First Alert Forecast: Big and dangerous waves expected on south shore

News admin July 23, 2026 0 Comments

First Alert Forecast: Big and dangerous waves expected on south shore

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Beautiful Hawaiian weather with lots of sunshine, some clouds, and moderate to breezy trade winds that will strengthen through the week and deliver periodic showers to windward and mauka areas.

View the latest weather conditions here.

A high-pressure system is moving in from the northeast with stronger trade winds over the next few days. You’ll notice daytime sun with breezy conditions, especially from today onward. We will get some rain moving in with these winds, which means showers are likely on the windward side mostly during nighttime and early morning hours through the weekend.

What happens next week depends on Tropical Cyclone Fausto. Right now, forecasters think the storm will weaken as it moves west toward Hawaii and enters cooler ocean water. The system is expected to get even weaker early next week. It’s too early to say if Fausto will directly hit Hawaii, but it looks like the east-facing beaches could get some decent waves late this weekend and into early next week. We’ll have more details as the storm gets closer.

The big waves on the south may continue with a new swell that is moving in tonight. Because of this, a High Surf Advisory has been issued starting Thursday morning at 6 am. This means the waves are getting bigger and could reach dangerous levels by today and tomorrow. Over the weekend, more waves could keep the surf at dangerous levels, so the advisory might be extended.

Waves on the east side of the islands have been smaller than normal because the trade winds have been weaker. There’s a small swell from the old Tropical Cyclone Elida still showing up. Stronger winds coming Thursday and Friday will create more short-period waves. This weekend, Hurricane Fausto could bring bigger waves to the east side, and those waves could reach dangerous levels too. The north side of the islands will have flat to tiny waves all weekend—not good for surfing.

Download the HNN Weather app from the Apple App Store or Google Play for the latest updates from your First Alert Weather Team: chief meteorologist Jennifer Robbins, meteorologist Drew Davis, and weather anchors Guy Hagi, Ben Gutierrez, and Billy V.