Posted at 10:45 a.m., Friday, December 28, 2001
Big surf expected again Sunday
| • | Latest surf report |
By Mike Gordon and Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writers
With waves, size is always relative. On the North Shore today, the surf was "smaller" than it had been in recent days — but at 8 to 12 feet, still very dangerous.
But come Sunday afternoon, the big boys will roll in: 20 to 25 feet of ocean thunder, according to the National Weather Service, which predicts that swell will last through Tuesday evening.
"Every winter we have high surf, but this winter the storms are tracking further south and the storms are a little stronger," said meteorologist Wyman Au.
Wave heights from this week's first swell crested above 20 feet about 2:30 a.m. yesterday and diminished slowly throughout the day, said veteran lifeguard Pat Kelly. Around 4 p.m. yesterday, waves were about 16 feet at Waimea Bay and "still packing a wallop," Kelly said.
No damage was reported to homes or property. But surf washed sand over the road in some areas the past two days.
There were no calls for rescues, but the dangerous conditions kept city lifeguards on alert. Yesterday, lifeguards kept people out of the shorebreak at Waimea Bay while about 15 surfers braved the waves at late afternoon.
Despite the size of the waves, Kelly said, the winds were not making surfing conditions optimum.
What we've got with this particular swell is kona winds, rather than the more favorable off-shore winds, he said.
"All the surfers in the know are heading to the east side of O'ahu, where this sort of weather is great for surfing," Kelly said.
Surfers and spectators congregated at Waimea Bay on Wednesday to watch the big waves.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
