Waimanalo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a coffee, let’s talk about what’s going on for Waimanalo. It’s a bit of a tough stretch ahead, to be honest. The surf is there, but the wind is just making a mess of things for most of this 16-day run. The water’s sitting at a warm 81°, which is pretty much normal for this time of year, so no surprises there.

We’re kicking off on Monday, 10 August, with a small 5ft swell from the ENE, but a howling 16 mph onshore wind from the NE is going to chop it up bad. The combined swell energy is weak (270), so it’s really not worth paddling out. This pattern of onshore wind and poor conditions just keeps rolling through the entire first week.

Tuesday and Wednesday are more of the same – waist-high slop, windblown, with period dropping to a short 6-7 seconds, making for lumpy, bumpy waves. Thursday the 13th, the swell bumps to 5ft, but the wind is still on it, and the period is still short. By Friday the 14th, we’re looking at 6ft, but it’s just a messy wall of whitewater.

The weekend of the 15th and 16th sees the swell building to 7ft and then 8ft, and the energy jumps way up – moderate at first (623), then strong on Sunday the 16th with a combined energy of 1072. Here’s where it gets interesting: Sunday the 16th, a rare cross-offshore wind from the SSE kicks in at 37 mph – that’s near gale force – but it’s blowing clean. The swell period is 10 seconds, so it’s got some groundswell push. That said, this is a big, powerful swell, and with the wind being that strong, it’s going to be wild, raw, and only for the most experienced. The afternoon session on Sunday is marginal at best due to the tide, but if you’re a charger, that morning window is the only real standout in the whole forecast.

After that, Monday the 17th drops a bit to 7ft, with a 10-second period, but the wind swings cross-shore. It’s still a bit choppy, and the score is low. Then the rest of the second week from Tuesday the 18th onward is a slow decline. The swell fades from 6ft down to 4ft, the period drops back to 6-7 seconds, and that onshore ENE wind comes roaring back at 16-22 mph. The energy dips to weak again (91 on the 20th). It’s a real gap of nothing to get excited about.

Honestly, this spot is a consistent wave producer, but the wind is just wrong for it for the vast majority of the period. If you have to go, the only window that looks half-decent is Sunday morning, 16 August, with that 8ft ENE groundswell and clean cross-offshore wind – but that is heavy, expert territory. Otherwise, the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing for most of these days.

Rusty.

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