Big Island Hilo · Big Island · Hawaii
Richardsons Surf Report & Forecast, Big Island Hilo, Hawaii
Richardsons, Big Island Hilo, Hawaii: 4–5 ft faces (2 ft Hawaiian scale), chest to head high, at 11 pm HST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Great. The main swell is 4.8 ft at 8 seconds from the east-northeast, with a 6 mph offshore wind from the southeast. Water is about 80°F, so a rashguard is enough; the next high tide is 3.0 ft at 3:45 am.
4–5 ft
2 ft Hawaiian scale
- Swell
- 4.8 ft · 8 s · ENEplus 3.0 ft · 12 s · NNW
- Wind
- 6 mph (SE)offshore
- Tide
- 0.7 ft risinghigh 3.0 ft at 3:45 am
- Water
- 80°Frashguard
- Air
- 76°Ffeels like 80°F
- Sun
- rise 6:25 amset 5:42 pm
Richardsons surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Richardsons: 6 am, Epic, 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 Richardsons: 8 am, Great, on a falling mid tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 5–6 ft | Epic | 5 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 2.1 ft |
| 7 am | 4–5 ft | Great | 6 mph cross-shore (ENE), gusts 11 | 1.5 ft |
| 8 am | 4–5 ft | Great | 6 mph cross-shore (ENE), gusts 11 | 1.1 ft |
| 9 am | 4–5 ft | Great | 4 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 0.8 ft |
| 10 am | 4–5 ft | Great | 4 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 0.8 ft |
| 11 am | 4–5 ft | Great | 7 mph cross-shore (E), gusts 12 | 0.9 ft |
| 12 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 11 mph cross-shore (E), gusts 17 | 1.2 ft |
| 1 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 12 mph cross-shore (E), gusts 17 | 1.4 ft |
| 2 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 10 mph cross-shore (E) | 1.6 ft |
| 3 pm | 4–5 ft | Great | 8 mph cross-shore (E) | 1.6 ft |
| 4 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 7 mph cross-shore (E) | 1.3 ft |
| 5 pm | 4–5 ft | Great | 7 mph cross-shore (E) | 1.0 ft |
| 6 pm | 4–5 ft | Great | 6 mph cross-shore (ESE) | 0.5 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 5–6 ft | Great | calm | 2.4 ft |
| 7 am | 5–6 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 1.9 ft |
| 8 am | 5–6 ft | Great | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 1.4 ft |
| 9 am | 5–6 ft | Great | calm | 1.0 ft |
| 10 am | 4–5 ft | Great | calm | 0.8 ft |
| 11 am | 4–5 ft | Great | 7 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 0.8 ft |
| 12 pm | 5–6 ft | Great | 8 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 1.0 ft |
| 1 pm | 5–6 ft | Great | 9 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 1.2 ft |
| 2 pm | 5 ft | Great | 9 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 1.4 ft |
| 3 pm | 5–6 ft | Good | 8 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 1.5 ft |
| 4 pm | 4–5 ft | Great | 7 mph cross-shore (NE) | 1.4 ft |
| 5 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 8 mph cross-shore (NE) | 1.1 ft |
| 6 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 7 mph cross-shore (NE) | 0.7 ft |
Richardsons waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 11 pm, sets at Richardsons arrive about every minute with about 1 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and punchy.
- Set waves
- about 4.5 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 1
- Sets
- every minute or so, each lasting about 8 s
- Lulls
- about 42 s between breaking waves
- How they break
- Barrelingwhich means the lip pitches out and can throw a barrel
- Shape
- Punchywhich means steep takeoffs and a pitching lip
- Breaking
- 79% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- light, about 0.3 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Richardsons surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Richardsons: the biggest day is Sunday, Nov 15 at 4–8 ft, and the best-rated day is Wednesday, Nov 18 (Epic). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 4–7 ft and Great; Sunday, Nov 15, 4–8 ft and Good.
Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Richardsons 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 | 4–6 ft | Epic | 5.7 ft · 8 s · E | 6 mph cross-shore (ENE), gusts 11 | 10 mph cross-shore (E) | 6 am |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 4–6 ft | Great | 5.3 ft · 8 s · ENE | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 9 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 8 am |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 3–7 ft | Fair | 5.4 ft · 8 s · ENE | 11 mph onshore (NNE), gusts 17 | 12 mph cross-shore (NE), gusts 18 | 11 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 5–8 ft | Good | 5.2 ft · 14 s · N | 6 mph onshore (NW) | 9 mph cross-shore (NE) | 6 am |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 4–6 ft | Good | 5.7 ft · 8 s · NE | 8 mph cross-shore (NE) | 10 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 9 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 4–7 ft | Great | 5.1 ft · 8 s · ENE | 6 mph onshore (NNW) | 10 mph cross-shore (NE) | 11 am |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 4–8 ft | Good | 4.5 ft · 8 s · ENE | 13 mph cross-shore (ENE), gusts 18 | 12 mph cross-shore (E) | 11 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 5–7 ft | Great | 5.0 ft · 14 s · N | 9 mph offshore (ESE), gusts 15 | 11 mph cross-shore (E) | 5 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 4–6 ft | Great | — | 7 mph cross-shore (ESE) | 9 mph cross-shore (E) | 5 pm |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 4–6 ft | Epic | — | 6 mph offshore (SE) | 11 mph offshore (ESE) | 8 am |
| Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Richardsons are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Richardsons tide chart and tide times
Tides at Richardsons today, Monday, Nov 9: low 0.8 ft at 9:45 am, high 1.6 ft at 2:23 pm and low -0.2 ft at 8:31 pm. At 11 pm the tide is 0.7 ft and rising.
Richardsons tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | Low 0.8 ft at 9:45 amHigh 1.6 ft at 2:23 pmLow -0.2 ft at 8:31 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | High 3.0 ft at 3:45 amLow 0.8 ft at 10:24 amHigh 1.5 ft at 2:52 pmLow -0.1 ft at 9 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | High 2.9 ft at 4:19 amLow 0.8 ft at 11:08 amHigh 1.3 ft at 3:14 pmLow -0.1 ft at 9:28 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | High 2.7 ft at 4:58 amLow 0.9 ft at 11:56 amHigh 1.2 ft at 3:42 pmLow 0.0 ft at 9:56 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 2.6 ft at 5:40 amLow 1.0 ft at 12:58 pmHigh 1.1 ft at 4:08 pmLow 0.2 ft at 10:28 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 2.5 ft at 6:26 amLow 1.0 ft at 2:18 pmHigh 1.1 ft at 4:43 pmLow 0.4 ft at 11:02 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 2.4 ft at 7:18 amLow 0.9 ft at 3:58 pmHigh 1.0 ft at 6:07 pmLow 0.6 ft at 11:53 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 2.3 ft at 8:15 amLow 0.8 ft at 4:27 pmHigh 1.0 ft at 9:09 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | Low 0.9 ft at 1:18 amHigh 2.2 ft at 9:10 am |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Richardsons water temperature
The water temperature at Richardsons is about 80°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 80°F and a 6 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 Richardsons
- Chocks2.0 mi W · 3–4 ft · Poor
- Hilo Breakwall3.8 mi W · 3–4 ft · Poor
- Bay Front4.1 mi W · 1 ft · Poor
- Honoli'i5.0 mi WNW · 3–4 ft · Poor
- Papaikou Mill5.5 mi WNW · 4–5 ft · Fair
- Kolekole12 mi NNW · 4–5 ft · Fair
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About Richardsons
Richardsons is a reef break on the Hilo of the Big Island, Hawaii, facing north-northwest. Also called Richardson Ocean Park and Leleiwi.
Follow Richardsons 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.