Big Waves Headed for Mexico, Tahiti, and Oahu - We Will Have South Swell!!

If you could be anywhere in the world this week, where you would choose? If you said Mexico, then you have clearly been paying to the global forecast.

Over the next seven days, the South Pacific is scheduled to awake from its mid-summer slumber and fire off multiple pulses of swell, the bulk of which are aimed straight at Mainland Mexico

Surfline forecast Kevin Wallis has been watching this forecast for some time, and suggests that it may be as big as the XL swell event that saw Puerto Escondido fire in May.

Two swells will fill in between Friday and Monday, the first looking to be in the 4 foot at 18-second range, while the second could come in as big as 6 at 18. While that’s a bit above model guidance at the moment, radar images of the storm suggest that this swell could be an overperformer.

Fortunately, the excitement won’t be limited to Latin America. Following on the heels of the storm that created Mexico’s incoming swell is another system with a steeper fetch, aimed straight at Tahiti.

Teahupoo is looking at a borderline tow swell this weekend, with numbers as big as 11.5 feet at 14 seconds. While the period is a big lower than we typically see with big swells in Tahiti, this is still a substantial swell for the wave at the End of the Road—and as anyone who is a fan of surfing in Town will tell you, when Teahupoo pumps, Oahu’s south shore fires a few days later.

Early next week sees one of the largest swells of what has been a relatively lackluster summer filling into the Waikiki/Ala Moana region.

Preliminary forecasts look like 3-4 feet of deep-water swell at 16 seconds, with moderate ENE/NE trades predicted. In other words, this could be some of the best surf we’ve seen on Oahu in months, so make sure you have your boards dialed and your time off of work arranged!

With the kids back in school, this should also be the least-crowded swell of the summer, particularly as everyone is likely to surf themselves out over Labor Day weekend. The swell should peak Tuesday and Wednesday, then drop back into the longboard range that we’ve seen so much of all summer.

If you aren’t lucky enough to be jetsetting over to Mexico or Tahiti, we hope you are planning to score here. We’ll see you in the water!

Prepare for the coming swell with these boards and accessories