Hawaii swimmers warned not to go in the water as waves reach up to 14 feet

National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters in Hawaii issued a high surf advisory Friday, warning swimmers of dangerous waters.

The advisory is in effect for all east-facing coasts of Hawaii through Saturday evening, including Olomana, Maui Windward West, Kauai East, Koolau Windward, Molokai Southeast, Windward Haleakala, Big Island East and Big Island North as a “zone medium to large”. “Period” swell produces advisory level waves.

“Swells are expected to peak this afternoon into the evening and then slowly decrease over the weekend,” the advisory said.

A swell is a series of waves produced by storm winds.

NWS meteorologist Dennis Trotter said news week It is typical for Hawaii waves to increase during the transition to the winter season.

The surge is not associated with Hurricane Kristy, a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph in the eastern Pacific. Trotter said, however, there could be an increase in wave heights early next week due to Kristy, although it’s too early to say if it will affect Hawaii.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) anticipates that Kristy will exhibit “steady or rapid weakening” over the next few days. Earlier this week, the storm experienced rapid intensification and quickly became a major hurricane. Thursday night, Kristy was a Category 5…the most powerful storm on the planet.

The NHC forecast anticipates that Kristy become a posttropical cyclone on Sunday. The storm is not expected to make landfall, but will likely cause dangerous storm surge in other parts of the region.

“Surges generated by Kristy are affecting portions of the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula and will likely continue to impact the region through the weekend,” the forecast said. “These storm surges are likely to cause life-threatening waves and rip current conditions. Please check (warnings and alerts) with your local weather office.”

In addition to the high surf advisory, forecasters also issued a marine weather statement for the windward waters of Maui County and the Big Island on Friday morning.

“A mean period swell of 6 to 8 feet NNE of 010 to 030 degrees will fill rapidly today and peak this afternoon into the evening,” the release said. “This surge could produce surges in north-facing ports, primarily the ports of Hilo and Kahului. Mariners using these ports should use caution when entering or exiting the port and when docking or launching vessels.”

A marine weather statement has also been issued for waters near Southern California, as heavy fog is forecast to affect the coast of Los Angeles and Orange counties, the Santa Barbara Channel and “coastal waters from around Point Conception southward to the southern outer waters” until Saturday morning.