Posted on: Tuesday, December 25, 2001

North Shore forecast to get 30-foot surf

By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer

Surf as high as 30 feet is forecast for north-facing shores of all Hawaiian Islands by tomorrow, with a high-surf warning expected by tonight as a new northwest swell reaches the island chain, the National Weather Service said.

Anyone along the shore during a high-surf warning should stay out of the water and keep well away from the shorebreak, because of hazardous wave action and rip currents.

"The next significant northwest swell is expected to reach the islands by late Tuesday or Wednesday, providing surf heights of high-surf warning levels (25 feet or higher) by Tuesday night and Wednesday," the forecast said.

Lifeguards reported a few routine surf rescues as waves declined from the 10-to-12-foot range to 6 to 8 feet at Sunset Beach yesterday afternoon.

A high-surf advisory, triggered by expectations of surf in excess of 15 feet, remained in effect yesterday for north-facing shores.

Surf today will be 6 to 10 feet along the west shores, 4 to 6 feet along east shores, and 2 feet or less along south shores.

Caution was advised for moderate harbor surges in Hilo and Kahului harbors.

A storm far northwest of the Hawaiian Islands three days ago generated a large northwest swell that had been hitting the islands since Sunday evening, but that swell was decreasing yesterday.

The storm intensified again north of the islands, and a northwest swell was expected to start increasing again by this afternoon.

Surf will peak at 20 to 30 feet tomorrow, and begin to decline through Saturday, the weather service said.