Ignacio Prompts High Surf Warning for Maui
Image: John Varney
By Meteorologist Malika Dudley / Email: [email protected]
Alerts
A High Surf Advisory is posted for Molokai and Maui through 6 p.m. Wednesday. Surf along east facing shores is expected to rise to 6 to 10 foot faces Monday. Expect strong breaking waves, shore break and strong longshore and rip currents making swimming difficult and dangerous.
A High Surf Warning is posted for east facing shores of Maui through 6 p.m. Tuesday with wave heights rising to 12 to 20 foot faces in some spots. Expect ocean water occasionally sweeping across portions of beaches, very strong breaking waves and strong longshore and rip currents. Breaking waves may occasionally impact harbors making navigating the harbor channel difficult. Large breaking surf, significant shore break and dangerous currents will make entering the water very hazardous. Boaters should be aware of an increased number of surfers in the water.
A Small Craft Advisory is posted for Maui County windward waters as well as all channels through 6 p.m. Tuesday for 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, tides, swell direction & period and expected wave heights.**
Maui Surf Forecast
North: Wave heights of about knee/waist high are expected today for the best breaks open to the west-northwest. Spots that are pulling in the Ignacio swell could get up to overhead or maybe even double overhead on the sets at the best exposures.
West: Wave heights knee/waist/chest high are expected. Spots shadowed by other islands will be smaller or even flat.
South: Wave heights knee/waist/chest high are expected at the best breaks. Spots catching the Ignacio swell could get up to waist/chest high or maybe bigger on the sets at the best breaks.
A west-northwest swell from former typhoon Atsani fades Monday and really starts dropping Tuesday. Short period northeast swell mix is expected to hold through Monday.
Meanwhile, a new east swell from hurricane Ignacio will build to advisory and warning levels. This swell is expected to peak Monday for the Big Island and Maui County. We expect northeast, shifting north-northwest swell to also get pumped out of this system for the first half of next week but this is highly dependent on the track and intensity Ignacio ends up taking.
Our current southerly mix of swells is expected to hold through Monday and begin to fade Tuesday.
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.**
Image: NOAA / NWS
Image: NOAA / NWS
Image: NOAA / NWS
Image: NOAA / NWS
Image: NOAA / NWS
Image: NOAA / NWS
Image: NOAA / NWS
Image: NOAA / NWS
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