Pipeline Surf Report & Ideal Conditions

Live NOAA data · Updated 2026-08-26
As of the latest buoy reading (2026-08-26 10:00 UTC), Pipeline is marginal: the live 2–4 ft medium-period swell from the S is off its ideal NE direction and is under its usual size, and the wind is moderate from the N. Pipeline is most often good on a 4–6 ft medium-period (8–16s) swell from the NE, with moderate wind from the E, on a mid outgoing tide — the conditions LazySurfer surfers have logged and rated highest here. It's a break best left to experienced surfers.

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Best conditions for Pipeline

Pipeline is most often good on a 4–6 ft medium-period (8–16s) swell from the NE, with moderate wind from the E, on a mid outgoing tide — the conditions LazySurfer surfers have logged and rated highest here.

Ideal wave height4–6 ft
Ideal periodmedium-period (8–16s)
Best swell directionNE
Best windmoderate wind from the E
Best tidemid & outgoing

These best-conditions estimates come from real sessions LazySurfer users rated highly at this break — not an editorial guess (high-confidence read). In the app, LazySurfer's custom deep-learning model predicts your own 1–5★ rating at about 90% exact-match accuracy (97.6% within one star). How LazySurfer works →

Current conditions

Latest reading from the nearest NOAA buoys (UTC 2026-08-26 10:00 UTC). LazySurfer reads this same public NDBC data directly — no proprietary smoothing. New to buoy data? See how to read a NOAA buoy.

Wave height3.3 ft
Dominant period13s
Swell directionSSW (195°)
Wave buoyNDBC station 51212 (24 mi away)
Wind8 kt from the NNE — NDBC PRHH1 (21 mi away)

Pipeline 7-day surf forecast

Model wave & wind outlook for Pipeline from NOAA's GEFS-Wave model, refreshed daily. Heights are open-water swell (face heights at the break are typically larger).

DaySwell heightPeriod & directionWind
Wed Aug 265 ft7s E18 kt ENE
Thu Aug 275–6 ft6s E18 kt ENE
Fri Aug 285–6 ft10s E19 kt ENE
Sat Aug 296 ft8s E18 kt E
Sun Aug 306 ft7s ENE18 kt ENE
Mon Aug 316–7 ft7s ENE19 kt ENE
Tue Sep 16–7 ft8s ENE14 kt ENE

Tide

Predicted tide for the next two days from NOAA station 1612480 (MOKU O LOE), the nearest tide station (23 mi away). Times local.

Pipeline tide chart for 2026-08-26 Predicted tide height in feet over two days, with high and low markers. 12a6a12p6p12a6a12p6p 0.3ft11:02a1.9ft7:28p0.6ft3:35a0.7ft7:38a0.6ft11:56a1.8ft8:03pNow0.31.9

Frequently asked

Is Pipeline working right now?

As of the latest buoy reading (2026-08-26 10:00 UTC), Pipeline is marginal: the live 2–4 ft medium-period swell from the S is off its ideal NE direction and is under its usual size, and the wind is moderate from the N.

Is Pipeline good for beginners?

Pipeline is best suited to experienced surfers — it's most often good on larger 4–6 ft surf that breaks with more power than beginners should take on. Conditions change daily, so always check the live report on this page before paddling out.

What's the best tide for Pipeline?

Pipeline tends to be best on a mid outgoing tide — the tide stage LazySurfer surfers have rated highest here. Tide changes how the swell breaks, so check the two-day tide chart on this page for today's high and low times.

What swell direction is best for Pipeline?

The best swell direction for Pipeline is from the northeast (NE). Swell arriving from the northeast lines up best with how this break faces, which is when LazySurfer surfers have rated it highest.

What's the best wind for Pipeline?

Pipeline is most often good with moderate wind from the east (E) — the wind LazySurfer surfers logged on their best-rated sessions here. Wind direction grooms or chops the wave face, so check the live report for current wind.

Where does LazySurfer's surf data for Pipeline come from?

LazySurfer reads public data directly from NOAA's National Data Buoy Center and the National Weather Service — the nearest NDBC wave buoy (station 51212) and the nearest NOAA tide station (MOKU O LOE). The same raw readings NOAA publishes, with no proprietary smoothing.

Does LazySurfer predict whether Pipeline is good for me?

Yes. LazySurfer trains a custom deep-learning model — a PyTorch neural network with per-user embeddings, retrained weekly on real logged surf sessions from the LazySurfer community — to predict the 1-to-5 star rating you personally would give, rather than a single average rating for everyone.

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