Waimanalo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here, sittin' in the sand at Waimanalo. Let's talk about the next couple of weeks.

It's a tough one for us on the east side. If you're looking for clean, glassy waves, you're gonna be waiting a while. The wind is the big story here, and it's not a good one. We're looking at a long stretch of onshore and cross-onshore winds that are going to leave the surface pretty messy. The water temp is sitting at 81°, which is pretty normal for this time of year, so at least you won't be freezing while you're getting blown around.

The surf is going to start building through the weekend, but it's not going to be pretty. Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th see the swell climbing from 7 ft up to a solid 12 ft, but it's all coming from the ENE and E with a short, weak period of only 8-9 seconds. The onshore wind is howling at 22-31 mph, so it's going to be a messy, blown-out mess. The wave energy is moderate to strong (500 to 1727), but it's all wind chop. Honestly, this looks more like a kitesurfing setup than a paddle surf situation.

We roll into Sunday the 16th with the biggest swell of the run, a 13 ft wave from the East, and the energy is massive (2502). But the wind is still cross-onshore and the surface is lumpy. This is strictly for the experts, and even then, it's a battle. The conditions are just "poor" across the board.

It's a long, flat spell after that. From Monday the 17th right through to the end of the week, we're looking at tiny, weak waves, barely 3 ft, with the wind still on it. The energy drops right off (135 to 336). The only positive is that a few windows are labelled "clear" with the wind directly onshore, but it's still fresh and won't be clean.

The next week doesn't look much better. The last weekend of August and into the first days of September, the swell picks up a little, but it's still short period and windy. The only glimmer of hope is around the 27th and 28th of August. We see a long-period groundswell appear, a 4 ft wave from the East with a period of 17-18 seconds. That's a serious amount of energy (1383) and it's a groundswell, which means better shape. The morning of the 28th gets a score of 2/10, best of the whole run. The wind is a light breeze from the East, which is cross-on, but it's the cleanest it's going to get. This is a long way out, so treat it as a promising but uncertain prospect. The rest of that period is just marginal at best.

So, to be blunt, there's no standout session here. The best bet is to keep an eye on Thursday the 27th and Friday the 28th for that long-period groundswell, but don't get your hopes up for anything clean. It's a rough run for the ol' beach.

Stay patient, check the cams, and don't force it.

Rusty.

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