Kauai Channel

PHZ113 · Coastal Waters Forecast, National Weather Service Honolulu HI · issued Tue, Sep 29, 3:32 AM HST

Small Craft Advisory in force. Today: Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 7 to 9 feet. Wave Detail: East southeast 7 feet at 7 seconds and west southwest 6 feet at 11 seconds. Scattered showers this morning, then numerous showers this afternoon.

Kauai 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, 4:30 AM HST.

Wind: ESE 9 kt, gusts 12 kt at NWWH1
Waves: 5.6 ft at 12 s at 51201
Water: 81°F at NWWH1

Alerts in force

Small Craft Advisory from Tue, Sep 29, 3:14 AM HST until Wed, Sep 30, 6:00 PM HST

Small Craft Advisory issued September 29 at 3:14AM HST until September 30 at 6:00PM HST by NWS Honolulu HI

The full text

* WHAT...Southeast winds up to 25 kt and seas up to 10 feet.

* WHERE...Kauai Windward Waters and Kauai Channel.

* WHEN...Until 6 PM HST Wednesday.

* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.

Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.

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.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON

Today: Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 7 to 9 feet. Wave Detail: East southeast 7 feet at 7 seconds and west southwest 6 feet at 11 seconds. Scattered showers this morning, then numerous showers this afternoon.
Tonight: Southeast winds 20 to 25 knots, becoming south southeast 25 to 30 knots after midnight. Seas 8 to 10 feet. Wave Detail: South southeast 8 feet at 7 seconds and west southwest 5 feet at 11 seconds. Frequent showers. Isolated thunderstorms after midnight.
Wednesday: South southeast winds 20 to 25 knots. Seas 8 to 9 feet. Wave Detail: South southeast 8 feet at 7 seconds and west southwest 4 feet at 11 seconds. Frequent showers.
Wednesday night: South southeast winds to 15 knots. Seas 8 to 9 feet, subsiding to 5 to 6 feet after midnight. Wave Detail: South southeast 8 feet at 7 seconds and west southwest 4 feet at 11 seconds. Frequent showers.
Thursday: South southeast winds to 15 knots. Seas 5 to 6 feet. Wave Detail: Southeast 6 feet at 6 seconds and west southwest 4 feet at 11 seconds. Frequent showers.
Thursday night: Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas to 5 feet. Wave Detail: Southeast 5 feet at 6 seconds, west southwest 4 feet at 11 seconds and north northwest 3 feet at 10 seconds. Numerous showers.
Friday: Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots, backing to east southeast 7 to 10 knots. Seas 4 to 5 feet. Wave Detail: East southeast 5 feet at 6 seconds, southwest 4 feet at 11 seconds and north 3 feet at 9 seconds. Scattered showers.
Saturday: East northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 4 to 5 feet. Wave Detail: East southeast 4 feet at 5 seconds, northwest 3 feet at 9 seconds and south southwest 3 feet at 11 seconds. Scattered showers through the night. Isolated showers in the evening, then scattered showers after midnight.

Winds and seas higher in and near tstms.

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.

Station	Distance	Wind	Waves	Water	Air	Pressure	Reported
NWWH1 1611400 - Nawiliwili, HI	30 nm	ESE 9 kt, gusts 12		81°F	79°F	1011.8 hPa	Tue, Sep 29, 4:30 AM HST
51201 Waimea Bay, HI (106)	48 nm		5.6 ft at 12 s from NW	80°F			Tue, Sep 29, 4:26 AM HST
51212 Barbers Point, Kalaeloa, HI (238)	49 nm		5.2 ft at 7 s from S	81°F	78°F		Tue, Sep 29, 4:30 AM HST
PRHH1 1612401 - Pearl Harbor, HI	58 nm	SW 5 kt, gusts 6			75°F	1012.3 hPa	Tue, Sep 29, 4:30 AM HST
51211 Pearl Harbor Entrance, HI (233)	60 nm		4.6 ft at 7 s from SSE	81°F	77°F		Tue, Sep 29, 4:30 AM HST
OOUH1 1612340 - Honolulu, HI	64 nm	NE 2 kt		83°F	77°F	1012.5 hPa	Tue, Sep 29, 4:30 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.

Product	Issued	Most recent
Special Marine Warning	19	Fri, May 15, 2026, 3:15 PM HST
Gale Warning	4	Sat, Sep 26, 2026, 5:09 PM HST
Tropical Storm Warning	2	Sun, Sep 6, 2026, 4:57 AM HST
Gale Watch	4	Sat, Sep 26, 2026, 6:00 PM HST
Tropical Storm Watch	2	Sat, Sep 5, 2026, 4:45 PM HST
Tornado Watch	1	Mon, Sep 7, 2026, 4:13 PM HST
Small Craft Advisory	44	Sun, 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 buoys The hour-by-hour forecast for the middle of the zone Every 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 15:13 UTC. All public domain, from the National Weather Service.