Polihale Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey folks, Rusty here. Let's get into what's happening at Polihale over the next couple weeks. Gotta be straight with you – it's a pretty quiet stretch overall. The standout period is actually the tail end of the forecast, around the 30th of August, where we see some real promise.

We’re looking at a lot of marginal days to start. From now through the end of this week, the swell is tiny, mostly around 1 feet or less, with a lot of poor surf conditions. The wind is mostly cross-off or glassy, especially from Wednesday the 19th onward, with some beautiful glassy mornings on the 20th, but the waves just aren't there. The combined wave energy is weak, so there's no grunt. It's a classic case of the ocean being flat and clean, but flat nonetheless.

Moving into the 21st of August, things start to nudge upwards. We get a little push of 3-foot swell from the NE, and energy picks up a bit. The morning is glassy calm, and conditions are surfable but very ordinary. It’s a foamy, slow day for a longboard, but nothing to get excited about. Then we hit a real dry spell from the afternoon of the 22nd through the 24th, with no surf and poor conditions.

The 25th of August brings a change. The swell picks up to about 3 feet from the WNW, with a period of 12 seconds, and the energy jumps into moderate territory. It's coming through with a cross-shore wind, though, so it's not clean. Still, you can see the ocean has some life in it. This pattern of small, clean, but weak WNW swell continues through to the 28th. These are clean, glassy mornings where you can find a waist-high wave if you're patient, but it's not pumping.

Now, here's where it gets interesting. On Saturday, the 30th of August, we’ve got a real standout. The morning shows a 2-foot swell from the SW, but look at that period – 17 seconds. That’s a very long period groundswell. The combined energy is strong. The wind is glassy. The forecast says "expect good surf conditions." This is the one to circle on the calendar. With that long period and clean conditions, Polihale’s sandbar (Kauai) should offer some lined-up, well-shaped waves if the direction works. The afternoon backs off a little, but that morning window is golden. After that, the 31st of August sees a drop-off again.

So, the best bet is the morning of Saturday, the 30th of August. It’s two weeks away so keep your fingers crossed, but the signs are good for a clean, glassy session with some real energy. Water temp is about average for this time of year.

Stay patient, stay stoked.
Rusty

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