SSW, SSE Swells for Weekend, NW Shadowed
Alerts (as of 1:00 a.m.)
A Small Craft Advisory is posted for the ʻAlenuihāhā channel and leeward waters through 6 a.m. Saturday.
**Click directly on the images below to make them larger. Charts include: Big Island projected winds, tides, swell direction & period and expected wave heights.**
Hilo side: Wave heights for spots exposed to the swell are expected to be shoulder high today with the best breaks getting slightly overhead. Spots without direct exposure to the swell will be smaller.
Kona side: Wave heights are expected to be waist high or less to start. By the end of day, the best breaks could get up to chest high on the sets.
South: Wave heights are expected to be waist high or less to start. By the end of day, the best breaks could get up to chest high on the sets. Spots with exposure from wind waves could be bigger than that.
A northwest pulse is expected this weekend, building Saturday and easing Sunday. Another pulse is possible around May 3rd. The Big Island will largely be blocked with minimal amounts of this energy sneaking in… maybe only up to knee/thigh high.
A fun south-southwest swell is expected to start building Saturday and peak May 1st, hold through Monday before beginning to ease. A south-southeast is filling in into the weekend but the Kona side will be shadowed.
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.