Kauai · Wednesday, Sep 23

Tunnels

Kauai shore forecast; official shore-facing range: 3–5 ft

Updated Tue, Sep 22, 2:20 PM HST

When to go

Around 7:00 AM

Windy · Moderate confidence

3–5 ft · Official surf · whole shore and forecast period · Kauai shore forecast; official shore-facing range

Wind: 6.9 kt · cross-shore

Forecast details

The official forecast calls for surf along this coast.
This is the best time in the forecast, though wind may make it choppy.

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.

7:00 AM–9:00 AM · Pacific/Honolulu
Strong wind · up to 8.7 kt · reported gusts up to 24.9 kt
Caution: This is the best available wind comparison, not a favorable-wind label. Strong wind remains in the selected evidence.
Offshore waves: 5.4–5.5 ft across the period. Surf height unavailable. Tide data unavailable.
Wind source time: Sep 22, 1:30 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 15.8 km from the mapped spot. MFWAM is approximately 8 km resolution.
Reference model hour: 18 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.
Tide unavailable: assessment incomplete, especially at shallow reef breaks.
A mapped coordinate does not establish nearshore grid resolution or terrain/shelter accuracy.

Wind E 7.7 kt

Tide Unavailable

Wave, wind and tide details

Offshore model swellENE 4.4 ft @ 7sValid 2026-09-23 08:00 · Pacific/HonoluluMarine grid 22.3750, -159.5417 · offshore model, not a local measurement

Offshore model sea5.4 ft @ 8.2sSignificant wave height including wind waves and swell; not breaking surfValid 2026-09-23 08:00 · Pacific/Honolulu

Model windE 7.7 ktcross-shoreValid 2026-09-23 08:00 · Pacific/Honolulu4.1 kt offshore component

TideUnavailableunavailableNo verified local tide station connected; no tide height estimated

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 Tunnels
Time	Wind	Tide	Offshore swell
12 AM	E 5.9 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 3.9 ft @ 6s
1 AM	ESE 5.5 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 3.9 ft @ 6s
2 AM	ESE 4.4 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 3.9 ft @ 6s
3 AM	E 5.5 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 4.0 ft @ 6s
4 AM	ESE 5.8 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 4.0 ft @ 6s
5 AM	ESE 6 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 4.1 ft @ 7s
6 AM	ESE 6.7 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 4.2 ft @ 7s
7 AM	ESE 6.9 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 4.3 ft @ 7s
8 AM	E 7.7 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 4.4 ft @ 7s
9 AM	E 8.7 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 4.4 ft @ 7s
10 AM	E 9.1 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 4.3 ft @ 7s
11 AM	ENE 9.7 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 4.3 ft @ 7s
Noon	ENE 10.1 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	E 4.3 ft @ 8s
1 PM	ENE 10.2 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	E 4.2 ft @ 8s
2 PM	ENE 10.2 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	E 4.1 ft @ 8s
3 PM	ENE 10.3 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 4.1 ft @ 7s
4 PM	ENE 10.1 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 3.9 ft @ 7s
5 PM	ENE 9.5 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 3.9 ft @ 7s
6 PM	ENE 8.8 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 3.8 ft @ 7s
7 PM	ENE 8.3 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	E 3.7 ft @ 8s
8 PM	ENE 8.3 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	E 3.6 ft @ 8s
9 PM	ENE 8.5 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	E 3.6 ft @ 8s
10 PM	E 8.6 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	E 3.7 ft @ 8s
11 PM	E 8.3 ktcross-shore	Unavailableunavailable	ENE 3.7 ft @ 7s

12 AMUnavailable

WindE 5.9 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 3.9 ft @ 6s

1 AMUnavailable

WindESE 5.5 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 3.9 ft @ 6s

2 AMUnavailable

WindESE 4.4 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 3.9 ft @ 6s

3 AMUnavailable

WindE 5.5 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 4.0 ft @ 6s

4 AMUnavailable

WindESE 5.8 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 4.0 ft @ 6s

5 AMUnavailable

WindESE 6 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 4.1 ft @ 7s

6 AMUnavailable

WindESE 6.7 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 4.2 ft @ 7s

7 AMUnavailable

WindESE 6.9 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 4.3 ft @ 7s

8 AMUnavailable

WindE 7.7 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 4.4 ft @ 7s

9 AMUnavailable

WindE 8.7 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 4.4 ft @ 7s

10 AMUnavailable

WindE 9.1 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 4.3 ft @ 7s

11 AMUnavailable

WindENE 9.7 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 4.3 ft @ 7s

NoonUnavailable

WindENE 10.1 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellE 4.3 ft @ 8s

1 PMUnavailable

WindENE 10.2 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellE 4.2 ft @ 8s

2 PMUnavailable

WindENE 10.2 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellE 4.1 ft @ 8s

3 PMUnavailable

WindENE 10.3 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 4.1 ft @ 7s

4 PMUnavailable

WindENE 10.1 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 3.9 ft @ 7s

5 PMUnavailable

WindENE 9.5 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 3.9 ft @ 7s

6 PMUnavailable

WindENE 8.8 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 3.8 ft @ 7s

7 PMUnavailable

WindENE 8.3 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellE 3.7 ft @ 8s

8 PMUnavailable

WindENE 8.3 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellE 3.6 ft @ 8s

9 PMUnavailable

WindENE 8.5 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellE 3.6 ft @ 8s

10 PMUnavailable

WindE 8.6 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellE 3.7 ft @ 8s

11 PMUnavailable

WindE 8.3 ktcross-shoreTideUnavailableunavailableOffshore swellENE 3.7 ft @ 7s

Tide

Local tide station unavailable

Tide predictions are unavailable for this period.

About this spot

Model-grid forecast requested at the mapped coordinate; reef, headland, and nearshore transformations are unresolved. Reef break. Named break currentLocation coordinate; north-facing orientation retained from reviewed catalog geometry.

Mapped spot coordinate: 22.2353, -159.5678.

Kauai · north · Ocean-facing bearing 337.5° · Location provenance

Model request point: Tunnels (22.2353, -159.5678). Model output times describe valid conditions; the provider does not expose the model run issue time in this response.

Forecast sources

Data coverage 3/6 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

Kauai shore forecast; official shore-facing range3–5 ftCurrent · Sep 22, 8:56 AM HST

US National Weather Service Surf Zone Forecast
Kauai shore forecast; official breaking-surf rangeCurrentSep 22, 8:56 AM HST
NWS Honolulu Surf Observations
Current human surf observations are not forecasts for the selected future date.Not applicableNo source time
PacIOOS ERDDAP
Wave buoy observations and regional ocean datasets; market adapter or station mapping not connectedUnavailableNo source time
Hanalei buoy 51208
Current buoy observations are not forecasts for the selected future date.Not applicableSep 9, 1:56 AM HST
Coastal Data Information Program THREDDS
No exact named CDIP mapping is available.UnavailableNo source time
Local tide prediction
North-shore Hanalei buoy context 5.6 km away; opposite-shore Nawiliwili tide withheld.UnavailableNo source time
Open-Meteo Marine API
1 of 1 configured model points availableCurrentSep 22, 1:30 PM HST
Open-Meteo Weather API
1 of 1 configured model points availableCurrentSep 22, 1:30 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.