Buoy Readings and Surf Conditions
Determine when it's best to get in the water based on surf conditions for Hawaii from the Buoy data weather stations, tide prediction charts, as well as the Surf forecast from the National Weather center.
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Buoy 51001
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Buoy 51002
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Buoy 51004
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Buoy 510003
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Buoy 51201
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Tide Levels for Oahu
View Current tide level readers for Oahu
Latest Surf Report
This is the latest official surf report for Hawaii.
Expires:201003120100;;644366FZHW50 PHFO 111845
SRFHFO
SURF ZONE FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
900 AM HST THU MAR 11 2010
HIZ005>011-120100-
OAHU-
900 AM HST THU MAR 11 2010
...HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR EAST FACING SHORES...
SURF ALONG NORTH FACING SHORES WILL BE 3 TO 5 FEET THROUGH FRIDAY.
SURF ALONG WEST FACING SHORES WILL BE 1 TO 3 FEET THROUGH FRIDAY.
SURF ALONG EAST FACING SHORES WILL BE 5 TO 8 FEET TODAY...DECREASING
TO 4 TO 6 FEET FRIDAY.
SURF ALONG SOUTH FACING SHORES WILL BE 2 FEET OR LESS TODAY...
INCREASING TO 1 TO 3 FEET FRIDAY.
OUTLOOK THROUGH WEDNESDAY MAR 17:
ROUGH...WIND-DRIVEN SURF ALONG EAST FACING SHORES WILL SLOWLY
SUBSIDE FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND AS TRADE WINDS GRADUALLY DIMINISH. A
MODERATE NORTHWEST SWELL IS EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND...FOLLOWED BY A
LARGER NORTHWEST SWELL THAT WILL PRODUCE SURF WELL ABOVE ADVISORY
LEVELS ON NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY.
SURF HEIGHTS ARE FORECAST HEIGHTS OF THE FACE OR FRONT OF WAVES. THE
SURF FORECAST IS BASED ON THE SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT...THE AVERAGE
HEIGHT OF THE ONE THIRD LARGEST WAVES...IN THE ZONE OF MAXIMUM
REFRACTION. SOME WAVES MAY BE MORE THAN TWICE AS HIGH AS THE
SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT. EXPECT TO ENCOUNTER RIP CURRENTS IN OR NEAR
ANY SURF ZONE.
&&
COLLABORATIVE NEARSHORE SWELL AND WIND FORECAST FOR OAHU
NWS/NCDDC HONOLULU HI
300 PM HST WED MAR 10 2010
THIS COLLABORATIVE FORECAST WILL BE UPDATED MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AT
300 PM WHEN PAT CALDWELL IS AVAILABLE. WHEN PAT CALDWELL IS NOT
AVAILABLE...THE LATEST COLLABORATIVE FORECAST WILL REMAIN POSTED FOR
4 DAYS.
FORECAST SWL DMNT DMNT H H HGT WIND WIND SPD
DATE HGT DIR PD 1/3 1/10 TEND PROB SPD DIR TEND
1 PM 10 ENE 9 8 12 SAME 22-27 E SAME
03/10
THU 3 NNW 11 4 6 UP LOW 17-21 E DOWN
03/11 9 ENE 8 6 8 DOWN MED
FRI 2 NNW 11 2 4 SAME LOW 17-21 E DOWN
03/12 8 E 8 4 6 DOWN LOW
2 SSW 14 2 4 UP LOW
SAT 4 NNW 13 6 8 UP LOW 7-10 ENE SAME
03/13 4 E 9 4 6 SAME LOW
SUN 3 NNW 11 4 6 DOWN LOW 15-18 NE UP
03/14 6 NW 17 12 14 UP LOW
4 E 9 4 6 SAME LOW
MON 10 NNW 14 18 24 SAME LOW 22-27 ENE SAME
03/15 9 NE 8 6 8 UP LOW
LEGEND:
SWL HGT OPEN OCEAN SWELL HEIGHT MEASURED FROM TROUGH TO CREST
IN FEET LOCATED 20 NAUTICAL MILES OFFSHORE
DMNT DIR DOMINANT DIRECTION TYPICALLY +/-10 DEGREES IN 16 COMPASS
POINTS
DMNT PD DOMINANT PERIOD IN SECONDS
H1/3 SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT IN THE SURF ZONE
H1/10 AVERAGE HEIGHT OF THE HIGHEST ONE-TENTH WAVES IN THE SURF
ZONE
HGT TEND HEIGHT TENDENCY OF SWELL (VALID VALUES: UP/DOWN/SAME)
PROB PROBABILITY OF OCCURRENCE (VALID VALUES: HIGH/MED/LOW)
WIND SPD OPEN WATER WIND SPEED MEASURED IN KNOTS LOCATED
20 NAUTICAL MILES OFFSHORE
WIND DIR WIND DIRECTION IN 16 COMPASS POINTS
SPD TEND WIND SPEED TENDENCY (VALID VALUES: UP/DOWN/SAME)
SURF HEIGHTS WILL VARY BETWEEN DIFFERENT BEACHES AND AT THE SAME
BEACH AT DIFFERENT BREAK AREAS.
DISCUSSION:
SUMMARY...
WINDWARD SHORES TAPERING DOWN AND NORTHERN SHORES RISING LATE SUNDAY.
DETAILED...
MID WEDNESDAY ON NORTHERN SHORES HAS SMALL BREAKERS FROM REFRACTING
WINDSWELL. MORE OF THE SAME IS EXPECTED ON THURSDAY.
THE ZONAL JET STREAM JUST SOUTH OF THE ALEUTIANS HAS BEEN STEERING
SURFACE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS EASTWARD WITH ABOUT A 3 DAY SPACING.
THE FAST FORWARD MOTION LIMITS FETCH DURATION AND MAKES FOR BELOW
AVERAGE SURF CONDITIONS IN HAWAII FROM THE NW TO N.
ONE SUCH SYSTEM THIS PAST SUNDAY WAS EXPECTED LOCALLY ON WEDNESDAY.
IT IS BARELY TRACEABLE IN THE BUOY DATA. IT MAY GAIN SLIGHTLY ON
THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY FROM 330-360 DEGREES...THOUGH THE WINDSWELL
SHOULD CONTINUE THE DOMINANT SURF PRODUCER.
THE NEXT SYSTEM IN THE ZONAL JET INTENSIFIED AS IT TRACKED NORTH OF
HAWAII LATE TUESDAY. THE FETCH AIMED AT HAWAII WAS WEAKER AND
SHORTER-LIVED THAN EARLIER PREDICTIONS. THUS...THE EXPECTATIONS FOR
THE WEEKEND EPISODE HAVE BEEN DOWNGRADED. A SUB-MODERATE EPISODE
SHOULD BUILD OVERNIGHT FRIDAY...PEAK ON SATURDAY FROM 330-350
DEGREES...AND DROP INTO SUNDAY.
A STORM-FORCE SYSTEM IS FORMING ON WEDNESDAY NEAR JAPAN. MODELS SHOW
A BROAD SURFACE LOW PRESSURE TRACKING ACROSS THE BREADTH OF THE
NORTH PACIFIC BASIN. ON THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY...SWELL GENERATION IS
EXPECTED TO FAVOR THE 305-320 DEGREE BAND TO ABOUT THE DATELINE.
LONG PERIOD FORERUNNERS FROM THIS SOURCE SHOULD BUILD MID SUNDAY AND
PEAK ON MONDAY AT MARGINALLY HIGH LEVELS BY SUNDOWN.
LATE FRIDAY INTO SUNDAY...GALES TO SEVERE-GALES ARE MODELLED IN THE
320-340 DEGREE BAND AS THE CENTER OF LOW PRESSURE PASSES NORTH OF
HAWAII ON SUNDAY. THE HEAD OF THE FETCH SHOULD REACH TO ABOUT 800 NM
AWAY BY LATE SATURDAY. THE PROXIMITY UPS THE SURF POTENTIAL. SURF
SHOULD CLIMB WELL INTO THE HIGH BRACKET ON MONDAY CENTERED ON 330
DEGREES...BUT SPREAD BETWEEN 305-350 DEGREES...AND ADDED TO THE
ROUGH WINDSWELL ON MONDAY...SHOULD MAKE FOR CONFUSED BREAKERS.
MID WEDNESDAY ON EASTERN SHORES HAS ROUGH...HIGH BREAKERS FROM 50-90
DEGREES UNDER STRONG TRADES. THE MOKAPU BUOY SHOWS THE DOMINANT WAVE
PERIOD HAS INCREASED...WHICH INCREASES THE AMPLIFICATION OF WAVE
HEIGHT WHEN BREAKING. MODELS SHOW UPSTREAM AND LOCAL TRADES
WEAKENING TO FRESH LEVELS ON THURSDAY...WITH A DROP OFF IN THE SURF
TO MODERATE TO MARGINALLY HIGH LEVELS. THE TREND IN WIND AND WAVES
CONTINUES A DROP INTO SATURDAY. MODELS SUGGEST STRONG TRADES WELL
EAST OF THE ISLANDS COULD KEEP SMALL TO MODERATE...SHORT-PERIOD
BREAKERS OVER THE WEEKEND FROM 60-90 DEGREES.
A FRONT IS EXPECTED ON SUNDAY. SEE THE LATEST NWS STATE WEATHER
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EXPLANATION...TIMING...AND STRENGTH. AFTER
THE FRONT...FRESH TO STRONG BREEZES FROM 30-50 DEGREES ARE EXPECTED
...VEERING TO TYPICAL TRADES WITHIN 50-80 DEGREES ON MONDAY.
SUBSEQUENTLY...A NEW WINDSWELL EPISODE IS EXPECTED...CLIMBING BACK
TOWARD MARGINALLY HIGH LEVELS ON MONDAY.
MID WEDNESDAY ON SOUTHERN SHORES HAS REFRACTING WINDSWELL. MORE OF
THE SAME IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD. A SHORT-LIVED... SMALL...
LONG-PERIOD SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE SWELL COULD PICK UP LATE THURSDAY
FROM 180-200 DEGREES...FROM A SOURCE SE OF NEW ZEALAND ABOUT A WEEK
AGO.
INTO THE LONG RANGE...AN OCCLUDING LOW PRESSURE NEAR 150W TO THE
SOUTH OF FRENCH POLYNESIA COULD BRING IN A SMALL EPISODE LATE NEXT
WEEK FROM 160-180 DEGREES. MODELS SUGGEST AN AVERAGE TO ABOVE
AVERAGE SPELL OF SURF FROM 180-200 DEGREES OFF AND ON FOR THE LAST
10 DAYS OF MARCH DUE TO STORMINESS SE OF NEW ZEALAND STARTING THIS
WEEKEND OUT A WEEK.
IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE...HIGH SURF COULD HOLD INTO TUESDAY FROM
340-360 DEGREES UNDER MODERATE TRADES. SLOWLY DROPPING SURF AND
WIND ARE EXPECTED INTO THURSDAY WHEN A NEW SURF EPISODE FROM NW TO
NNW IS PREDICTED LATE IN THE DAY IN THE MODERATE TO NEAR HIGH
BRACKET. MODELS SUGGEST A CUT OFF UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE N TO NE
OF THE ISLANDS MID NEXT WEEK...THAT WOULD KEEP GENTLE TO MODERATE
TRADES LOCALLY MID TO LATE NEXT WEEK.
LONG RANGE FORECASTS ARE SUBJECT TO LOW CONFIDENCE.
THIS COLLABORATIVE FORECAST WILL RESUME ON FRIDAY...MARCH 12.
THIS FORECAST WAS PRODUCED THROUGH THE COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS OF
NWS AND NCDDC. PLEASE SEND SUGGESTIONS TO W-HFO.WEBMASTER@NOAA.GOV
OR CALL THE WARNING COORDINATION METEOROLOGIST AT 808-973-5275.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
SEE /IN LOWERCASE/ HTTP://WWW.PRH.NOAA.GOV/HNL/PAGES/MARINE.PHP
$$
NWS FORECASTER AND NCDDC PAT CALDWELL