Offseason West Swell En Route to Hawaii
Former-Super Typhoon Surigae helps direct rare, springtime west swell to Oahu
Charlie Hutcherson
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Swell builds Friday, holds Saturday, eases Sunday; breezy E trades
On-track to become largest North Shore swell in May west of 315 degrees
It’s been three decades since the North Shores of Hawaii benefited from a solid west swell in May. The North Pacific usually shuts down by then, sending many frothing Hawaiians to more dependable springtime locales like Mexico, Central America and Indonesia.
But this May will be different. Record-breaking, early-season Super Typhoon Surigae provided the spark for a powerful Northwest Pacific storm that looks very similar to the 1989 system that was fueled by Super Typhoon Andy. That was one of the last times a solid, long-period west swell under 315 degrees graced the Seven Mile Miracle in May (as verified by our forecasting geeks, who dial these things down to the degree).
West Coast Gets Their Own Valentine Swell (Albeit a Lil Late)
Conditions improve during the week with swell arriving from many sources and directions
Kevin Wallis
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If you’re on the West Coast and feeling a little unloved after Hawaii stole all the attention over Pipeline Valentine Weekend, don’t get too down. You’ll rebound quickly with a week of increasingly fun surf from multiple sources. Many areas will start the week with bouts of onshore wind and unfavorable conditions as a smaller version of those recent Hawaii swells reaches California. But as the surf gradually tapers down from mid to late week, the wind and wave quality will improve from a fun combo of NW and Southern Hemisphere swell at the well-exposed breaks. It won’t be heart-throbbing Pipe, but it should be all the affection you need.
The weather clears and the hangover ends this weekend.
Favorable trade winds greet the the largest northwest swell to hit the Islands in nearly a month. All the big-name breaks from Pipe to Waimea, and some of the (semi) off-the-beaten-path spots should have a moment to shine. And in case you haven’t checked the calendar, it’s Valentine’s Day (and President’s Day) weekend. If you love XL-surf, but your significant other doesn’t, be sure to ask permission (or beg forgiveness) before scheduling your weekend water time.
Keep your eyes out at the end of the week as our coverage ramps up with the incoming swell. Look for a fresh Swell Event (that’s the big purple bar at the top of the homepage and the top of your favorites on the app) and takeovers on all of our social channels on Friday morning. As we showed during the long-running, back-to-back-to-back-to-back North Pacific swells of North Pacific Overdrive, we’ll get you as close as we can without getting you wet. Look
How Will Jaws Stack Up? Comparing Pe’ahi‘s Greatest Hits
#SuperSwellSaturday against December 2020, November 2018, and January 2016
Jaws, Dec 2, Photo: Tracy Leboe
Kevin Wallis
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Editor’s Note: Stay tuned right here for realtime coverage of Super Swell Saturday.
Somehow, the incredible run in the North Pacific isn’t quite done yet. The largest swell of the bunch is swiftly moving toward the Hawaiian Islands for an XXL peak on Saturday.
While the islands have certainly pumped over the past month, we haven’t seen a true XXL swell since this crazy run kicked off in early December. The storm track and location are the primary reason the islands only saw large to XL (but not giant) surf. Generally speaking, the lows were better aimed at the U.S. West Coast, sending what we often call ‘glancing blows’ for Hawaii. That changes this weekend.
Pumping Surf Isn’t Over Yet, California
Strong WNW swells, periods of offshore wind in the next few days before the NPAC finally slows down late month
A couple weeks back. Photo: Jeremiah Klein
Kevin Wallis
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Anyone sick of all the action in the North Pacific yet? Yeah, neither are we (although some sleep for our forecast and editorial teams would be nice). Good thing, too, as the NPAC still has some gas left in the tank. This latest round of swells will favor Hawaii for size – similar to the first pulse that opened this incredible run of surf nearly a month and a half ago – but the West Coast has a few more days of large to locally XL surf before things finally quiet down during the final third of January.