7:10am OBS, Saturday, March 15th
Another beautiful morning with scattered clouds and calm winds early. Moderate E-ENE trades filling mid-morning. No marine warnings.
Moderate WNW. Above average ENE trade wind swell. Tiny SSW. Call 596-SURF: 7a, Noon, 4pm (recap-forecast).

North Shore:
Dropping slow 14 sec. WNW. Clean conditons with the overnight land breeze. Offshore trades filling by mid-morning. Sunset fair-good 3-4' occ. 5' early; Rocky Pt 2-3'+; Pipe 2-3' occ. 4'; Chuns 2-3'; Laniakea 2-3'+ Ali'i Beach Park 2-3' occ +'. Scattered clouds.
West:
Dropping slow 14 sec. WNW. Tiny South pulse. Clean all day due to moderate offshore trades filling. Makaha is 1-3'. Scattered clouds.
Town:
Dropping slow 12 sec SSW + isolated West wrap + minor SSE wind swell. Clean early with moderate side-shore trades filling by mid-morning. Waikiki reefs are 0-1.5'; Kaisers-Rockpiles to Ala Moana to Kewalos are 0-1.5' occ soft 2'. Partly cloudy skies.
Diamond Head:
Dropping slow 12 sec SSW + trade wind swell wrap. Light-moderate trades filling Surf's 1-occ. 2' at takeoff. Partly cloudy skies.
Sandy's:
Holding ENE trade wind swell wrap + Dropping tiny SSW. Semi-clean due to a light side shore trades. Full Pt/Half Pt are 1-3'. Shorebreak is also 1-2' occ. 3' and focused on Gas Chambers with fun sandbars. Scattered clouds.
East Makapu'u:
Holding 7 sec ENE trade wind swell. Semi-clean due to a light onshore trades, becoming bumpy by mid-mornign as trades fill. Surf's mostly 1-3' and breaking on the outside left and middle. Keikis is solid at 1-2'+. Scattered clouds.Winds
5-15+mph East Trade
Isolated Leeward sea breezes afternoon
5-15+mph East Trade
Isolated Leeward sea breezes afternoon
5-15+mph East Trade
Isolated Leeward sea breezes afternoon
10-20mph ENE Trade
10-25mph ENE Trade
North
Primary
Dropping Slow 14s WNWHaw: 2-4
Face: 3-7
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Good
Primary

Haw: 1-2+
Face: 1-3+
Secondary
Rising early Evening 15s NNWHaw: 2-3
Face: 3-5
Good
5' late afternoon
Primary
Up & dropping 12s NNWHaw: 2-4+
Face: 3-7+
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Good
Primary

Haw: 2-3
Face: 3-5
Secondary

Haw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Fair to good
NW 3' late afternoon
Primary
Up & Rising 15s NWHaw: 3-5
Face: 5-9
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Fair to good
6' later
West
Primary
Dropping Slow 14s WNWHaw: 2-3
Face: 3-5
Secondary
Dropping Slow 12s SSWHaw: 0
Face: 0
Good
Primary

Haw: 1 occ 2
Face: 1-2 occ 3
Secondary

Haw: 0-1
Face: 0-1.5
Good
Primary
Up & dropping 12s NNWHaw: 1-3
Face: 2-5
Secondary

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

Haw: 1-2+
Face: 1-3+
Secondary
Up & Rising 16s SSWHaw: 0
Face: 0
Fair to good
Primary
Up & Rising 15s NWHaw: 2-4
Face: 3-7
Secondary
Up & Rising 17s SSWHaw: 0-1.5
Face: 0-2
Fair to good
South
Primary
Dropping Slow 12s SSWHaw: 1-1.5
Face: 1-2
Secondary

Haw: 1-1.5
Face: 1-2
Smooth Am-mushy Pm
isolated West wrap
Primary

Haw: 0-1.5
Face: 0-2
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Smooth early-mushy midday
Primary

Haw: 0-1.5
Face: 0-2
Secondary
Dropping Slow 12s SSWHaw: 0-1
Face: 0-1.5
Smooth early-mushy midday
Primary
Up & Rising 16s SSWHaw: 1-1.5
Face: 1-2
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Fair to good
Primary
Up & Rising 17s SSWHaw: 1 occ 2
Face: 1-2 occ 3
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Fair to good
east
Primary

Haw: 1-3
Face: 2-5
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Smooth earlier-mushy mid-morning
Primary

Haw: 1-3
Face: 2-5
Secondary
Rising early Evening 15s NHaw: 1 occ 2
Face: 1-2 occ 3
Smooth earlier-mushy mid-morning
Primary
Up & holding 8s ENEHaw: 1-3
Face: 2-5
Secondary
Up & dropping 13s NHaw: 2-3+
Face: 3-5+
Smooth earlier-mushy mid-morning
Primary
Rising Slow 7s ENEHaw: 1-3 occ +
Face: 2-5 occ +
Secondary

Haw: 2-3
Face: 3-5
Choppy
Primary
Up & Rising 7s ENEHaw: 2-3
Face: 3-5
Secondary
Rising Midday 13s NHaw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Lumpy-Bumpy

Current Swells:
Saturday 03/15Primary: Dropping Slow 14s WNW surf @2-4
Secondary: Holding 7s E surf @1-3
Third: Dropping Slow 12s SSW surf @1-1.5

Marine Warnings:
Saturday 03/15None

Sailing Report:
Saturday 03/15Fair with light-moderate E-ENE trades of 10-15+ mph.

Diving Report:
Saturday 03/15North shores: Poor for shallow zones due to the WNW swell and light offshore trades (Fair-good for deeper dives). West: Fair to good (esp. for deeper dives) due to small surf and moderate offshore trades. South: Good due to tiny surf and moderate sideshore trades. East: Poor for most zones due to moderate onshore trades and solid wind swell.
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.)
Premium snn Membership
Join the Premium SNN Membership and enjoy 10 Day Forecasts, All Webcams Page, 5 Days Webcams Archives, Help Surfrider & Access Surf with your partnership.
All for just $8/month Sign Up Now! 1st Month is FREE
5,460
likes
550
followers
98
subscribers
449
followers