Wednesday 5 19 21 morning call

Thanks to Renew Your Spirit for the donation.

Hookipa yesterday afternoon. Photo by Jimmie Hepp from this album.

6am Surfline significant buoy readings and discussion.
South shore
Barbers
1.4ft @ 14s from 188° (S)

Lanai

1ft @ 14s from 180° (S)

Small 14s southerly energy at the buoys. Check the Lahaina or Kihei webcams if interested, for size, conditions and consistency. I see birds on the light post, some humans waiting in the water but not many waves. No surprise there, as we've already commented (on the 17th) how this week won't offer much on that side of the island.

North shore
NW101
3.5ft @ 14s from 298° (WNW)

NW001
2.8ft @ 13s from 294° (WNW)

Hanalei

1.7ft @ 15s from 300° (WNW)

1.5ft @ 11s from 341° (NNW)

Waimea

1.8ft @ 11s from 343° (NNW)

1.3ft @ 16s from 315° (NW)

Pauwela

5.3ft @ 8s from 44° (NE)

3.3ft @ 5s from 74° (ENE)

2.3ft @ 11s from 346° (NNW)

0.9ft @ 16s from 338° (NNW)

New small WNW swell will be on the rise all day. Here's how Pat Caldwell described the evolution of the fetch:

A compact low pressure deepened to severe-gale status halfway between Japan and the Date Line 5/14-15. The strongest winds were over a narrow fetch of 305-310 degrees aimed at Hawaii. The head of the fetch was 2400 nm away. The long travel distance and narrow fetch greatly lowers Hawaii surf potential. The system weakened sharply 5/16 with the low reaching near the Date Line early Monday with just strong breezes. The winds went sub-gale by mid Sunday.

This event should slowly rise on Oahu Wednesday morning for W-exposures, which are most out of the Kauai shadow. Shadowed places not facing WNW may not surpass knee-high to a menehune. It will likely peak Wednesday night then slowly decline into the weekend.

Below are the maps of May 15 through 18 that will help follow. Notice how the position of the fetch started between 290 and 300 on the 15th and then moved between 300 and 310. Those are pretty westerly directions for Maui, which will then experience some blockage by the upstream islands.

Below are the graphs of NW101 and Pauwela together with the Surfline forecast. This last one only show the peak of the swell at 3ft 13s tonight, so nothing to be particularly excited about, but anything that keeps us from full on flat summer mode is welcome.

The old NW swell is fading, but still in the water (2.3ft 11s at Pauwela), the new one is still too small to be noticed and the NE windswell is still up. Home guess for Hookipa is around head high and some wind.

Forecast and energy spectrum of Pauwela from this PACIOOS page.

Wind map at noon. The other ones can be found here (click on animation of the 10 meter column).

Fetches map (circles legend: red: direct aim, blue: angular spreading, black: blocked) from Windy.
North Pacific (about 4 days travel time from the NW corner of the North Pacific):

South Pacific (about 7 days travel time from east/west of New Zealand):

Morning sky.