PIPELINE, Oahu/Hawaii (Saturday, December 7, 2013) - The waiting period for the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons kicks off tomorrow morning, December 8, and Surfline, official forecasters for the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing are expecting promising swell to prevail through the opening days of the waiting period.
BRIEF OVERVIEW: Overlapping NNW swells prevail Sunday through Tuesday with good size surf at Pipe. Wind is light Sunday and Monday, with trades rebuilding by Tuesday.
SUNDAY 8th: NNW swell strongest in the AM, easing PM SWELL/SURF: 8-12’+ faces with occasional larger sets in the morning. Good waves at Backdoor and Pipe. WIND/WEATHER: Light SE/SSE wind in the morning, with a light sea breeze possible in the afternoon. Partly cloudy skies with a chance for passing showers.
MONDAY 9th: NNW swell continues SWELL/SURF: 5-8’ occ 10’ faces at Backdoor and Pipe. WIND/WEATHER: Light SE/SSE offshore wind in the morning, with a light seabreeze possible in the afternoon. Partly cloudy.
TUESDAY 10th: NNW swell reinforcements, strongest through the morning SWELL/SURF: 6-10’ faces, some slightly larger sets possible in the morning. Good waves at Backdoor and Pipe. WIND/WEATHER: Light East Trades in the early morning, veering ENE and becoming moderate for the day. Partly cloudy.
WEDNESDAY 11th: Fading NNW, strongest in the AM SWELL/SURF: 5-7’ faces. Gradual decline through the day. WIND/WEATHER: Light to moderate E trades, on an easing trend.
THURSDAY 12th: Smaller NNW leftovers SWELL/SURF: Leftover NNW swell lingers with surf around head high or less. WIND/WEATHER: Light ESE trades.
SWELL/SURF OUTLOOK
An overlapping series of NNW swells will move in from Sunday through Tuesday from the same source/storm. We saw this initial pulse fill in throughout the day today and that will continue into Sunday morning. A brief easing trend prevails Sunday afternoon and into Monday morning.
Look for the NNW swell (325-350 deg) that will build in through tonight and Saturday AM, topping out Saturday PM through Sunday AM. Expect well overhead surf all weekend across the North Shore, with Pipe/Backdoor producing sets running in the double to triple overhead zone. Other select reefs will see occasional bigger waves/peaks. This energy will ease some over Sunday PM into Monday, but still offering overhead up to double overhead sets at Pipe on Monday.
A secondary NNW swell (335-350 deg) will pulse back up on Tuesday to keep the surf elevated. This long run of NNW energy looks like it will finally fade out Wednesday through Friday. Note also that with the swell direction and swell period, there will be some excellent waves at Backdoor.
Going further out, the next swell that we’ll keep an eye on will be for around Saturday the 14th. The various wind and swell models have been flip flopping a bit on the strength of the storm/swell, so confidence is low on the exact timing and size of this potential swell. Stay tuned, we will refine this forecast over the next few days as we the various models come into better agreement.
WIND/WEATHER OUTLOOK
A frontal system will hang over the central NPAC through the next couple days, leading to light winds for Oahu. Overall, we’ll see light wind and partly cloudy skies throughout the region, with the mornings and evenings generally seeing the most favorable wind conditions (light SSE/SE). There will be the possibility of a light sea breeze developing in the afternoons both Sunday and Monday.
High pressure will build over Hawaii for Tue/Wed and light to moderate trades will develop. For the end of the work wee we’ll watch for easing trades to shift more ESE. Stay tuned.
Event organizers at the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons will make an official call at 6:30am local time for a possible 8am start to Round 1 competition.
