awaii experienced “historic” waves over the weekend, which crashed into two-story buildings and flooded a wedding party. Forecasters warned that Hawaii’s southern coast could see waves of 12 to 16 feet, and the occasional 20-foot wave, over the weekend, including Sunday night. Most large summer swells coming from the south are no bigger than about 10 feet, which would trigger a high surf advisory. But Chris Brenchley, the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service’s Honolulu office, said the waves seen off Hawaii’s southern coast were “historic.” “We had some waves that were up to 20 feet, 20 feet and more,” Bradley said. “This is reaching the level of history.”
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Waves crashed over a wedding party, knocking over tables and chairs and sending guests running for cover, just five minutes before the ceremony was due to start. Sara Ackerman, a writer who grew up in Hawaii and attended the wedding, filmed the waves as they came ashore. He said: “It was just massive. I was filming it and then it just went over the wall and just completely obliterated all the tables and chairs.” “It wasn’t like a life-threatening situation by any means,” he said. “It was like, ‘Oh my God… what are we going to do? Where shall we put the tables?’ Ackerman said they were able to go ahead with the ceremony and clean up the mess after the newlyweds exchanged vows. “We had the ceremony and it was beautiful, having all the (sea) spray,” he said. “The ocean was really wild. So it was great for the photos.”
Why were the waves so high in Hawaii?
Chris Brenchley, the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service’s Honolulu office, said many factors combined to create such massive waves, the AP reports. “Waves over 12 or 15 feet, they get extremely big and they’re really rare,” he said. “It’s the biggest it’s been in several decades.” Brenchley said the swell was produced in the South Pacific, where it’s currently the winter season: “They had a particularly strong winter storm where the winds were focused directly on places like Samoa and then north to Hawaii.” The remnants of Hurricane Darby passed south of Hawaii but did not have a major impact on the surf, he said. While individual events like this are difficult to directly link to climate change, Brenchley said a warming planet is playing a role. “The most immediate type of impact we can use with climate change is sea level rise. Every time you add even small amounts of water, you raise the sea level a little bit,” he said. “And now those impacts are going to get worse every time we have a big storm or a … high, high tide.”
