Advisory Level SSW Peaks Today
By Meteorologist Malika Dudley / Email: [email protected]
Alerts
A High Surf Advisory has been posted for the south shores of all islands in Maui County. The advisory will go into effect from 4:00 a.m. Wednesday to 10:00 a.m. Thursday for surf heights of 6 to 8 foot faces. Expect strong breaking waves, shore break and strong longshore and rip currents making swimming difficult and dangerous.
A Small Craft Advisory is posted for Pailolo and ʻAlenuihāhā channels as well as Māʻalaea Bay through 6:00 p.m. Friday. East winds up to 30 knots are forecasted along with rough seas of 8 to 13 feet. Inexperienced mariners should avoid navigating in these conditions.
**Click directly on the images below to make them larger. Charts include: Maui County projected winds, forecasted swell direction, height & period, tides, a surface map and expected wave heights.**
North: Wave heights are expected around knee/thigh/waist high today. Spots along Hana could get up to head high surf but messy conditions due to the winds.
West: Spots catching the new south-southwest could get up to waist/chest high waves today. Shoulder high or more at the best breaks late in the day. Spots not catching the swell are expected to be in the ankle to knee high range.
South: Waist/chest/shoulder high waves are expected today. The best breaks could see head high or bigger waves on the sets.
Our current south-southwest will peak on Wednesday in the head high range or more. Friday an incoming swell will overlap with the current one. That second pulse is expected to peak over the weekend.
A small north swell fades today with messy conditions because of on-shore winds. Another swell is expected late Thursday, peaking Friday up to shoulder high at the best spots.
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.
**Click here for your detailed Maui County weather report.**