Surf Forecasts:
Pohoiki surf forecast from 12 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 17 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 7s period, E swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 12 Jul, 11AM (local time) - 6ft (1.9m), 8s period, E swell with 489 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 17 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 7s period with E swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Pohoiki this week:
The surf forecast for Pohoiki over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 17) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.3m and 7s period. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Pohoiki in the next 16 days are 1.9m 8s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Jul 12) at 11AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.6m 17s period and expected on Friday (Jul 17) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (HST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Fri 17th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 7s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Fri 17th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 7s |
| Most Powerful | 11AM (Sun 12th Jul) | 6ft (1.9m) 8s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Pohoiki over the next 16 days.
Alright, let's get into this one. It’s a tough stretch, and I’ll tell it to you straight.
Look, we’ve got a solid 16-day window for Pohoiki here, but honestly, it’s a grind. The whole period is a bit of a write-off for decent waves. The first 11 days are just poor. The wind is mostly cross or cross-on from the ENE or NE, blowing in the 15 to 16 mph range, which is gonna put a nasty chop on the surface. The swell is there, but it’s short-period junk, 8 seconds or less, and it’s coming from the east, which isn’t the optimum E direction the spot likes. The energy’s weak to moderate, like that first Sunday morning reading 641, but it’s just messy with no shape.
Starting Sunday, July 12th, through to Wednesday, July 23rd, it’s just day after day of poor surf conditions. We’ve got swell heights between 2 ft and 6 ft, but it never lines up. The water temp is sitting at 80°F, which is about normal for this time of year, no surprises there.
There is a tiny flicker around Monday, July 20th. You see some longer period south swell creeping in, 15-16 seconds, but it’s only pushing 3 ft. The combined energy gets up to 792, which is moderate, but the wind is still cross-shore from the NE at 12-16 mph. It’s marginal at best, and the swell direction from the south isn’t what Pohoiki is built for – it wants east. This is a classic case of a long-period groundswell that might look good on paper but the wind and direction just kill it.
After that, we drop back down. The 22nd and 23rd are poor again, with tiny 2 ft to 3 ft waves and weak energy. There’s another little bump on the 27th (Monday) with some east swell at 14 seconds and 3 ft. The wind finally drops to a light breeze from the NNE at 6 mph, giving us a light cross-shore. The energy is high, 829, and it’s marginal. If you’re desperate, that’s the one session that might offer a clean-ish wave, but it’s still a long way out and barely a standout.
In short, there are no good options in this 16-day run. It’s a blank run typical for the area when the trade winds lock in and the east swell is short and choppy. It tends not to stay poor for long, but for now, you’d be better off doing something else.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 18mm), heaviest on Tue night. Warm (max 25°C on Sun morning, min 23°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 9mm), mostly falling on Fri night. Warm (max 26°C on Wed afternoon, min 24°C on Wed morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 12 | Monday 13 | Tuesday 14 | Wednesday 15 | Thursday 16 | Friday 17 | Saturday 18 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | NE 8 | S 10 | S 10 | E 6 | NNE 8 | E 6 | E 7 | ESE 7 | ENE 7 | E 7 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 489 | 439 | 338 | 323 | 240 | 172 | 141 | 110 | 164 | 135 | 94 | 86 | 64 | 71 | 150 | 99 | 171 | 106 | 314 | 355 | 331 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | on | on | on | on | on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 2:30PM1.12m | 1:58AM0.52m | 3:15PM1.15m | 2:51AM0.54m | 3:57PM1.15m | 3:42AM0.57m | 4:36PM1.12m | 4:32AM0.60m | 5:13PM1.06m | 5:23AM0.62m | 5:47PM0.97m | 6:17AM0.64m | 6:18PM0.87m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 9:26PM0.26m | 7:54AM-0.03m | 10:06PM0.23m | 8:44AM-0.04m | 10:44PM0.20m | 9:31AM-0.01m | 11:20PM0.19m | 10:16AM0.06m | 11:56PM0.18m | 11:02AM0.15m | 00:30AM0.18m | 11:49AM0.25m | 1:04AM0.18m | ||||||||
 |  |  | |  | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | | |  | |
 | 5:48 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — |
 | — | 7:00 | — | — | 7:00 | — | — | 7:00 | — | — | 7:00 | — | — | 7:00 | — | — | 7:00 | — | — | 7:00 | — |
mm | 4 | — | 3 | 2 | — | 2 | — | — | 7 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 5 | 3 | — | — |
Temp °C | 25 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 25 |
Feels °C | 25 | 24 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | NE 8 | NE 7 | NE 7 | E 6 | E 6 | NNE 7 | E 7 | ESE 7 | E 6 | E 7 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 |
| kJ | 489 | 439 | 338 | 323 | 240 | 172 | 141 | 110 | 164 | 132 | 82 | 81 | 56 | 42 | 150 | 99 | 101 | 106 | 314 | 355 | 331 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 13 | SSE 12 | NNE 7 | SW 15 | SW 15 | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | NNE 8 | S 12 | S 10 | S 10 | S 9 | NNE 8 | SSE 7 | SSW 17 | N 7 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | S 14 | S 14 | S 13 |
| kJ | 53 | 49 | 91 | 57 | 54 | 66 | 74 | 105 | 44 | 135 | 94 | 56 | 64 | 31 | 237 | 28 | 198 | 167 | 150 | 140 | 81 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | SW 14 | SSW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SE 8 | N 8 | SSE 8 | SSW 18 | N 7 | S 16 | N 7 | N 7 | N 7 | N 7 | NNE 7 |
| kJ | 67 | 65 | 64 | 46 | 25 | 53 | 78 | 46 | 41 | 42 | 33 | 46 | 23 | 120 | 27 | 131 | 26 | 38 | 27 | 24 | 18 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNE 8 | NNE 8 | — | NNE 7 | NNE 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | E 6 | — | E 6 | — | NE 6 | ENE 7 | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 99 | 120 | — | 111 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 86 | — | 71 | — | 33 | 171 | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 121 | 124 | 44 | 124 | 116 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 35 | 37 | 37 | 35 | 37 | 36 | 0 | 37 | 116 | 35 | 36 | 211 | 35 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Big Island | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Pohoiki surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Pohoiki Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Pohoiki provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Pohoiki can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Pohoiki surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Pohoiki) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Pohoiki may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Pohoiki is 39 km (24 miles) from Hilo. If you plan a vacation in Big Island, look for hotels and other accommodation in Hilo. Hilo has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest