Big Island Hilo · Big Island · Hawaii
Hakalau Surf Report & Forecast, Big Island Hilo, Hawaii
Hakalau, Big Island Hilo, Hawaii: 3–4 ft faces (2 ft Hawaiian scale), chest to head high, at 10 am HST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Poor. The main swell is 5.5 ft at 8 seconds from the east-northeast, with an 11 mph cross-shore wind from the southeast, gusting 18 mph. Water is about 80°F, so a rashguard is enough; the next high tide is 2.0 ft at 2:11 pm.
3–4 ft
2 ft Hawaiian scale · occasional 5 ft
- Swell
- 5.5 ft · 8 s · ENEplus 3.4 ft · 12 s · NNW
- Wind
- 11 mph (SE), gusts 18cross-shore
- Tide
- 1.3 ft risinghigh 2.0 ft at 2:11 pm
- Water
- 80°Frashguard
- Air
- 72°Ffeels like 68°F
- Sun
- rise 6:26 amset 5:43 pm
Hakalau surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Hakalau: 6 am, Poor, on a falling high tide.
Blue band: surf face height from the low end to set waves; dotted: occasional larger sets. Grey line: tide, in feet on the right scale. Colour strip: the hourly rating. Arrows: wind direction and strength, teal when offshore, orange when onshore.
Best-rated hour tomorrow at Hakalau: 6 am, Poor, on a falling high tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 3 ft | Poor | 10 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 17 | 2.5 ft |
| 7 am | 3–4 ft | Poor | 11 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 18 | 2.0 ft |
| 8 am | 3–4 ft | Poor | 11 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 18 | 1.6 ft |
| 9 am | 3–4 ft | Poor | 11 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 18 | 1.3 ft |
| 10 amnow | 3–4 ft | Poor | 11 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 18 | 1.3 ft |
| 11 am | 3–4 ft | Poor | 13 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 20 | 1.5 ft |
| 12 pm | 3 ft | Poor | 14 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 22 | 1.7 ft |
| 1 pm | 3–4 ft | Poor | 15 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 22 | 1.9 ft |
| 2 pm | 3–4 ft | Poor | 13 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 20 | 2.0 ft |
| 3 pm | 3–4 ft | Poor | 12 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 18 | 2.0 ft |
| 4 pm | 3–4 ft | Poor | 11 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 17 | 1.7 ft |
| 5 pm | 3–4 ft | Poor | 11 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 16 | 1.4 ft |
| 6 pm | 3–4 ft | Poor | 11 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 16 | 0.9 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 4 ft | Poor | 7 mph cross-shore (SSE) | 2.8 ft |
| 7 am | 4 ft | Poor | 6 mph cross-shore (SSE) | 2.3 ft |
| 8 am | 4–5 ft | Poor | 7 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 12 | 1.8 ft |
| 9 am | 4–5 ft | Poor | 7 mph cross-shore (SSE) | 1.5 ft |
| 10 am | 4–5 ft | Poor | 6 mph cross-shore (SE) | 1.3 ft |
| 11 am | 4–5 ft | Poor | 6 mph cross-shore (SE) | 1.4 ft |
| 12 pm | 4–5 ft | Poor | 6 mph cross-shore (ESE) | 1.5 ft |
| 1 pm | 4–5 ft | Poor | 7 mph onshore (E) | 1.7 ft |
| 2 pm | 4–5 ft | Poor | 10 mph onshore (E), gusts 15 | 1.9 ft |
| 3 pm | 4–5 ft | Poor | 11 mph onshore (E), gusts 16 | 1.9 ft |
| 4 pm | 4–5 ft | Poor | 10 mph onshore (E), gusts 16 | 1.7 ft |
| 5 pm | 4–5 ft | Poor | 9 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 15 | 1.4 ft |
| 6 pm | 4–5 ft | Poor | 8 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 13 | 1.1 ft |
Hakalau waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 10 am, sets at Hakalau arrive about every 2 minutes with about 3 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and hollow.
- Set waves
- about 4.1 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 3
- Sets
- every 2 minutes or so, each lasting about 16 s
- Lulls
- about 99 s between breaking waves
- How they break
- Barrelingwhich means the lip pitches out and can throw a barrel
- Shape
- Hollowwhich means throwing, barreling waves
- Breaking
- 46% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- light, about 0.5 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Hakalau surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Hakalau: the biggest day is Thursday, Nov 12 at 3–8 ft, and the best-rated day is Thursday, Nov 12 (Poor to Fair). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 3–5 ft and Poor; Sunday, Nov 15, 3–6 ft and Poor.
Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Hakalau are in the Current app with a Premium subscription.
Bars: surf face height from the low end to set waves, by day. Colour strip: the day's best rating. Arrows: main swell direction. Shaded: this weekend.
The 10-day forecast as a table, with swell and wind
| Day | Surf | Rating | Main swell | Wind am | Wind pm | Best time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | 3–4 ft | Poor | 3.3 ft · 8 s · E | 11 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 18 | 13 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 20 | 5 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 4–5 ft | Poor | 5.4 ft · 13 s · N | 7 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 12 | 10 mph onshore (E), gusts 15 | 9 am |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 2–6 ft | Poor | 5.0 ft · 8 s · ENE | calm | 10 mph onshore (E), gusts 16 | 6 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 3–8 ft | Poor to Fair | 7.2 ft · 15 s · NNW | 7 mph cross-shore (S) | 10 mph onshore (ENE) | 1 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 2–4 ft | Poor | 6.1 ft · 8 s · ENE | 12 mph onshore (E) | 12 mph onshore (E) | 6 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 3–5 ft | Poor | 5.5 ft · 8 s · ENE | 10 mph onshore (E) | 10 mph onshore (E) | 5 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 3–6 ft | Poor | 5.8 ft · 8 s · ENE | 12 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 21 | 14 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 22 | 5 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 3–5 ft | Poor | 6.0 ft · 8 s · ENE | 11 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 19 | 14 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 22 | 8 am |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 3–5 ft | Poor | — | 12 mph cross-shore (SE) | 14 mph cross-shore (ESE) | 5 pm |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 5–7 ft | Poor | — | 13 mph cross-shore (SE) | 16 mph cross-shore (ESE) | 2 pm |
| Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Hakalau are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Hakalau tide chart and tide times
Tides at Hakalau today, Monday, Nov 9: high 3.4 ft at 3:08 am, low 1.3 ft at 9:40 am, high 2.0 ft at 2:11 pm and low 0.3 ft at 8:23 pm. At 10 am the tide is 1.3 ft and rising.
Hakalau tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | High 3.4 ft at 3:08 amLow 1.3 ft at 9:40 amHigh 2.0 ft at 2:11 pmLow 0.3 ft at 8:23 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | High 3.4 ft at 3:41 amLow 1.3 ft at 10:21 amHigh 1.9 ft at 2:39 pmLow 0.3 ft at 8:51 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | High 3.3 ft at 4:15 amLow 1.3 ft at 11:07 amHigh 1.7 ft at 3:01 pmLow 0.3 ft at 9:18 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | High 3.1 ft at 4:55 amLow 1.4 ft at 11:57 amHigh 1.6 ft at 3:26 pmLow 0.4 ft at 9:47 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 3.0 ft at 5:37 amLow 1.5 ft at 1:01 pmHigh 1.6 ft at 3:45 pmLow 0.6 ft at 10:17 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 2.9 ft at 6:24 amLow 1.5 ft at 2:30 pmHigh 1.5 ft at 4:02 pmLow 0.9 ft at 10:50 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 2.9 ft at 7:17 amLow 1.4 ft at 4:28 pmHigh 1.4 ft at 5:34 pmLow 1.1 ft at 11:38 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 2.8 ft at 8:13 amLow 1.3 ft at 4:39 pmHigh 1.5 ft at 9:04 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | Low 1.4 ft at 1 amHigh 2.7 ft at 9:07 am |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Hakalau water temperature
The water temperature at Hakalau is about 80°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 68°F and an 11 mph wind, a rashguard is enough. Over the next week the water stays between 79 and 80°F.
Water temperature is a forecast for the water at this spot, not a buoy reading. The wetsuit suggestion uses Billabong's wetsuit temperature scale, adjusted for air temperature and wind.
Surf spots near Hakalau
- Kolekole1.4 mi SSE · 4–5 ft · Fair
- Papaikou Mill8.9 mi SSE · 4–5 ft · Fair
- Honoli'i10 mi SSE · 4 ft · Poor
- Hilo Breakwall11 mi SSE · 4–5 ft · Poor
- Bay Front13 mi SSE · 1–2 ft · Poor
- Chocks13 mi SSE · 3–4 ft · Poor
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About Hakalau
Hakalau is a reef break on the Hilo of the Big Island, Hawaii, facing northeast.
Follow Hakalau in the Current app
The first 10 days are free, and Premium adds days 11–16.
Forecasts are estimates. Never rely on them for safety. For rip current risk and beach hazards, check the National Weather Service. Forecasts from Current's novel physics simulation. No AI. No black boxes. Ocean and weather data: NOAA (U.S. government data). NOAA does not endorse this site.