Hawaii Island · Right now

Honolii

Big Island shore forecast; official shore-facing range: 1–4 ft

Updated Tue, Sep 22, 2:30 PM HST

When to go

Around 5:00 PM

Looks good · Moderate confidence

1–4 ft · Official surf · whole shore and forecast period · Big Island shore forecast; official shore-facing range

Wind: 3.0 kt · onshore

Forecast details

The official forecast calls for surf along this coast.
Light wind should keep the water smoother.

Other wind windows

Plan around the wind

The best available upcoming daylight wind sample to compare with the wave evidence. This compares wind only; wave size, tide suitability, and hazards can change your choice.

3:00 PM–5:00 PM · Pacific/Honolulu
Light wind · up to 5.2 kt · reported gusts up to 13.2 kt
Offshore waves: 7.8–8.2 ft across the period. Surf height unavailable. Tide data available; check the local tide response.
Wind source time: Sep 22, 1:45 PM HST. This is not the model run issue time.

How these periods are chosen

The planner prefers three consecutive hourly samples covering two daylight hours, but retains shorter one- or two-sample evidence when that is all the forecast provides. Light wind means at most 6 kt. Moderate offshore means at most 12 kt from land toward the sea when shore orientation is verified. Strong wind or known gusts of 20 kt or more remain visible as cautions instead of making the entire comparison disappear. These are comparison labels, not locally tested surf-quality or safety ratings. Missing gusts remain unknown. Terrain shelter, currents, closures, and your ability are not assessed.

Forecast confidence

Returned marine grid point is 23.1 km from the mapped spot. MFWAM is approximately 8 km resolution.
Reference model hour: 0 hours from now; historical residuals do not measure forecast lead-time error.
No accepted local model for these inputs: missing history, unsupported direction/period/height, or failed historical validation.
A mapped coordinate does not establish nearshore grid resolution or terrain/shelter accuracy.

Wind NE 5.2 kt

Tide 2 ft falling

Wave, wind and tide details

Offshore model swellE 7.5 ft @ 7sValid 2026-09-22 15:00 · Pacific/HonoluluMarine grid 19.9583, -155.0417 · offshore model, not a local measurement

Offshore model sea7.8 ft @ 8.7sSignificant wave height including wind waves and swell; not breaking surfValid 2026-09-22 15:00 · Pacific/Honolulu

Model windNE 5.2 ktonshoreValid 2026-09-22 15:00 · Pacific/Honolulu5.2 kt onshore component

Tide2 ftfallingNOAA Hilo, Hilo Bay, Kuhio Bay 1617760 · 4.6 km from Honolii · predicted height relative to MLLWRetrieved Sep 22, 2:30 PM HST · provider issue time unavailable72% of adjacent local low–high range · descriptive, not a safety rating

Hilo buoy 512068.9 ft @ 9sObserved offshore significant wave height at the named buoy; not surf at this breakObserved Sep 22, 1:56 PM HST

Surf height unavailable. Coastal and offshore waves are not breaking-wave heights.

Surf and wind

Recommended window: No recommended window

Breaking surf is not reliably resolved. Hourly offshore swell and wind inputs are listed below.

Hourly forecast

Hourly surf forecast for Honolii
Time	Wind	Tide	Offshore swell
2 PM	NE 5.5 ktonshore	2 ftfalling	E 7.3 ft @ 7s
3 PM	NE 5.2 ktonshore	2 ftfalling	E 7.5 ft @ 7s
4 PM	ENE 4.6 ktonshore	1.5 ftfalling	E 7.7 ft @ 7s
5 PM	NE 3 ktonshore	1.5 ftfalling	E 7.8 ft @ 7s

2 PMUnavailable

WindNE 5.5 ktonshoreTide2 ftfallingOffshore swellE 7.3 ft @ 7s

3 PMUnavailable

WindNE 5.2 ktonshoreTide2 ftfallingOffshore swellE 7.5 ft @ 7s

4 PMUnavailable

WindENE 4.6 ktonshoreTide1.5 ftfallingOffshore swellE 7.7 ft @ 7s

5 PMUnavailable

WindNE 3 ktonshoreTide1.5 ftfallingOffshore swellE 7.8 ft @ 7s

Tide

NOAA Hilo, Hilo Bay, Kuhio Bay 1617760 · 4.6 km from Honolii · MLLW

Interpolated tide height Recommended window

About this spot

Model-grid forecast requested at the mapped coordinate; reef, headland, and nearshore transformations are unresolved. River break. Named beach/break coordinate; source describes southwest offshore wind and northeast best swell, supporting a northeast-facing shore assignment.

Mapped spot coordinate: 19.7555, -155.0903.

Hawaii Island · east · Ocean-facing bearing 45° · Location provenance

Model request point: Honolii (19.7555, -155.0903). Model output times describe valid conditions; the provider does not expose the model run issue time in this response.

Forecast sources

Data coverage 5/8 sources

Source availability is not forecast accuracy. Where an empirical model passes historical testing, its error and interval coverage are shown above. Source count cannot increase that confidence.

Coverage tier A+ · US_HAWAII · spot-level model point

Big Island shore forecast; official shore-facing range1–4 ftCurrent · Sep 22, 8:56 AM HST

Hilo buoy 512068.9 ft @ 9sCurrent · Sep 22, 1:56 PM HSTOffshore significant wave height; not breaking surf

US National Weather Service Surf Zone Forecast
Big Island shore forecast; official breaking-surf rangeCurrentSep 22, 8:56 AM HST
NWS Honolulu Surf Observations
1 mapped county lifeguard observationDelayedSep 21, 11:08 AM HST
PacIOOS ERDDAP
Wave buoy observations and regional ocean datasets; market adapter or station mapping not connectedUnavailableNo source time
Hilo buoy 51206
Hilo buoy 51206; significant wave height, not breaking surfCurrentSep 22, 1:56 PM HST
Coastal Data Information Program THREDDS
No exact named CDIP mapping is available.UnavailableNo source time
Hilo station 1617760
NOAA Hilo, Hilo Bay, Kuhio Bay 1617760 · 4.6 km from Honolii; predicted high/low events above MLLW, converted to feet. Timestamp is retrieval time; provider issue time is not supplied.CurrentSep 22, 2:30 PM HST
Open-Meteo Marine API
1 of 1 configured model points availableCurrentSep 22, 1:45 PM HST
Open-Meteo Weather API
1 of 1 configured model points availableCurrentSep 22, 1:45 PM HST
Surf-Forecast public pages
Spot discovery and break-specific HTML fallbackNot applicableNo source time
Surfline public spot pages
Break-specific comparison, cams, and metadataNot applicableNo source time

How best guesses are made

Best guesses combine usable wave and wind evidence, with qualitative confidence and specific limitations. A missing tide or local surf-height model does not prevent useful guidance. Tide levels use the named station datum; their effect at this break remains uncertain. Wind direction is relative to the mapped beach orientation, without calibrated terrain or shelter effects. The comparison is a heuristic, not a measured quality rating.