615am OBS, Tuesday, May 14th
Scattered to broken clouds with slow-moving, moderate to heavy rain showers. Calm to ultra light land breezes early becoming sea breezes towards lunch. Flood Watch for all islands. No marine warnings.
Big Picture updated 5/12. Small NNW. New SW. Tiny SSW and East trade wind swells. Call 596-SURF: 7a, noon, 3pm; plus, the 5p (recap-forecast).
North Shore:
Dropping 13 sec NNW. Smooth, near-glassy conditions due to ultra light offshore winds. Sunset 2-3'; Rocky Pt 1-2'+; Pipe 1-2'; Chuns/Jockos 1-2'+; Laniakea 1-2'+; Ali'i Beach Park 1-2'. Mostly cloudy skies.West:
Rising 19 sec SW + Dropping 13 sec SSW + Dropping 13 sec NNW. It's clean under very light winds but sea breezes filling in towards mid-morning. Makaha is 1-1.5' and breaking close to shore. Broken clouds.Town:
Rising 19 sec SW + Dropping 13 sec SSW. Surf's not looking very good, a tad mushy and bumpy. Waikiki reefs are 1-1.5'; Kaisers-Rockpiles to Ala Moana to Kewalos are 1-occ. 2'. Mostly cloudy with passing showers.Diamond Head:
Rising 19 sec SW + Dropping 13 sec SSW. Lumpy, bumpy conditions due to fickle winds. Surf's 1-2' at takeoff. Broken clouds with passing showers.Sandy's:
Rising 19 sec SW + Dropping 13 sec SSW + Holding trade wind swell wrap. Surf's looking good due to light winds. Full Pt/Half Pt are 1-2'. Shorebreak is 1-2'. Broken clouds with passing showers.East Makapu'u:
Up & Holding 11 sec NE + Holding 7 sec ENE trade wind swell. Generally clean surf early due to a nearly calm wind. Surf's focused on the right side of the bay at 1-2'. Not much surf on the left side. Mostly cloudy skies with passing showers.Winds
5-7mph SE
10-20mph SW Kona
5-15+mph Variables
Fickle winds
10-20mph SSE
10-20+mph SE
North
Primary
Dropping 13s NNWHaw: 2-3
Face: 3-5
Secondary
Rising Afternoon 16s NWHaw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Good early , fair later
Primary
Up & holding 13s NWHaw: 1-3
Face: 2-5
Secondary
Dropping 10s NNWHaw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Poor side-shore
Primary
Rising Fast 11s NWHaw: 2-3+
Face: 3-5+
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Fair
6' midday
Primary
Up & dropping 11s NNWHaw: 4-6
Face: 6-10
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Good
Primary
Dropping 11s NNWHaw: 2-3+
Face: 3-5+
Secondary
Rising 16s NNWHaw: 1-1.5
Face: 1-2
Fair to good
West
Primary
Dropping 13s NNWHaw: 1-2+
Face: 1-3+
Secondary
Up & Rising 19s SWHaw: 0-1.5
Face: 0-2
Good early , fair later
Primary
Up & holding 13s NWHaw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Secondary
Up & holding 17s SSWHaw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Poor side-shore
Primary
Rising Fast 11s NWHaw: 1-3
Face: 2-5
Secondary
Up & Rising 19s SSWHaw: 1-2 occ 3
Face: 2-4 occ 5
Fair
Primary
Up & dropping 11s NNWHaw: 2-4+
Face: 3-7+
Secondary
Up & holding 17s SSWHaw: 2-3+
Face: 3-5+
Good
Primary
Dropping 11s NNWHaw: 1-3
Face: 2-5
Secondary
Holding 16s SSWHaw: 1-2 occ 3
Face: 2-4 occ 5
Fair to good
South
Primary
Up & Rising 19s SWHaw: 1 occ 2
Face: 1-2 occ 3
Secondary
Dropping 13s SSWHaw: 1 occ 2
Face: 1-2 occ 3
Fair
2.5' later
Primary
Up & holding 17s SSWHaw: 1-2 occ 3
Face: 2-4 occ 5
Secondary
Rising 23s SSWHaw: 1 occ 2
Face: 1-2 occ 3
Poor onshore
+ Rising 5s wind swell; 3'+ later
Primary
Up & Rising 19s SSWHaw: 2-3 occ 4
Face: 3-5 occ 7
Secondary
Holding 15s SSWHaw: 1-2 occ 3
Face: 2-4 occ 5
poor to fair
+ Holding 6s wind swell; 4'+ later
Primary
Up & holding 17s SSWHaw: 3-5
Face: 5-9
Secondary
Dropping 13s SSWHaw: 1-2 occ 3
Face: 2-4 occ 5
Poor onshore
+ Dropping 6s wind swell
Primary
Holding 16s SSWHaw: 2-4 occ 5
Face: 3-6 occ 8
Secondary
Rising Later 21s SHaw: 1-2 occ +
Face: 1-3 occ +
Poor onshore
east
Primary
Up & holding 11s NEHaw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Secondary
Holding 7s EHaw: 1-1.5
Face: 1-2
Fair to good
Primary
Holding 7s EHaw: 1-1.5
Face: 1-2
Secondary
Dropping 9s NEHaw: 1-1.5
Face: 1-2
Fair
Primary
Holding 7s EHaw: 1-1.5
Face: 1-2
Secondary
Rising 11s NHaw: 1-1.5
Face: 1-2
Fair
North wrap, 2' later
Primary
Up & dropping 11s NHaw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Secondary
Rising Slow 7s EHaw: 1-1.5
Face: 1-2
Fair
North wrap
Primary
Up & Rising 7s EHaw: 1-2
Face: 1-3
Secondary
None NONEHaw: 0
Face: 0
Choppy
Current Swells:
Tuesday 05/14Primary: Dropping 13s NNW surf @2-3
Secondary: Up & Rising 19s SW surf @1 occ 2
Third: Up & holding 11s NE surf @1-2
Marine Warnings:
Tuesday 05/14None
Sailing Report:
Tuesday 05/14Poor due to very light SE flow.
Diving Report:
Tuesday 05/14North shores: Fair due to small surf and lite winds; West shores: Good for most zones due to tiny surf and lite winds. South shores: Fair overall with tiny to small surf and lite winds. East shores: Fair due to small surf and lite winds.
Oahu
Maui
Kauai
Big Island
Weather
Surf Advisory and Warning CriteriaLocation/shoreline Advisory Warning
North-Facing Shores- 15 Feet faces (8' Local) 25 Feet faces (15' local)
West-Facing Shores - 12 Feet (7' local) 20 Feet (12' local)
West-Facing- Big Is.- 8 Feet (4'+ local) 12 Feet (7' local)
South-Facing Shores- 8 Feet (4'+ local) 15 Feet (8' local)
East-Facing Shores- 8 Feet (4'+ local) 15 Feet (8' local)
Big Picture
INACTIVE.Get the latest on the tropics at www.hurricanes.gov
The Central Pacific Hurricane Center outlook for the 2017 Central Pacific Hurricane Season calls for 5 to 8 tropical cyclones to either develop or cross into the Central Pacific with a 40% chance for an above-normal season, a 40% chance for a normal season, and a 20% chance for a below-normal season. An average season has 4 to 5 tropical cyclones, which include tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes.
A tropical depression forms when a low-pressure area is accompanied by thunderstorms that produce a circular wind flow with maximum sustained winds below 39 mph. An upgrade to a tropical storm occurs when cyclonic circulation becomes more organized and maximum sustained winds gust between 39 mph and 73 mph. A tropical storm is then upgraded into Category 1 hurricane status as maximum sustained winds increase to between 74 mph and 95 mph. (The highest classification in the scale, Category 5, is reserved for storms with winds exceeding 156 mph).
Tropical cyclones go by many names around the world, and the terminology can get confusing. Once a tropical cyclone strengthens to the point where it has gale-force winds—39 mph or greater—it becomes a tropical storm. A storm that reaches tropical storm strength usually gets its own name to help us quickly identify it in forecasts and warnings. Once a tropical storm begins producing sustained winds of around 75 mph, we call the storm a typhoon in the western Pacific near Asia and a hurricane in the oceans on either side of North America. A “typhoon” and a “hurricane” are the same kind of storm, they just go by different names…it’s only a matter of geography.
NWS criteria for High Surf Advisories & Warnings.
In coordination with civil defense agencies & water safety organizations in Hawai`i, the NWS uses the criteria below for the issuance of High Surf Advisories & Warnings in coordination with civil defense agencies & water safety organizations in Hawai`i.
All surf height observations & forecasts are for the full face surf height, from the trough to the crest of the wave.
Advisory and Warning Criteria Location
Warning North-Facing Shores 15 Feet 25 Feet
West-Facing Shores - Remaining Islands 12 Feet 20 Feet
West-Facing Shores - Big Island 8 Feet 12 Feet
South-Facing Shores 8 Feet 15 Feet
East-Facing Shores 8 Feet 15 Feet
'Travel Time' Buoy 51101 to Waimea Buoy. Distance: 269 nautical miles (~310 miles). Angle: 307 deg
Wave Wave Wave Depth Wave Direction (deg)----------
Period Length Speed Shallow 295, 305, 315, 325, 335, 345, 355
(s) (ft) (nm/h) (ft) Travel Time (hours)----------
10sec. 512. 15. 256. 17.3, 17.7, 17.6, 16.9, 15.7, 14.0, 11.9
12sec. 737. 18. 369. 14.5, 14.8, 14.6, 14.0, 13.0, 11.6, 9.9
14sec. 1003. 21. 502. 12.4, 12.7, 12.5, 12.0, 11.2, 10.0, 8.5
16sec. 1310. 24. 655. 10.8, ,1 1.1, 11.0, 10.5, 9.8, 8.7, 7.4
18sec. 1658. 27. 829. 9.6, 9.8, 9.8, 9.4, 8.7, 7.8, 6.6
20sec. 2047. 30. 1024. 8.7 8.9 8.8 8.4 7.8 7.0 5.9
22sec. 2477. 33. 1239. 7.9 8.1 8.0 7.7 7.1 6.3 5.4
24sec. 2948. 36. 1474. 7.2 7.4 7.3 7.0 6.5 5.8 4.9
Tropical Storms - wind 39-73 mph (34-63 kt)
Category 1 - winds 74-95 mph (64-82 kt)
Category 2 -winds 96-110 mph (83-95 kt)
Category 3 -winds 111-130 mph (96-113 kt)
Category 4 - winds 131-155 mph (114-135 kt)
Category 5 -winds 156 mph and up (135+ kt)
Please visit the Central Pacific Hurricane Center website at www.weather.gov/cphc for the most recent bulletins.
ENSO is a single climate phenomenon, it has three states or phases. The two opposite phases, “El Niño” and “La Niña,” require certain changes in both the ocean and the atmosphere because ENSO is a coupled climate phenomenon. “Neutral” is in the middle of the continuum. The MJO (Madden-Julian Oscillation) is an eastward moving disturbance of clouds, rainfall, winds, and pressure that traverses the planet in the tropics and returns to its initial starting point in 30 to 60 days, on average, unlike ENSO which is stationary. In a nutshell, more active means more surf.
Kelvin wave (A Kelvin wave is a wave in the ocean or atmosphere that balances the Earth's Coriolis force against a topographic boundary such as a coastline, or a waveguide such as the equator. A feature of a Kelvin wave is that it is non-dispersive, i.e., the phase speed of the wave crests is equal to the group speed of the wave energy for all frequencies. This means that it retains its shape as it moves in the alongshore direction over time.)
Premium snn Membership
Join the Premium SNN Membership and enjoy 10 Day Forecasts, All Webcams Page, 5 Days Webcams Archives, Help Surfrider & Access Surf with your partnership.
All for just $8/month Sign Up Now! 1st Month is FREE
5,460
likes
550
followers
98
subscribers
449
followers