630am OBS Happy Aloha Friday, August 12th
Breezy again and warm. Mostly sunny. Moderate ENE trades. Small Craft Advisory for Maui/Big Island waters, esp. channels. Extreme UV ratings.
Big Picture updated 8/7. Average Trade swell and small South. Tiny trade wrap for Country. Call 596-SURF: 7a, noon, 3pm; plus, the 5p (recap-forecast).

North Shore:
Tiny 7 sec NE trade wrap. Summery conditions continue with near-flat surf for most spots. Best for diving, paddling, and sailing w/ moderate side-offshore trades. Sunset Pt 0-1/2'; Rocky Pt 0-1/2'; Pipe/Backdoor Flat; Chuns 0-1/2'; Laniakea 1'; Ali'i Beach Park Flat. A few clouds.
West:
Dropping 14 sec South. Makaha is mostly flat-1' with breezy offshores. Another good day for diving, paddling, fishing, sailing under clear skies.
Town:
Dropping 14 sec South. Surf's clean under moderate offshore trades. Waikiki reefs are 0-1.5'; Top spots: Kaisers-Rockpiles to Ala Moana to Kewalos are 1-2' under mostly clear skies.
Diamond Head:
Dropping 14 sec South + trade wrap.. Surf's cleaner but still windy/bumpy with moderate sideshores. Waves are 1-2' occ. 3'; A few high clouds.
Sandy's:
Dropping 14 sec South + trade wrap. Surf's textured and lumpy from sideshore winds. Full Pt-Half Pt is 1-2' occ. 3'. Shorebreak's looking much cleaner w/ a good sandbar at 1-2' occ. 3' mostly on the trade swell; Mostly clear skies.
East Makapu'u:
Holding 7 sec ENE trade swell. Surf's typical bumpy at 1-2' occ. 3' focusing on the outside left-middle. Nice clean water. Keiki's 1-1.5' w/ the NE swell fading out. A few clouds.Winds
10-25mph ENE Trade
10-20mph ENE to E
10-20+mph ENE Trade
10-20+mph ENE Trade
5-15+mph ENE Trade
North
Primary

Haw: 0-1
Face: 0-1.5
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
divin , paddlin, fishin, sailin
Primary

Haw: 0-1
Face: 0-1.5
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
divin , paddlin, fishin, sailin
Primary

Haw: 0-1
Face: 0-1.5
Secondary
Rising late Afternoon 13s NHaw: 0-1
Face: 0-1.5
divin , paddlin, fishin, sailin
Primary
Up & holding 11s NHaw: 0-1.5
Face: 0-2
Secondary

Haw: 0-1/2
Face: 0-1
divin , paddlin, fishin, sailin
Primary
Dropping Slow 10s NHaw: 0-1
Face: 0-1.5
Secondary

Haw: 0-1/2
Face: 0-1
divin , paddlin, fishin, sailin
West
Primary

Haw: 0-1
Face: 0-1.5
Secondary

Haw: 0
Face: 0
Fair to good
Primary
Up & holding 13s SSEHaw: 0-1
Face: 0-1.5
Secondary

Haw: 0
Face: 0
Fair to good
Primary

Haw: 0-1
Face: 0-1.5
Secondary

Haw: 0
Face: 0
Good offshores
Primary
Dropping Slow 11s SSEHaw: 0-1
Face: 0-1.5
Secondary
Up & holding 11s NHaw: 0
Face: 0
Good offshores
Primary

Haw: 0-1/2
Face: 0-1
Secondary
Dropping Slow 10s NHaw: 0
Face: 0
Fair to good
South
Primary

Haw: 1 occ 2
Face: 1-2 occ 3
Secondary
Rising late Afternoon 13s SSEHaw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Fair to good
Primary
Up & holding 13s SSEHaw: 1-2 occ +
Face: 1-3 occ +
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Fair to good
Primary

Haw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Good offshores
Primary
Dropping Slow 11s SSEHaw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Good offshores
Primary

Haw: 1 occ 2
Face: 1-2 occ 3
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Fair to good
east
Primary

Haw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Choppy
Primary

Haw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Secondary

Haw: 0-1
Face: 0-1.5
bumpy
Primary

Haw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Secondary
Up & holding 12s EHaw: 1-1.5
Face: 1-2
Onshore
Primary
Dropping Later 7s ENEHaw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Secondary

Haw: 0-1
Face: 0-1.5
Choppy
Primary

Haw: 1 occ 2
Face: 1-2 occ 3
Secondary
Dropping Slow 10s NHaw: 0-1
Face: 0-1.5
slightly choppy

Current Swells:
Friday 08/12Primary: Dropping 7s NE surf @0-1 Primary: Holding 7s ENE surf @1-2
Secondary: Dropping 14s S surf @1 occ 2

Marine Warnings:
Friday 08/12Small Craft Adv for Maui - Big Island waters, esp. channels. Extreme UV ratings.

Sailing Report:
Friday 08/12Good for the experienced thanks to fresh ENE Trades of 10-25 mph filling in this morning.

Diving Report:
Friday 08/12North shores: Good overall due to nice weather and minimal surf from the trade swell wrap and moderate offshore trades filling by lunch; West shores: Good with mostly clear skies, offshore winds, and tiny South swell. South shores: Fair-good and even better for deeper prime zones due to offshore trades filling and small surf. East shores: Poor overall for most zones with moderate surf and trades filling to fresh paces by lunch under broken clouds.
Oahu
Maui
Kauai
Big Island
Weather
Surf Advisory and Warning CriteriaLocation/shoreline Advisory Warning
North-Facing Shores- 15 Feet faces (8' Local) 25 Feet faces (15' local)
West-Facing Shores - 12 Feet (7' local) 20 Feet (12' local)
West-Facing- Big Is.- 8 Feet (4'+ local) 12 Feet (7' local)
South-Facing Shores- 8 Feet (4'+ local) 15 Feet (8' local)
East-Facing Shores- 8 Feet (4'+ local) 15 Feet (8' local)
Big Picture
INACTIVE.Get the latest on the tropics at www.hurricanes.gov
The Central Pacific Hurricane Center outlook for the 2017 Central Pacific Hurricane Season calls for 5 to 8 tropical cyclones to either develop or cross into the Central Pacific with a 40% chance for an above-normal season, a 40% chance for a normal season, and a 20% chance for a below-normal season. An average season has 4 to 5 tropical cyclones, which include tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes.
A tropical depression forms when a low-pressure area is accompanied by thunderstorms that produce a circular wind flow with maximum sustained winds below 39 mph. An upgrade to a tropical storm occurs when cyclonic circulation becomes more organized and maximum sustained winds gust between 39 mph and 73 mph. A tropical storm is then upgraded into Category 1 hurricane status as maximum sustained winds increase to between 74 mph and 95 mph. (The highest classification in the scale, Category 5, is reserved for storms with winds exceeding 156 mph).
Tropical cyclones go by many names around the world, and the terminology can get confusing. Once a tropical cyclone strengthens to the point where it has gale-force winds—39 mph or greater—it becomes a tropical storm. A storm that reaches tropical storm strength usually gets its own name to help us quickly identify it in forecasts and warnings. Once a tropical storm begins producing sustained winds of around 75 mph, we call the storm a typhoon in the western Pacific near Asia and a hurricane in the oceans on either side of North America. A “typhoon” and a “hurricane” are the same kind of storm, they just go by different names…it’s only a matter of geography.
NWS criteria for High Surf Advisories & Warnings.
In coordination with civil defense agencies & water safety organizations in Hawai`i, the NWS uses the criteria below for the issuance of High Surf Advisories & Warnings in coordination with civil defense agencies & water safety organizations in Hawai`i.
All surf height observations & forecasts are for the full face surf height, from the trough to the crest of the wave.
Advisory and Warning Criteria Location
Warning North-Facing Shores 15 Feet 25 Feet
West-Facing Shores - Remaining Islands 12 Feet 20 Feet
West-Facing Shores - Big Island 8 Feet 12 Feet
South-Facing Shores 8 Feet 15 Feet
East-Facing Shores 8 Feet 15 Feet
'Travel Time' Buoy 51101 to Waimea Buoy. Distance: 269 nautical miles (~310 miles). Angle: 307 deg
Wave Wave Wave Depth Wave Direction (deg)----------
Period Length Speed Shallow 295, 305, 315, 325, 335, 345, 355
(s) (ft) (nm/h) (ft) Travel Time (hours)----------
10sec. 512. 15. 256. 17.3, 17.7, 17.6, 16.9, 15.7, 14.0, 11.9
12sec. 737. 18. 369. 14.5, 14.8, 14.6, 14.0, 13.0, 11.6, 9.9
14sec. 1003. 21. 502. 12.4, 12.7, 12.5, 12.0, 11.2, 10.0, 8.5
16sec. 1310. 24. 655. 10.8, ,1 1.1, 11.0, 10.5, 9.8, 8.7, 7.4
18sec. 1658. 27. 829. 9.6, 9.8, 9.8, 9.4, 8.7, 7.8, 6.6
20sec. 2047. 30. 1024. 8.7 8.9 8.8 8.4 7.8 7.0 5.9
22sec. 2477. 33. 1239. 7.9 8.1 8.0 7.7 7.1 6.3 5.4
24sec. 2948. 36. 1474. 7.2 7.4 7.3 7.0 6.5 5.8 4.9
Tropical Storms - wind 39-73 mph (34-63 kt)
Category 1 - winds 74-95 mph (64-82 kt)
Category 2 -winds 96-110 mph (83-95 kt)
Category 3 -winds 111-130 mph (96-113 kt)
Category 4 - winds 131-155 mph (114-135 kt)
Category 5 -winds 156 mph and up (135+ kt)
Please visit the Central Pacific Hurricane Center website at www.weather.gov/cphc for the most recent bulletins.
ENSO is a single climate phenomenon, it has three states or phases. The two opposite phases, “El Niño” and “La Niña,” require certain changes in both the ocean and the atmosphere because ENSO is a coupled climate phenomenon. “Neutral” is in the middle of the continuum. The MJO (Madden-Julian Oscillation) is an eastward moving disturbance of clouds, rainfall, winds, and pressure that traverses the planet in the tropics and returns to its initial starting point in 30 to 60 days, on average, unlike ENSO which is stationary. In a nutshell, more active means more surf.
Kelvin wave (A Kelvin wave is a wave in the ocean or atmosphere that balances the Earth's Coriolis force against a topographic boundary such as a coastline, or a waveguide such as the equator. A feature of a Kelvin wave is that it is non-dispersive, i.e., the phase speed of the wave crests is equal to the group speed of the wave energy for all frequencies. This means that it retains its shape as it moves in the alongshore direction over time.)
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