Lining up travel days? Browse tours for your next trip here and lock in dates before they fill.
The new long period south swell has arrived. Town builds from 2 to 4 feet this morning to 3 to 5 by afternoon. East is choppy trade surf, north stays flat, and more south swell arrives next week.
UV index: Extreme
Air: upper 80s, sunny with isolated showers
Water: 80 to 82°F all the way around
Sunrise 6:12 a.m. · Sunset 6:58 p.m.
Haleʻiwa: high 1.5 ft 11:20 a.m., low 0.3 ft 3:03 a.m. tonight
Waiʻanae: high 1.8 ft 12:42 p.m., low 0.3 ft 5:26 a.m. tonight
Kāneʻohe Bay: high 2.0 ft 12:21 p.m., low 0.3 ft 4:18 a.m. tonight
The buoys back the forecast, and the story is the new south swell. Pearl Harbor reads 1.3 ft at 15.4 seconds from the SSE, with Barbers Point at 2.0 ft from due south. Mokapu shows 4.3 ft of wind wave at 8 seconds, so the east is size without shape. Waimea holds just 0.7 ft of swell, which matches the flat north call.
Refreshed every morning from the National Weather Service Surf Zone Forecast (issued 4:00 a.m. HST) and NOAA buoys 51201, 51202, 51211 and 51212. This is an automated forecast summary, not a lifeguard report. Conditions change fast, so check hawaiibeachsafety.com and talk to the lifeguard on duty before you go in.
Surf on Oʻahu is never one number. The island has four coastlines pointing four different directions, and on any given morning they can be doing four completely different things. It is normal to have 10 foot faces closing out the windward side while the water off Waikīkī is calm enough for a first surf lesson. That is exactly what is happening as we write this.
So this page pulls the National Weather Service Surf Zone Forecast and the offshore buoys every morning and lays out what each shore is actually doing today. The report at the top refreshes daily. Everything below it is the part that does not change: how to read the numbers, what each coast does through the year, and how to stay out of trouble once you are in the water.
- Hawaii Beach Safety, the official beach by beach hazard map, updated by county lifeguards
- National Weather Service Honolulu, for warnings, advisories and the full surf forecast
- Central Pacific Hurricane Center, when there is a storm in the basin
- Emergencies in the water: call 911 and ask for Ocean Safety
How to read these numbers
Face height is what we publish. The National Weather Service measures surf from trough to crest, the whole vertical face of the wave. A 4 foot face is roughly chest high on most adults. A 10 foot face is well overhead and moving fast.
The Hawaiian scale is about half that, and it is what you will hear in the parking lot. If a neighbor tells you it is 3 foot, they usually mean a 6 foot face. The scale traditionally measures the back of the wave rather than the front, and it stuck. We list both in the report above so you are not caught out by the difference. When someone here says the surf is 8 foot, treat it as serious water.
Period is the number that actually matters. It is the gap in seconds between waves, and it tells you how much power is behind them. Anything 13 seconds and up is groundswell that has travelled thousands of miles, and it arrives organized, lining up in clean sets. Under about 10 seconds is windswell generated close by, and it shows up as choppy, disorganized surf that is rarely worth a long drive. Two shores can both read 5 feet and be completely different days, and period is usually why.
Ranges are honest, not hedging. Surf varies a lot from beach to beach along the same coast, and sets larger than the top of the range roll through every so often. Plan for the upper number, not the lower one.
The four shores, and what each one does
North shore, the winter coast
From roughly November through March the North Pacific sends the swell that made this coast famous. Waimea, Sunset and the Banzai Pipeline stretch of Kamehameha Highway can run 15 to 30 foot faces, and during those swells the water is for a small number of very experienced people and nobody else. The shore break alone will hurt you. Watch from the sand, keep well back from the waterline, and understand that waves wash across that beach without warning.
In summer the same coast often goes glassy and nearly flat, and Waimea Bay turns into one of the better swimming beaches on the island. It is genuinely two different places depending on the month.
South shore, the summer coast
May through September the South Pacific delivers. These swells are born in storms near New Zealand and the Southern Ocean and travel five thousand miles or more to get here, which is why they arrive with long periods and clean lines but modest size, usually 2 to 6 foot faces. This is the Waikīkī and Ala Moana side, and it is the most forgiving surf on Oʻahu for anyone still learning. Winter tends to go quiet here.
East, the windward side
Kailua, Kāneʻohe and the Koʻolau coast face straight into the trade winds, so this side has some kind of texture on it almost year round. It is the most consistent water on the island and usually the least clean. It also takes the direct hit whenever a tropical system passes to the north or east, which is what produced this week’s advisory. On light wind mornings the windward beaches are beautiful and calm. On a strong trade day they are choppy and full of current.
West, the leeward side
The Waiʻanae coast sits in the wind shadow and is the driest, most sheltered water on Oʻahu. Most summer days it is the calmest option available, which is why it is our go to when everything else is stirred up. In winter it catches the wrap from big north swells and Mākaha becomes a serious wave in its own right. Parking is limited at most of these beach parks, so arrive early.
Where to go, based on how big it is
Match the water to your experience honestly. The ocean here does not grade on effort.
When it is running 1 to 3 feet
Waikīkī is the most forgiving surf on the island, and there is a reason every surf school on Oʻahu operates out of it. Queens and Canoes break slowly over a deep reef a long way out, the rides are long, lifeguards are posted, and boards and lessons are available right on the sand. Paid parking is the main headache, so consider the bus or a walk from your hotel.
White Plains Beach in ʻEwa is lifeguarded, rarely crowded compared to town, and catches the same south swell with plenty of room to spread out. It is our pick when Waikīkī is packed.
Pōkaʻī Bay in Waiʻanae sits behind a breakwater and holds the calmest water on the west side. Not a surf spot on most days, but hard to beat for swimming with keiki.
When it is running 3 to 6 feet
This is comfortable water for confident surfers and a real workout for everyone else. Ala Moana Bowls and Kewalos come alive on a good south swell, but both break over shallow, sharp reef and draw a skilled, local crowd. Know the etiquette before you paddle out. Haleʻiwa Aliʻi Beach on the North Shore is lifeguarded and manageable in summer. Mākaha on a summer day is one of the more welcoming waves on the west side.
When it is running 6 feet or more
Go watch. That is the whole recommendation. Winter on the North Shore is a genuine spectacle and the drive up to Waimea, Sunset and Pipeline is worth doing purely as a viewing trip. Stay back from the waterline, obey the posted signs and the lifeguards, and never put your back to the ocean.
Two spots deserve a specific warning at any size. Sandy Beach and Makapuʻu have a powerful shore break that drops directly onto shallow sand, and both send people to the hospital with neck and spine injuries every year, including strong swimmers on days that looked modest from the parking lot.
The hazards that actually catch people out
Rip currents are the single most common reason people get pulled out of the water here. A rip is a narrow channel of water flowing back out to sea, and it can move faster than anyone can swim against. If you are caught in one, do not fight it. Swim parallel to the beach until you are out of the pull, then angle back in. If you cannot swim out of it, float, stay calm and wave one arm for the lifeguard. Rips get stronger as surf gets bigger, which is why the report above matters even if you have no intention of surfing.
Swim where there is a lifeguard. It is the single most effective thing you can do, and it is free. Hawaiʻi loses visitors in the ocean every year at a rate well above residents, and a large share of those happen at unguarded beaches or while snorkeling alone. If you snorkel, go with someone, stay inside your depth, and treat a full face mask with real caution.
Shore break is different from surf. It is the wave breaking directly on the sand, and it will pick up an adult and put them down head first. Watch a full set before you walk in.
Box jellyfish arrive on south facing shores on a schedule, roughly 8 to 10 days after each full moon, and they sting for days afterward. Waikīkī, Ala Moana and Hanauma Bay are the usual arrivals. Lifeguards post signs when they show up, and our daily report above flags the window when it opens. Portuguese man o’ war are a different animal, blown onto windward beaches by strong trades with no lunar pattern at all.
Reef and rock cut deeply and get infected quickly in warm water. Reef shoes are worth packing, and please do not stand on coral. It is alive, it is slow to recover, and in most of Hawaiʻi it is protected.
What to do when it is too big
Plenty of days the surf report says stay out, and that is fine. It is usually only one or two shores that are affected, so the fastest fix is to drive to a different coast. When the windward side is closed out, the leeward and south sides are often glassy, and the reverse holds in winter.
If the whole island is stirred up, this is a good day for Diamond Head, the Kaʻena Point trail, or the Bishop Museum if it is raining. Big surf days also make for the best sunset viewing of the year, and we have mapped out where to watch.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a High Surf Advisory and a High Surf Warning?
An advisory means the surf is big enough to be dangerous to anyone in or near the water. A warning is a serious step up: life threatening conditions, and often water washing over beaches, roads and harbors. The National Weather Service sets different thresholds for each shore, because 15 feet is an ordinary winter day on the North Shore and an extraordinary one on the south side.
When is the best time of year to surf on Oʻahu?
It depends which coast. Summer, roughly May through September, is south shore season and the friendliest water for anyone learning. Winter, November through March, is North Shore season and it is for experienced surfers only.
My neighbor said it is 3 foot. Why does your report say 6?
Both are correct. We publish the face height and the Hawaiian scale is about half of it. See the section above.
Can I learn to surf here as a complete first timer?
Yes, and Waikīkī in summer is the place to do it, with a lesson rather than on your own. Instructors read the water, pick the right sandbar, and keep you clear of the reef and the crowd.
How accurate is this page?
The numbers come straight from the National Weather Service forecast issued that morning, cross checked against four NOAA buoys sitting offshore. It is a forecast, not a live camera, and it is not a substitute for the lifeguard standing in front of you. Conditions on any given beach can differ from the coastline average.
Related: Hurricane season in Hawaiʻi and how to prepare · Hanauma Bay snorkeling, reservations and costs · Best sunset spots on Oʻahu · Where to stay on Oʻahu
Comments are closed.