High surf advisory takes effect at midnight Wednesday for west shores of Big Island

A large west-northwest swell is forecast to rise through this afternoon and peak overnight, bringing advisory level surf to the west side of the Big Island possibly through the next couple of days.

The National Weather Service in Honolulu issued a high surf advisory from midnight to 6 p.m. Feb. 12 for western shorelines of the island, with surf building to an expected 7 to 10 feet along the Kohala and Kona coastlines.

Large surf could persist into Thursday.

Impacts will be moderate, with strong breaking waves and strong currents making swimming and potentially other ocean activities offshore in the advisory areas dangerous.

The public is urged to heed all advice from ocean safety officials. When in doubt, don’t go out.