Waimanalo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's cookin' for Waimanalo.

Well, I gotta be straight with you – this is a tough one. The next 16 days are looking pretty grim for a decent paddle. We're starting on July 20th and there's a massive dry spell. The whole first week is a write-off. The wind is hammering straight onshore from the ENE, cranking at 18 to 25 mph, just trashing everything. The swell is small and weak, with a short, choppy period of 6 to 8 seconds, and the combined energy is up there in the hundreds (237 to 703), but it's all wind-driven junk. The wave comment keeps saying "poor surf conditions," and I'm not gonna argue with that. You'd be better off going for a kite surf if you're desperate, because it's not gonna be any fun on a log or a shortboard.

We finally get a shift around July 28th. The swell period stretches out to 13 to 16 seconds, which is proper groundswell, and the energy readings are massive – four-digit numbers (1282 to 1839). The main issue is that the wind is still onshore from the NE or ENE, though it does drop to a lighter breeze (9 to 12 mph) on the 28th and 29th. The wave comment upgrades to "marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions" on the 28th and 29th, but it's still not clean. The swell is 6 ft to 8 ft with that long period, which is a lot of water moving around, but it's going to be a bumpy, lumpy mess with the wind pushing it over. For a confident surfer who knows Waimanalo’s lineup, July 29th Wednesday morning might be the only real window to try and get a few. The swell is 8 ft from the ENE, period of 13 seconds, and the wind is a gentler 9 mph onshore. It's still not ideal, but it's the least ugly option in the whole forecast.

The water temp is sitting at 80°F, which is basically normal for this time of year, with an anomaly of only 0.4°F. No surprises there.

After that little blip, it goes straight back to poor on the 29th afternoon and through the rest of the run into early August. The wind stays onshore, the swell drops back to small, short-period junk. August 3rd and 4th have a long-period swell, but it's only 2 ft to 3 ft, so it's not going to do much. To be honest, this is a bleak outlook. For a spot that's "fairly consistent," this is a rough patch. The best I can say is that July 29th Wednesday morning is your one and only chance to get a session in, but keep your expectations on the floor. The rest of the time, you're better off finding something else to do.

Rusty.

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