A high surf advisory will remain in place for parts of Hawaii through 6 p.m. local time on Friday as large waves create dangerous swimming conditions.
National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists issued the advisory in the early hours of Friday morning. It is in place for the north and west-facing shores of Kauai and Niihau and the north-facing shores of Oahu.
“Peak surf of 14 to 18 feet along north facing shores, and 8 to 16 feet along west facing shores,” the advisory said. Moderate impacts are expected.
“Strong breaking waves and strong currents will make swimming dangerous,” the advisory said. “Heed all advice from ocean safety officials. When in doubt, don’t go out.”
NWS meteorologist Tina Stall told Newsweek that high surf is typical in December.
“It’s pretty typical for this time of year. We are getting into the winter season, which is north shore season,” she said. “So we get a lot of swells out of the northwest from storm systems up in the north Pacific.”
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Winds can direct the swell toward Hawaii, later impacting the islands with high surf.
Normal wave height for this time of year is 12 to 14 feet, Stall said.
High surf advisories are issued every 12 hours as long as high surf is in place. Stall said meteorologists will reassess conditions later this afternoon and decide whether to extend the advisory.
Swells also caused high surf in the area earlier this week, Stall said.
Parts of Hawaii also experienced rain, as “a slow-moving front over Oahu will provide continued shower activity across the western portion of the state as it stalls and weakens today,” the NWS Honolulu forecast said.
“Breezy north-northeast winds will fill in behind the front this morning, then weaken and shift out of the east- northeast state-wide this afternoon and evening,” the forecast said. “Winds will briefly become light and variable over the weekend before strong and gusty trades return for much of next week.”
In addition to the high surf advisory, a small craft advisory was also in place for the same period in the northwest, windward and leeward waters of Kauai, the Kauai Channel and Oahu’s windward waters. Strong northeast winds and seas ranging from 9 to 12 feet were detected in the area.
“Conditions will be hazardous to small craft,” the advisory said. “Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.”
As of Friday morning, a small craft advisory was also in place along much of California’s coast, warning of hazardous seas over the weekend.
