615am OBS, Wednesday, April 23rd
Mostly cloudy with some blue parts. Light-moderate SSE winds. No marine warnings.
Big Picture updated 4/20. Solid South. Tiny NW & NE trade wind swells. Call 596-SURF: 7a, Noon, 4pm (recap-forecast).

North Shore:
Down and dropping tiny 12 sec NW. Clean straight offshore thanks to light offshore SSE winds. Sunset area 0-2'; Rocky Pt 0-2'; Pipe 0-1'; Chuns 0-2'; Laniakea 0-2'; Ali'i Beach Park 0-1'. Broken clouds.
West:
Holding 15 sec South + NW. Poor onshore SSE winds early. Makaha is 1-2' occ. 3' on the South and breaking inside the reef. Focal west side spots up to occ 4'. Broken clouds.
Town:
Holding solid 15 sec South. But terrible onshore slop chop. Waikiki reefs are 2-3' occ. +; Kaisers-Rockpiles to Ala Moana to Kewalos are 2-3' very occ. 4'. Mostly cloudy skies.
Diamond Head:
Holding solid 15 sec South. Ugly onshore mess. Surf's 2-3' occ. 4'. Mostly cloudy skies.
Sandy's:
Holding solid 14 sec South + dropping tiny NE trade wind swell wrap. Full Pt/Half Pt are 2-3' occ. +' but choppy messy onshore SSE winds. Shore break is cleaner at 2-3' occ. 4' and focused from Cobbles to Middle Peaks to Chambers. Mostly clouds.
East Makapu'u:
Down and Dropping 9 sec NE trade wind swell. Clean offshore SSE winds. Surf's 1 occ 2' on the shorebreak spread out across the bay. Plenty clouds.Winds
5-15+mph SSE
5-10mph SE
5-7mph ESE
5-10mph ESE
veering SSW to West
5-15mph East Trade
North
Primary

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

Haw: 0-1.5
Face: 0-2
Secondary
Rising early Evening 18s NWHaw: 1-1.5
Face: 1-2
divin , paddlin
Primary
Up & Rising 16s NWHaw: 2-3 occ +
Face: 3-5 occ +
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Good early , fair later
peaking 5'+ late
Primary

Haw: 2-4
Face: 3-7
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Fair to good
Primary

Haw: 1-2+
Face: 1-3+
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Fair to good
West
Primary

Haw: 0-1.5
Face: 0-2
Secondary

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

Haw: 0-1.5
Face: 0-2
Secondary

Haw: 0-1
Face: 0-1.5
Smooth early-mushy later
Primary
Up & Rising 16s NWHaw: 1-2 occ 3
Face: 2-4 occ 5
Secondary
Up & holding 15s SWHaw: 0-1.5
Face: 0-2
Good early , fair later
Primary

Haw: 1-3
Face: 2-5
Secondary

Haw: 0-1.5
Face: 0-2
Fair to good
Primary

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

Haw: 0
Face: 0
Fair to good
South
Primary

Haw: 1-2 occ 3
Face: 2-4 occ 5
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Mushy
Primary

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

Haw: 1-1.5
Face: 1-2
Smooth early-mushy later
Primary
Up & holding 15s SWHaw: 1 occ 2
Face: 1-2 occ 3
Secondary

Haw: 1 occ 2
Face: 1-2 occ 3
Smooth early-mushy later
+ R later 19s S @0-1.5
Primary

Haw: 1 occ 2
Face: 1-2 occ 3
Secondary
Up & holding 16s SHaw: 1-1.5
Face: 1-2
Good early , fair later
Primary

Haw: 1-1.5
Face: 1-2
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Fair
east
Primary

Haw: 1 occ 2
Face: 1-2 occ 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
Good offshores
Primary
Up & holding 8s EHaw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Smooth early-mushy later
Primary

Haw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Smoother early-mushier midday
Primary

Haw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
slightly bumpy

Current Swells:
Thursday 04/24Primary: Holding 13s S surf @1-2 occ 3
Secondary: Dropping 10s NW surf @0-1.5
Third: Holding 8s NE surf @1 occ 2

Marine Warnings:
Thursday 04/24Trend: None

Sailing Report:
Thursday 04/24Trend: Poor-fair due to light-locally moderate SSE winds.

Diving Report:
Thursday 04/24Trend: North shores: Fair to good diving for most zones due to small surf and light offshore SE winds (best bet: deeper dives). West: Poor for most zones due to south swell and onshore winds. South: Poor with solid surf and onshore chop. East: Good for most zones due to light offshore winds and small surf.
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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