Makaha Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – this Makaha stretch is looking pretty average for the next couple of weeks. The first wave of decent energy doesn’t really show up until Thursday the 6th, and even then, it’s a slow start.

We’ve got a long period southwest groundswell building through the first few days, but the wind is working against us. Thursday morning the 6th kicks off with a 3ft SW swell, with a period of 17 seconds – that’s a proper long-period groundswell, which means good shape but long lulls between sets. The wind is a gentle cross-onshore though, so it’s gonna be a bit choppy, with combined wave energy at 865. Water temp is about average for this time of year. Not the best intro.

Friday the 7th and Saturday the 8th are similar – same swell direction, but the wind stays cross or cross-on, keeping things messy. The swell ticks up a bit Friday afternoon to 4ft, but that 14-second period still has that long groundswell feel. Honestly, the scores are low, and the conditions are marginal.

Now, there’s a little glimmer. Wednesday morning the 12th. The wind goes glassy – flat calm, slight air – and we’ve got a 5ft SSW swell, period 13 seconds. That’s the best window we see in the first week. The wave energy is 733, which is moderate, but clean conditions make all the difference. Makaha is a very consistent reef break, and it’s exposed to the SW, so it’ll be handling that swell. It’s beginner-friendly at that size, but with the occasional crowd, it’s likely to have a few heads out. That’s the one to circle.

After that, from the 13th through the 17th, it’s more of the same – cross-onshore winds, SW swell between 3ft and 5ft, long periods again. Nothing really firing. The combined energy stays moderate, but the wind keeps it from being clean.

Then we get into the second week, and it’s a bit of a mixed bag. On Tuesday the 18th morning, we finally see a proper offshore wind – WSW at 6 mph – with a 4ft SW swell. That’s promising, but the afternoon turns choppy again. The real standout in the second week is Wednesday the 19th afternoon. The swell jumps to 6ft from the SW, period 16 seconds, and the combined energy hits 2031 – that’s strong. The wind is light cross-onshore, so it’s not perfect, but that’s a lot of juice. Thursday the 20th is similar, with 6ft in the morning and 6ft in the afternoon, energy up to 2400. That’s big, powerful groundswell. For a reef like Makaha, that’s gonna be a heavy, grinding wave. At over 5ft, it’s getting too big for beginners, and by the 21st with 7ft, that’s expert territory only. The cross-onshore wind will still be there, so it won’t be glassy, but the power is undeniable.

The gap between the glassy Wednesday 12th and the bigger late-week stuff is a few days of mediocrity. Overall, if you’re surfing Makaha, the best bets are Wednesday the 12th for clean, manageable waves, and then the 19th through 21st for serious size and power, but with a bit of chop. Keep an eye on the wind forecasts – a change could make those last days unreal.

Rusty.

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