North Shore.
Now
· updated 10 hours agoNorth Shore sees a week of mixed conditions, starting with a fading 1-2m northeast swell under strong ESE wind, peaking Sunday dawn at 1.5-2m with moderate to strong E to ENE wind. Mid-week eases to 1.5m NNW swell under moderate E to SE wind, before a fresh 1.5-2m northwest pulse at 17-21 seconds arrives Sunday evening under moderate NE to ENE wind, marking the week’s peak. Looks like Sunday dawn under moderate ESE wind will be the best window.
Spots
Swell height
Wave systems
- primary —
- secondary —
- tertiary —
- wind sea —
Power
Wind speed
Tide
Weather
About North Shore
The North Shore is 11 km of Oahu’s north coast from Haleiwa to Sunset, the most concentrated stretch of high-consequence reef breaks on earth. The headline is Banzai Pipeline, a left tube over a flat lava reef at Ehukai Beach. Backdoor breaks right off the same peak. Sunset Beach, Waimea Bay, Off the Wall, and Rocky Point line up within walking distance. The Pipe Masters has run since 1971 and is the centrepiece of the Triple Crown of Surfing every December.
Pipeline season runs November through February, when North Pacific storms send long-period north to north-west swell straight at the reef. A typical winter day is 1.5 to 3 m; the outer reefs and Waimea switch on past 5 m. Trade winds blow east to north-east, offshore at most breaks through the morning. Glass-off is dawn. The trades fill in by mid-morning and turn the lineup sideshore. Summer is flat. The trades blow hard. The whole coast goes swimming beach.
Water sits at 23 to 25 °C in February, 26 to 28 °C in September. Boardies and a rashie cover the year. The reef is the hazard, not the water. Pipeline breaks over a tabletop of lava with caverns inside; a wipeout drops you onto live coral. Sunset is a deep-water peak with currents that pull west. Crowds are the second hazard. Locals run every peak; hierarchy is strict. If you haven’t surfed Pipe before, sit at Rocky Point or Haleiwa and earn your way over.