Hawaii marine forecasts

Kaiwi Channel

PHZ116 · Coastal Waters Forecast, National Weather Service Honolulu HI · issued Tue, Sep 29, 3:32 AM HST

Today: East southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 6 to 7 feet. Wave Detail: East southeast 5 feet at 6 seconds and west southwest 5 feet at 11 seconds. Isolated showers this afternoon.

Kaiwi Channel on the map

The zone and the zones around it, tinted where a marine warning or advisory is in force. Tap a neighboring zone to open its forecast.

  • Small Craft Advisory

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Now

The nearest stations reporting each, as of Tue, Sep 29, 6:26 AM HST.

Wind
Calm, gusts 2 kt at MOKH1
Waves
6.6 ft at 8 s at 51202
Water
81°F at 51202

Alerts in force

No marine warning or advisory is in force for this zone.

What is normally issued here: in the past year NWS Honolulu issued 19 Special Marine Warnings, 3 Gale Warnings, 1 Tropical Storm Warning, 3 Gale Watches for this zone.

The forecast

Coastal Waters Forecast from National Weather Service Honolulu HI, issued Tue, Sep 29, 3:32 AM HST, valid until Tue, Sep 29, 4:30 PM HST. Wind in knots, seas in feet.

Today
East southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 6 to 7 feet. Wave Detail: East southeast 5 feet at 6 seconds and west southwest 5 feet at 11 seconds. Isolated showers this afternoon.
Tonight
Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 5 to 6 feet. Wave Detail: Southeast 5 feet at 6 seconds and southwest 4 feet at 11 seconds. Scattered showers.
Wednesday
South southeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 5 to 7 feet. Wave Detail: South southeast 6 feet at 6 seconds and south southwest 4 feet at 11 seconds. Scattered showers in the morning, then numerous showers in the afternoon.
Wednesday night
South southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 5 to 7 feet, subsiding to 4 to 5 feet after midnight. Wave Detail: South southeast 5 feet at 6 seconds and south southwest 3 feet at 11 seconds. Numerous showers.
Thursday
Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 4 to 5 feet. Wave Detail: Southeast 5 feet at 6 seconds and south southwest 3 feet at 11 seconds. Scattered showers.
Thursday night
East southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 4 to 5 feet. Wave Detail: Southeast 4 feet at 5 seconds, north northwest 3 feet at 10 seconds and south southwest 3 feet at 11 seconds. Scattered showers.
Friday
East southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 4 to 5 feet. Wave Detail: East southeast 4 feet at 5 seconds, north northwest 3 feet at 9 seconds and south southwest 3 feet at 11 seconds. Isolated showers through the night. Scattered showers through the day.
Saturday
East northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 4 to 5 feet. Wave Detail: East northeast 5 feet at 6 seconds. Scattered showers.

Synopsis

Synopsis for Hawaiian coastal waters

Moderate to fresh southeast winds will prevail as Hurricane Nolo remains several hundred miles west of the Hawaiian Islands, tracking north. Strong to near gale force winds will be possible near Kauai as Nolo becomes centered west of the island tonight into Wednesday. Nolo is forecast to move farther away to the west after this, allowing winds to diminish and back out of the east for the latter half of the week.

Buoys and stations nearby

The latest report from each station within reach of the zone, nearest first. Distances in nautical miles from the middle of the zone.

StationDistanceWindWavesWaterAirPressureReported
51202 Mokapu Point, HI (098)16 nm6.6 ft at 8 s from E81°FTue, Sep 29, 6:26 AM HST
MOKH1 1612480 - Mokuoloe, HI22 nmCalm81°F76°F1012.5 hPaTue, Sep 29, 5:36 AM HST
OOUH1 1612340 - Honolulu, HI22 nmSSW 1 kt, gusts 282°F1013.0 hPaTue, Sep 29, 6:18 AM HST
HRRH1 Lono Circle, He'eia Reserve, HI23 nmCalm71°F1012.0 hPaTue, Sep 29, 5:45 AM HST
51211 Pearl Harbor Entrance, HI (233)27 nm4.6 ft at 8 s from SSE81°F76°FTue, Sep 29, 6:30 AM HST
PRHH1 1612401 - Pearl Harbor, HI29 nmWSW 4 kt, gusts 51012.8 hPaTue, Sep 29, 6:18 AM HST

The past year

Warnings, watches and advisories the National Weather Service issued for this zone over the past 12 months, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet’s archive.

ProductIssuedMost recent
Special Marine Warning19Fri, Apr 10, 2026, 6:49 PM HST
Gale Warning3Sat, Sep 26, 2026, 5:09 PM HST
Tropical Storm Warning1Fri, Aug 14, 2026, 5:02 AM HST
Gale Watch3Thu, Apr 9, 2026, 6:00 PM HST
Tropical Storm Watch2Thu, Sep 24, 2026, 11:29 AM HST
Small Craft Advisory43Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 3:05 PM HST

What this means

Marine forecasts give wind in knots (1 knot is 1.15 mph) and seas in feet, except the high seas forecasts, which give seas in meters. Seas are the significant wave height, the average of the highest third of the waves; individual waves may be more than twice that. On the Great Lakes the forecast gives waves, not seas. "Wave Detail" splits the seas into the wind waves and each swell, with its direction and period.

Each coastal office writes a Coastal Waters Forecast for the bays, sounds and ocean out to 20 to 60 nautical miles, or on the Great Lakes a Nearshore Marine Forecast within 5 nautical miles of shore; the Open Lakes Forecast covers the rest of each lake. The Ocean Prediction Center and the National Hurricane Center write the Offshore Waters Forecasts out to about 250 nautical miles, and the High Seas Forecasts beyond. Forecasts are issued at least twice a day and updated when they go wrong.

Small Craft Advisory
Winds or conditions hazardous to small boats. The thresholds are set by each NWS region: typically sustained winds or frequent gusts of 20 to 25 knots up to 33 knots, and seas of 5 to 7 feet or more.
Gale Warning
Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 34 to 47 knots, not from a tropical cyclone.
Storm Warning
Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 48 to 63 knots, not from a tropical cyclone.
Hurricane Force Wind Warning
Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 64 knots or more, not from a tropical cyclone.
Special Marine Warning
A thunderstorm or squall over the water with winds or gusts of 34 knots or more, hail of 3/4 inch or more, or a waterspout, for up to two hours.
Hazardous Seas Warning
Wave heights or steepness at or above the office’s warning threshold, when the wind alone does not warrant a warning.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning
Spray freezing on a vessel at 2 cm (3/4 inch) an hour or more.
Tropical Storm and Hurricane Warnings
Tropical storm (34 to 63 knots) or hurricane (64 knots or more) conditions expected within 36 hours. Watches: possible within 48 hours.

Nearby

Open the live map with marine zones and buoysThe hour-by-hour forecast for the middle of the zoneEvery Hawaii zone

Sources

Coastal Waters Forecast CWFHFO from National Weather Service Honolulu HI, issued Tue, Sep 29, 3:32 AM HST. Original at NWS. Buoy reports from the National Data Buoy Center. Past products from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Zone outlines from the NWS marine and offshore zone boundaries. Warnings and advisories from the NWS API, read 16:59 UTC. All public domain, from the National Weather Service.