High Surf Advisory, Well Overhead Waves Expected

Image: Aaron Lynton / Big Beach Mākena

By Meteorologist Malika Dudley / Email: malika@mauinow.com

Alerts

A Hydrologic Outlook has been issued by the National Weather Service. Heavy rain and flash flooding are possible Thursday and Friday as Hilda approaches the state. The NWS warns that regardless of its strength, the system will have the potential to produce very heavy rainfall and flash flooding as moisture spreads from east to west over the island chain. Details of timing, location and amount of rainfall are still highly dependent on where Hilda ends up tracking.

A Small Craft Advisory is posted for the Pailolo and ʻAlenuihāhā channels as well as Māʻalaea Bay. Winds of 20 to 25 knots out of the northeast are forecasted with rough seas up to 13 feet. This advisory is posted through 6:00 a.m. Tuesday. Inexperienced mariners should avoid navigating in these conditions.

A High Surf Advisory is posted for the east side of Maui as swell generated by hurricane Hilda builds. The advisory is posted through 6:00 a.m. Wednesday. Wave heights of 8 to 12 feet are expected Tuesday, dropping to 6 to 10 feet by Tuesday afternoon. Expect strong breaking waves, shore break and strong longshore and rip currents making swimming difficult and dangerous.

A Hurricane Warning is posted for Hawaiian offshore waters from 40 nautical miles out to 240 nautical miles until further notice.

**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 waist/head high are expected today early on. Early in the day, we could see overhead waves at the best breaks.

West:  Wave heights ankle/knee high are expected for spots open to the southwest swells.

South:  Wave heights ankle/thigh/waist high are expected at the best breaks.

Hilda has generated a ESE/E swell for the islands. The swell is expected to slowly fade through Wednesday.

Our current south-southwest swell is expected to continue fading early this week. A very small southwest swell is also mixing in. No significant swells are on the horizon out of the SPAC. Small swells are expected the second half of the week but a bigger swell is possible middle of next week if a storm near New Zealand develops as expected.

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