Organizers of the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational have officially put the iconic big-wave contest on yellow alert as all eyes are on a developing large northwest swell that’s about a week away from hitting Hawaii. Surf for the contest at Waimea Bay must be at least 40 feet and consistent enough to run the event for the entire day.
“Models have been and continue to suggest a large to possibly XL size NW swell maxing out around the 15th-16th. Still uncertain for specifics at this time, but our confidence is high for something substantial during this time. Local wind conditions could be an issue, though, possibly onshore northerly flow,” reports longtime Surfline forecaster Chris Borg in his Waimea Bay report .
A week is a long time when it comes to surf forecasting, and a lot can change during that time, but this appears to be a good opportunity to potentially run at Waimea. It looks like the North Pacific is cooking up more swell after that, so stay tuned, winter’s far from over.