Sloppy surf: Blame it on the wind
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Bumpy waves of up to 15 feet hit the North Shore yesterday in advance of a northwest front that is forecast to bring waves up to 30 feet late in the week.
The surf was not pretty, said Capt. Bodo Van Der Leeden, of the city Ocean Safety/Lifeguard Division.
"It's not conducive to surfing except for a few die-hards who surf Waimea," he said. "There's no surfers to watch; you're just basically looking at foaming waves."
With few surfers in the water, lifeguards focused on keeping people away from it so they wouldn't get swept out to sea. It was a no-swim day, Van Der Leeden said.
The sloppy surf is due to winds that sweep in from off shore and prevent the formation of good surf waves, said Bob Burke, a weather service forecaster and surfer.
When winds are light and flow from the shore, the wave conditions improve, Burke said, adding that the next front will bring winds from the north that will shift to the northeast. Surfers could see less choppy conditions.
"But it doesn't look like it's going to be real favorable for clean conditions," he said. "You may still have a little bit of a chop on it."
A northwest front heading to the Islands beginning Thursday will bring waves from 20 feet to 30 feet by Friday and into Saturday, said Victor Proton, weather service lead forecaster.
The "north and west side could get warning-level surf," Proton said, explaining that warning levels for the North Shore go into effect in anticipation of waves of 25 feet or higher, which can damage roads and shorelines, and endanger people.
Winds that gusted up to 50 mph over the weekend have been replaced by light and variable winds that should continue until Thursday, when wind speed could increase again if the front moves across the state, he said. A southwest, or kona wind, of about 10 mph to 20 mph is predicted but that could change depending on the front, Proton said.
Yesterday morning, waves on Kaua'i's north and west shores were reported at 15 feet to 30 feet, he said.
O'ahu's north side reached 15 feet and the Big Island had surf from 6 feet to 10 feet, Proton said.
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Correction: Victor Proton's name was misspelled in a previous version of this story.
