Ben There, Done That

The Big Blizzard

While we've had quite a few cold fronts move through the islands this wet season, it's definitely nothing compared to the huge snowstorm that blanketed the mainland. Just as a comparison, here's what it looked like from space, courtesy of NOAA and the GOES East Satellite, 22,500 miles up (with helpful state border lines).

Those of you weather-minded can definitely tell that was one huge low-pressure system.

If you want a gigantic high-res version of this photo, you can click here.

No Eddie, but still a nice day

After workers, surfers and spectators spent all that time preparing Wednesday night, there was no Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big wave surf meet at Waimea Bay. And most people agree that having Eddie stay was the right decision.

At the bay Wednesday night, while watching all those workers putting up scaffolding, banners, tents, television equipment, etc., I asked Eddie spokesperson Jodi Wilmott what would happen if the meet didn't occur. She replied, that instead of watching a surf meet, people around the world would still see some spectacular 18 foot waves and beautiful weather. And they did.

The Eddie is arguably one of the most prestigious surf meets, and not something you do halfway. Only the best should be on display to honor Eddie Aikau.

Is there a chance for Eddie to go this year? Meteorologically speaking the odds are against it. This is a La Nina year, with cooler than normal sea surface temperatures, which usually doesn't bode well for strong storms and large waves in our neighborhood. But having waves get that big this year anyway offers a little hope.  

Ready for Eddie

For the past couple of afternoons I've been getting text messages from "The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau," with updates on whether The Eddie will Go. As of this writing, it looks very likely that the waves will be high enough Thursday, and the preparations are under way.

Of course, this means we will have the epic traffic jams heading to Waimea Bay from both directions. The city has already put out the word to use TheBus instead of driving. The last time the Eddie was held, people were parking as far away as Hale'iwa; the ones who thought ahead brought bikes with them (park car, ride bike). And apparently, there were dozens and dozens who thought ahead, and finding a place to secure your bike became a problem in an of itself.

While the Eddie folks prepare, we do so as well, and now launch into the shameless promotions department: Guy will be at Waimea Bay for the early newscasts tonight; I'll be there for the later ones, and Malika Dudley will have the latest on Sunrise Thursday morning.

Big Brown Waves, and a Traffic Jam

While thousands of people were jamming Kamehameha Hwy. to check out the big north shore surf, photographer Oscar Valenzuela and I decided to check out the west side, where the west-northwest direction of the swell threatened to cause coastal inundation in Leeward Oahu. That didn't happen, but surfers believe that the waves that did roll in also stirred up mud from last week's flooding that had settled on the ocean bottom. The waves, especially at Lualualei Beach Park, were chocolate brown. As one beachgoer who stayed dry at Makaha put it, "It's all Willy Wonka out there."

The brown water may not have been that atractive, but it didn't stop a lot of surfers from completely ignoring a sign warnnig of contaminated water at Tracks. The waves were unusually good, but also unusually mucky.

The North Shore, which gets all the attention, certainly had a lot of folks today. Here's a photo by regular Hawaii Weather Now contributor Terry Reis, of the traffic at Waimea Bay (and not the road variety).   

 

Catching up: A New Year's Eve Video!

The holidays were a complete blur, especially since I worked all the way through the period, including the major ones: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. So I've got tons of catching up to do, post-wise.

Here's one: A web-only video that we did after Sunrise on New Year's Eve, featuring the whole Sunrise crew rocking out with Nathan Osmond. Yes, he's from that family.

One observation: Tannya, Steve and Ramsay sure know how to dance. Enjoy!

Back, and just in time for the apocalypse

I don't make New Year's resolutions, but now is as good a time as any to return to this blog and start posting again. And we're going to kick 1.11.11 off with the end of the world, a little ahead of the Mayan end in 2012.

Why is the apocaplyse nigh? Apparently, because Hawai'i has snow.

According to quite a few blogs, including the one on CNN.com, snow is now present is 49 of the 50 states, and Hawai'i is one of them. The winner in the snow-free sweepstakes in Florida.

Maybe those unfamiliar with the islands think they're going to see a snowy mantle atop Diamond Head, or surfers making their way through the drifts to the shoreline.

For a bit more on the story, here's the rest on HawaiiNewsNow.com.

The " Demonstration Tsunami "

I'm going to use Howard Dicus' phrase to describe what we were calling a "tsunami scare" during our coverage yesterday. As he put it it, there was "enough unnatural wave action to show there had been an event, but not enough to disrupt our lives for more than a day." (The gist of this also came from Pacific Tsunami Warning Center geophysicist Gerard Fryer, describing what happened.) The most dramatic pictures had to come from our exclusive Web cam overlooking Hilo Bay and Coconut Island. You could actually see the tidal surges, with whitewater moving from left to right as the water receded from the bay, and then reversed direction as another surge entered, raising the water level again. It wasn't the eight-foot surge that the computer models had forecast, but there was still definitely something going on. You also could see it in, of all places, the Ala Wai Canal. There were a handful of people who were looking at the water at the McCully Street bridge over the canal, but they didn't stick around very long. It wasn't as dramatic as the tidal surges at Hilo Bay, but as I looked down at the murky water, you could tell there was a strong current coming in, as the water level started rising. And then, the water would swirl around, as if deciding what direction to go in next, before rather rapidly heading back out to sea, stirring up more silt in the process. Litter, like old paper cups and a styrofoam lunch plate, floated by toward the ocean. And then, about ten minutes later, would return as another surge pushed water back into the canal. The outgoing current , the brown water notwithstanding, especially looked strong enough to pull someone out to the ocean, had it continued. Some people mentioned the so called "Waveless Wednesday" of 1986, when there were massive traffic jams as people evacuated -- and others tried to go in the other direction to look at the waves, which never showed up. I was living on the mainland for that, but I was here for another tsunami scare in 1994, where a six-inch tsunami showed up. This tsunami is officially the first one I've actually witnessed, even if it wasn't really a wave. While I was watching this with my photographer, a gentleman walking by paused to rant about how this event was another effort by the media to control the minds of the public, and that we had made the whole thing up because, in his words, absolutely nothing was happening. I listened to him as the incoming water below paused, and then began to lower and head back to sea.

Eddie Went!

With Luke & Guy Hagi and Malika Dudley; Luke was so stoked about getting Kelly Slater's autograph"]The gauntlet of motor vehicles, parked cars, bicycles, mopeds, pedestrians, skateboards and the occasional mini-motorcycle. Haleiwa to Waimea was one hour by car, 50 minutes or so on foot, 20 minutes by bicycle"]Just a tiny handful of the estimated 30,000 who made it to the bay"]"How crowded was it? This was the line for the MEN'S bathroom!"]Kauai's Andy Irons checks the leaderboard"] Malika and Guy had particularly long days; Malika was there at around 3:30 a.m. or so for Sunrise, while Guy got there around 5:30 a.m. both Monday and Tuesday, and still would work through the 10 p.m. newscasts. Even with the long hours, it's one of the most fun events to cover, both from a news standpoint and as something that results from weather.

The Day Before Eddie Went

 

With photographer Rick Pike, broadcasting live the day before the meet

Checking the waves at the Bay"] Just a few photos, courtesy of a friend of mine, from Monday, December 7th. The bay was almost ready to call the day for the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, as the exclusive surf meet is formally called. Despite the 55-minute drive from Haleiwa to Waimea Bay, and having to gather, organize and write three stories, the experience is worth it, if for no other reason than to experience the big waves. And being surrounded by such scenery, it's almost a crime to call it work. More pictures of "work" -- or when Eddie actually went -- in my next post.

Random Thoughts on the Big Surf

I got a chance to cover the big surf on Oahu's north shore today. While it is big, it was a bit smaller than the original forecast of 30 to 40 foot face waves, with the occasional 50 footer on the outer reefs. But there were still some pretty good 3o footers that started rolling in and closing out Waimea Bay. They also weren't as big as the waves I saw on Big Wednesday in January 1998. But there's still the possibility that could happen. What hasn't changed is the big crowd that shows up to see the waves, and the occasional experienced and hardy soul that tries to surf them. I asked former big wave rider and University of Hawaii oceanographer Ricky Grigg about what would draw someone to a wave like that. Sometimes, he said, you want to find out the limits of your human endurance, to find the ultimate thrill. And with big waves, some pay the ultimate price for finding that thrill. As for the crowd, I just thought what a bummer it must be for the people who live on the north shore, who have to put up with being stuck at home, or taking forever to get anywhere (it took me more than an hour to get from Haleiwa to Waimea Bay). When I was on the north shore last weekend, one of the Vans Triple Crown of Surf events was underway at Sunset Beach. I noticed that some residents nearby were offering parking, on their property, for five dollars. Today, some of the folks who live near Waimea Bay were charging twenty dollars (gulp!) I didn't see many takers for those. But then again, today you could find quite a few empty spots, like in the lot next to the fire station at Pupukea, across Kamehameha Highway from Foodland. And finally, I have to mention what an honor it is to know George Downing, Another legendary surfer, and now the guy who watches to see if "the bay calls the day" for the Eddie Aikau invitational surf competition. Uncle George was up at the Waimea Bay lifeguard station with his grandson, eyeing the waves all afternoon to see if the conditions would be right to run the event. He spotted me, waved, and then said, "Come on up." It's like being granted an audience, but really, we just sat around talking surf, and occasionally about work and whether I'm enjoying my job. I am, I say. It's nice to spend a December day, wearing slippers to work, at one of the most beautiful places I can think of, even if it took forever to get there, and there are thousands more there who want to share the experience.