Swell Shifts Direction Today

Alerts

A Small Craft Advisory is posted for all Hawaii County waters and channels through 6 p.m. Thursday for winds up to 25 knots and seas up to 12 feet.

Check our breaking news section for any urgent weather alerts.

**Click directly on the images below to make them larger. Charts include: Big Island projected winds, tides, swell direction & period and expected wave heights.**

Big Island Surf Forecast

Hilo side: Wave heights are expected well chest/head high today. The best breaks could get up to overhead on the sets. Trade swell brings waist/head high waves to exposures open to the swell. Onshore winds chop it up.

Kona side: Wave heights waist/chest high today from the northwest. The best breaks could get a bit bigger.

South: Breaks open to the trade swell could get up to waist/head high. Otherwise, south-southwest is around knee high out of the south-southwest.

Our current west-northwest swell is expected to continue fading today. A northwest reinforcement is filling in. Swell will remain elevated for the Hilo coast through Thursday but Kona side will begin to drop off in size as the direction begins to shift.

Our current south-southwest is down to traces today.

Trade swell is rebuilding for the second half of the week as winds pick up in strength.

Keep in mind, surf heights are measured on the face of the wave from trough to crest. Heights vary from beach to beach, and at the same beach, from break to break.  

**Click here for your detailed Big Island weather report.**

Image: NOAA / NWS

Image: NOAA / NWS

Image: NOAA / NWS

Image: NOAA / NWS

Image: NOAA / NWS