‘Tis the season for big surf.
The National Weather Service predicts that a new northwest swell arriving this weekend should serve big-wave riders well, bringing even larger surf to ride into the new year.
"From our point of view, the big surf season has finally really kicked in," city Ocean Safety Division Operations Chief Jim Howe said Thursday. "We anticipate seeing surf above the 15-foot-face range for the next three to four weeks and going above that on occasion."
A deep low-pressure system with storm-force winds off Japan’s northeast coast will generate a northwest swell in Hawaii, possibly larger than the current one, and is expected to arrive in the islands Saturday night and peak Sunday, holding through New Year’s Day.
"We are expecting heights coming in this weekend at 25-feet-plus," said Leigh Anne Eaton of the National Weather Service, adding that there is also "a chance of a coinciding high tide and coastal wash."
The northwest swell that brought 20- to 25-foot-face waves Thursday, peaking Thursday night and coinciding with a high tide, will diminish by today.
But the high-surf warning was extended to 6 p.m. today for north shores of all islands except Lanai and Hawaii island, and west shores of Niihau and Kauai. A high-surf advisory for Oahu and Molokai’s west shores will also be in effect, with waves of 14 to 18 feet expected.
Two separate events, a large storm southeast of Kamchatka in the Russian Far East and a low-pressure system formed east of Tokyo on Christmas Eve, generated the current swell.
Oahu lifeguards were busy Thursday, rescuing five people and issuing 700 preventive warnings to beachgoers at North Shore beaches, officials said.
Waimea Bay had the most preventive actions, with 200 warnings issued.
Most rescues were intermediate surfers who needed a little help, Howe said.
Rescues also included individuals near the jump rock at Waimea Bay, Howe said.
Waves started building at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday, and lifeguard towers at Sunset Beach and Laniakea were kept open until dark, Howe said.
Surfers took advantage of smooth and calm wave-riding conditions Thursday.
"We appreciate the public’s cooperation with our lifeguards as we are expecting more large swells to roll in over the next few days and early next week," said Emergency Services Department spokeswoman Shayne Enright.
Organizers of the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, a one-day big-wave invitational surfing event held at Waimea Bay, have notified competitors they will monitor the developing swell, said Jodi Wilmott of Ocean Promotion.
"Hopefully, we will have better indications for the surfers tomorrow," Wilmott said Thursday afternoon.
Competitors are on standby now through February, she said.
"It’s important to know during a high-surf warning, dangerous battering waves will pound the shoreline and can result in very dangerous swimming conditions and deadly rip currents," Eaton reminds beachgoers.
Advisory conditions also warn of the large waves, and beachgoers are urged to stay out of the waves and the shorebreak.
