Ma'alaea Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let’s talk about what we’ve got lined up over the next couple of weeks at Ma'alaea (Maui). It’s a reef setup, calls for a south swell, and it’s an advanced wave that’s inconsistent, so you gotta pick your moments. The water temp is sitting about average for this time of year, nothing wild there.

We’re looking at a bit of a slow start. Thursday the 13th through Saturday the 15th, there’s small south swell in the water, around 3ft to 4ft, but the conditions are only marginal at best, and the combined energy is moderate (around 333 to 502) but the forecast just isn’t giving us a solid thumbs-up for quality. Saturday afternoon (15th) the wind picks up onshore and it gets choppy, so that’s a write-off. Sunday the 16th is pretty poor too, with cross-onshore winds and messy surf.

Monday the 17th is where things perk up a little. The morning brings a light cross-offshore breeze, clean conditions, and the swell settles around 2ft from the south with a solid 14-second period. The combined energy is moderate (330). It’s not big, but that long-period groundswell will give you better-shaped waves and longer lulls. It’s a genuine window for a paddle out. Afternoon gets a bit crossed up again though.

Tuesday the 18th morning looks interesting – glassy conditions, and the swell is small at 2ft from the south but with that 13-second period. The energy is moderate (210). Because it’s glassy, the surface will be clean, but it’s still small and ordinary.

Now here’s the standout that’s worth marking on the calendar: Saturday the 22nd. The early morning shows glassy conditions, a clean 2ft south-southwest swell, a 16-second period, and combined energy of 288 (moderate). That’s light offshores or glass at a reef break with long-period groundswell – that’s the recipe for some proper, lined-up waves. This is the best on offer, especially for experienced surfers who know the break. It will be clean and have some push for a reef wave that size.

That period from the 22nd to the 24th has a few more glassy windows or light wind days, with similar small south swell (2ft–2ft, 15–17 second period) and moderate energy. Not huge, but the quality is there if you’re after a clean, uncrowded session – though crowds are possible here sometimes.

Moving into the end of the week and further out (25th–28th), we see a bump in combined energy, hitting 419 or even 598 in the afternoon of the 27th, with swells around 2ft to 2ft from the south and south-southwest, with periods still hanging around 14–17 seconds. The 27th afternoon has a south-southwest swell at 2ft with a 16-second period and strong moderate energy (598). That’s promising, but it’s a week and a half away, so treat it as a promising long-range bet rather than a locked-in call. Winds look favorable, with cross-offshore or glassy conditions forecast for several of those mornings.

Overall, it’s a small but clean run of surf if you’re patient. The real standout is Saturday 22nd, glassy, clean, long-period groundswell – a beauty for those who know the reef. The other sessions are more about picking the glassy morning windows. There’s a gap of poor conditions from the 15th to the 17th morning, then again spotty afternoons, but the mornings hold the goods.

Rusty out.

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