High Surf in Hawaii, May 16 to 22, 2013

Name: High Surf in Hawaii, May 16 to 22, 2013
Start: 2013-05-16T16:00
End: 2013-05-22T14:00
Location: Hawaii

May 16 to 22, 2013 · NWS HFO · 15 events in 15 counties and zones

A series of swells from the southern hemisphere generated surf of 6 to 10 feet along the south shores of all islands. Lifeguards were busy throughout the high surf episode.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 15

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.

A series of swells from the southern hemisphere generated surf of 6 to 10 feet along the south shores of all islands. Lifeguards were busy throughout the high surf episode. They provided many rescues, and warnings to inexperienced swimmers and surfers. On Maui, with the high surf, three sailing vessels broke free from their moorings and washed aground near Mala Wharf in Lahaina. The cost of damages was not available. There were no reports of serious injuries.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Honolulu, HI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 16, 4:00 PM HST, 0 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 4:00 PM HST, 0 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
400 PM HST THU MAY 16 2013

.SYNOPSIS...
A SURFACE HIGH NORTHEAST OF THE AREA WILL SUPPORT LOCALLY BREEZY
TRADE WINDS THROUGH TOMORROW. CLOUDS CARRIED BY THE TRADES WILL
PRODUCE SOME SHOWERS...MAINLY OVER WINDWARD AREAS. A TROUGH ALOFT
WILL DIG DOWN OVER ISLANDS DURING THE WEEKEND. THIS TROUGH WILL
LIKELY BRING MUGGY...HAZY WEATHER WITH CLOUDS AND SHOWERS MOST
ACTIVE DURING THE AFTERNOONS AND EVENINGS. TYPICAL SPRINGTIME
TRADE-WIND WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED TO RETURN TILL LATE NEXT WEEK. A
SERIES OF SWELLS WILL KEEP SURF ELEVATED ALONG SOUTH SHORES THROUGH
EARLY NEXT WEEK.
&&

.DISCUSSION...
SURFACE ANALYSES SHOW A 1026 MB SURFACE HIGH CENTERED ABOUT 925
MILES NORTHEAST OF THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS NEAR 31N 146W. THE
PRESSURE GRADIENT SOUTHWEST OF THE HIGH HAS BEEN MAINTAINING LOCALLY
BREEZY TRADE WINDS OVER THE ISLANDS. THE TRADES HAVE BEEN PUSHING
SCATTERED SHOWERS OVER WINDWARD AREAS. A LOW ALOFT JUST SOUTH OF
KAUAI HAS BEEN MAKING THE ATMOSPHERE A BIT UNSTABLE NEAR KAUAI. THE
200 PM SOUNDING FROM LIHUE SHOWED A LIFTED INDEX...LI...OF -2.4
WHILE THE LI WAS 2.6 AT HILO. BREEZY TRADE WINDS AND SCATTERED
WINDWARD SHOWERS WILL PERSIST THROUGH TOMORROW.

THE GLOBAL MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS.
THE MODELS SHOW A TROUGH ALOFT DIGGING OVER THE ISLANDS FROM THE
NORTHWEST OVER THE WEEKEND. THE TROUGH ALOFT WILL DESTABILIZE THE
ATMOSPHERE AND INDUCE A SURFACE TROUGH OVER THE ISLANDS WITH
SOUTHEAST FLOW NEAR THE BIG ISLAND AND NORTHEAST FLOW NEAR KAUAI.
THE SURFACE TROUGH WILL BRING MUCH WEAKER SURFACE WINDS...ESPECIALLY
OVER OAHU AND MAUI COUNTY. THE PREVAILING FLOW WILL BE LIGHT ENOUGH
FOR NIGHTTIME LAND BREEZES AND DAYTIME SEA BREEZES TO PREVAIL
STARTING SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING THROUGH MOST OF NEXT
WEEK. THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE UNSTABLE ENOUGH FOR AFTERNOON SHOWERS
OVER INTERIOR AREAS. WITH SOUTHEAST FLOW NEAR THE BIG ISLAND AND
LIGHT WINDS ELSEWHERE...VOG WILL BE WIDESPREAD NEXT WEEK. THE
COMPUTER MODELS SUGGEST TRADE WINDS MAY START TO RETURN IN 8 OR 9
DAYS.

&&

.MARINE...
FRESH TRADES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TOMORROW WITH SMALL CRAFT
ADVISORY CONDITIONS CONTINUING FOR THE WINDIER WATERS NEAR MAUI AND
THE BIG ISLAND. THE WINDS ARE DOWN A BIT AND WE HAVE DROPPED THE
SCA FOR THE KAIWI CHANNEL. THE WINDS SHOULD EASE BELOW ADVISORY
LEVELS TOMORROW.

A SERIES OF LARGE SOUTH SWELLS WILL AFFECT THE ISLANDS IN THE NEXT
FEW OF DAYS. THE FIRST OF THESE SWELLS CAME IN A BIT LATE...BUT
THE SWELL HAS COME UP AT THE BUOYS SOUTH OF THE ISLANDS AND THIS
SWELL WILL BE BRINGING ADVISORY LEVEL SURF TO ALL ISLANDS. A HIGH
SURF ADVISORY IS UP THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY MORNING AND MAY NEED TO
BE EXTENDED.

&&

.AVIATION...
VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL AT THE HAWAII TERMINALS TONIGHT.

AIRMET TANGO FOR LOW LVL TURB BELOW 080 SOUTHWEST OF THE MOUNTAINS
DUE TO THE BREEZY TRADE WINDS WILL LIKELY BE DROPPED THIS EVENING.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 600 AM HST FRIDAY FOR THE PAILOLO AND
ALENUIHAHA CHANNELS...MAALAEA BAY...AND WATERS SOUTH OF THE BIG
ISLAND.

HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR SOUTH FACING SHORES OF ALL ISLANDS UNTIL 600
AM HST SATURDAY.

&&

DONALDSON

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

15 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Niihau

When: May 16, 4:00 PM HST to May 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: Niihau forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Kauai Windward

When: May 16, 4:00 PM HST to May 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: Kauai Windward forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Kauai Leeward

When: May 16, 4:00 PM HST to May 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: Kauai Leeward forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Oahu South Shore

When: May 16, 4:00 PM HST to May 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: Oahu South Shore forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Waianae Coast

When: May 16, 4:00 PM HST to May 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: Waianae Coast forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Molokai Windward

When: May 16, 4:00 PM HST to May 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: Molokai Windward forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Molokai Leeward

When: May 16, 4:00 PM HST to May 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: Molokai Leeward forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Lanai Makai

When: May 16, 4:00 PM HST to May 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: Lanai Makai forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Kahoolawe

When: May 16, 4:00 PM HST to May 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: Kahoolawe forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Maui Leeward West

When: May 16, 4:00 PM HST to May 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: Maui Leeward West forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Maui Central Valley

When: May 16, 4:00 PM HST to May 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: Maui Central Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Leeward Haleakala

When: May 16, 4:00 PM HST to May 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: Leeward Haleakala forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Kona

When: May 16, 4:00 PM HST to May 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: Kona forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, South Big Island

When: May 16, 4:00 PM HST to May 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: South Big Island forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Big Island North and East

When: May 16, 4:00 PM HST to May 22, 2:00 PM HST
Where: Big Island North and East forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

What these are

High Surf: Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Hawaii in 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, May 2013

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 444921, 444922, 444923, 444924, 444925, 444926, 444927, 444928, 444929, 444930, 444931, 444932, 444933, 444934, 444935.