High surf advisory posted for Big Island south-facing shores through Tuesday
South-facing Big Island shores were under a high surf advisory as 10- to 14-foot waves and king tides threatened beaches, roads and Father’s Day plans.
A high surf advisory was posted for the Big Island’s south-facing shores, putting swimmers, shoreline residents and anyone heading to exposed coastlines on alert through 6 a.m. Tuesday. The warning turned Father’s Day beach plans into a safety issue, with breaking waves, strong currents and wave runup expected to make swimming dangerous along the island’s south-facing shoreline.
The National Weather Service forecast office in Honolulu said a long-period south-southwest swell was building across the island chain and would continue to strengthen through the weekend. Surf was expected to rise to 8 to 12 feet by late Saturday night, then reach 10 to 14 feet by Sunday afternoon through Monday night before gradually declining through the rest of the week.
That timing matters because the swell was lining up with king tides, raising the risk of more widespread coastal impacts during afternoon and evening high-tide cycles. Low-lying stretches of shoreline, parking areas, access points and nearby coastal roads were expected to see spray, wave runup and possible flooding, creating problems well beyond the waterline. Families gathering at beaches, kūpuna walking the shoreline and anglers working familiar fishing spots were all in the zone of concern.
Forecasters said the swell originated from a storm southeast of New Zealand that produced a fetch of seas in excess of 40 feet aimed at Hawaii. The surf forecast said buoy 51002, south of the islands, was already observing about a 4-foot swell at 19 seconds, with a peak observation above 5 feet, while near-shore buoys at Lanai and Barber’s Point were showing wave heights increasing with a dominant 22-second period.
The advisory also came with important context for reading surf numbers. On Aug. 2, 2021, the National Weather Service changed advisory criteria for south- and east-facing shores from 8 feet to 10 feet, and its surf forecasts use full-face height from trough to crest. Forecasters said the south-southwest swell could even push south-shore surf to warning-level conditions, though advisory-level surf remained the most likely outcome. For Big Island residents, that means the hazard was not just scenic surf, but a short-fuse coastal safety threat through Tuesday morning.
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