Here’s Hoping the New Year Brings More Surf

While the holiday surf is expected to die down, in places like Ho’okipa, another northwest swell is expected for this weekend. Photo by Riley Yap.

By Riley Yap

As we welcome the New Year, the continuous swell activity that we’ve been blessed with over the holidays is expected to die down a little, but should still offer plenty of surf at the overhead levels at select breaks along the north shore.

Another series of northwest swells are expected to arrive to our shores on late Wednesday into Thursday, though it shouldn’t be too big and is expected to stay within the moderate wave heights. The wave periods range from short to long which could result in choppy and poor wave conditions.

Looking further into surf forecasts by NOAA, it looks like more waves are headed this way and are projected to reach our shores late Friday or early Saturday, but it is still too far away to make any solid predictions. Expect the weekend swell to be a little rough and with some wave heights up to 8- to 10-foot faces.

With swells offering consistent surf to all, the New Year will be brought in with crowded waters and stoked faces as ocean athletes take to the waves and free themselves from the struggles of 2013. Let the New Year bring us many more waves, clear skies, and grateful hearts as we drop into 2014.

The New Year’s Eve surf report is as follows: North and northwest facing shores should continue to see good-sized waves of up to 6- to 8-foot faces, possibly much bigger at select breaks farther along the north shore near Ho’okipa. Upper-west shores are also offering significant wave heights of 1 to 4+ foot faces, with the better waves at select breaks if you know where to look. Wind swells along the east and northeast facing shores should see waves of 1-3 foot faces and could be experiencing some wrap of the northwest swell. South-facing shores will remain flat to 3 feet with no significant swells to mention.

Be sure to check up on MauiNow.com for your local surf news, wave hotspots, and surf shots! Happy holidays and have a wonderful, safe New Year!