Waimea Rivermouth Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it. We’ve got a solid run of surf coming up at Waimea Rivermouth, starting Thursday July 23rd and stretching well into the first week of August. The water temp is sitting about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The opening session on Thursday morning is a bit of a sleeper. Swell is small at 2ft coming from the SSW with a very long period of 20 seconds, and the combined energy is moderate (906). That long period means the waves will have nice shape, especially at a river mouth setup like this, and the cross-off breeze from the east will keep things clean. Not a standout for size, but a real nice way to ease in.

Friday July 24th brings a change. The morning kicks up a 6ft E swell with a short period of 7 seconds. That’s punchy, mid-range size – still fine for most surfers, but beginners might find it a bit much. The energy is moderate (809). The wind stays cross-off from the ENE, so it’ll be clean, but the short period means the waves might be a little crumbly. Still, it’s the biggest push of the early run.

The standout window is Saturday July 25th through Sunday July 26th. Swell settles back to 3ft to 3ft from the SSW, with periods around 16 to 19 seconds – that’s proper groundswell. The wind is light and cross-off. The energy on Saturday afternoon is moderate (646). This is the sweet spot: clean, long-period waves that will wrap nicely into the river mouth. Perfect for a beginner to intermediate session.

We’ve got a bit of a lull on Monday and Tuesday the 28th and 29th, but the waves drop to 2ft to 5ft, and Tuesday afternoon turns into a bit of a mess with cross-shore wind and weak energy (187). Wednesday July 29th though, that’s special. The wind goes glassy, dead calm, from the NNE and ENE, with 2ft S swell at 14 seconds. Energy is low (213) but it’s a glassy river mouth session – that’s as good as it gets for small days.

Looking further ahead, the first weekend of August (August 1st and 2nd) fires up again. Saturday morning has 6ft from the east, short period, but backed by a moderate breeze. Sunday August 2nd is the real standout of the second week: 6ft east swell, 8-second period, combined energy sitting at 572. The wind is a clean cross-off from the ENE. This is the biggest, most consistent surf of the entire forecast. It’s a bit short-period, but at that size and with clean winds, it’ll be fun. Beginners might find it a little too big, but for everyone else, this is the day to circle.

The week after that fades back to 5ft to 5ft with lighter winds, then drops to small SSW swell. The last few days of the forecast (August 5th onwards) are small and weak, with combined energy dipping below 200. The wind goes cross-shore or onshore, so that’s the tail end of the run.

A few things to note: Waimea Rivermouth can draw a crowd sometimes, so get there early. The consistency is fairly good through this whole period, so you won’t be waiting around forever. The best bets are Sunday July 26th for clean, long-period waves, and Sunday August 2nd for the biggest clean swell of the run.

Alright, get out there and enjoy the push.

Rusty.

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