, challenging session than a clean one. If you’re a strong local who knows the peak, it’s worth a look for the power. If you’re a beginner, stay out of the water.

After that pulse, it drops right off again. The rest of the first week of September sees tiny to flat conditions, and then we get a reminder of that long-period SW groundswell potential. On the 5th and 6th of September, there's a small 1ft to 2ft SW groundswell with a very long period of 17-19 seconds. The energy climbs to 103-176 (weak to moderate), and the wind shifts to a cross-off from the E. The only session that looks even slightly interesting is the morning of Monday the 7th of September (that’s more than a week away), where the wind goes light and offshore from the E at 15 km/h, and we get a 1ft SW groundswell with 16-second period. It’s small, but the gentle offshore wind would make it glassy and clean. It’s a long-range promise, so don’t bank on it, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

Finally, on Tuesday the 8th of September (over a week out), we see another pulse of NE swell, 5ft with a 9-second period, and the wind goes light cross-off from the E at 10 km/h in the morning. The energy is 323 – solid moderate. Again, it's pretty raw with that period, but the lighter wind makes it a much better proposition than the previous NE pulse. The afternoon gets a bit messier with the wind picking up.

So, if I’m picking one true standout here, it’s the Tuesday 8th September morning session. The 5ft NE swell with light cross-off wind gives you the best combo of size and cleanness we see across the whole 16 days. The earlier big pulse on the 31st August is powerful, but that wind keeps it from being a classic. For now, keep your expectations low and your wax ready for that second week promise.

Rusty.

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