Former surfing champion and tow-in surfing pioneer Buzzy Kerbox vividly remembers the last time a strong El Nino cast its spell on Hawaii.

On Jan. 28, 1998, a huge swell pummeled the Hawaiian Islands as part of the 1997-98 El Nino event, and Kerbox was riding massive waves with 60- to 70-foot faces at Maui’s notorious surf break at Peahi, also ominously known as Jaws.

“It was exhilarating, exciting and scary as hell,” he said.

Kerbox, who today teaches surfing and stand-up paddling on Oahu’s North Shore, is one of a legion of Hawaii surfers who are aware this is yet another strong El Nino year. He and his surfing brethren have been anticipating this winter’s big surf for months.

Until Friday’s humongous waves, with some North Shore sets reportedly showing 50-foot faces, the season hadn’t quite lived up to the El Nino hype.

“It’s early yet,” said Patrick Caldwell, a Honolulu surf forecaster and researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “We’re less than a month into winter.”

Caldwell said Friday’s monster waves likely are a preview of what’s to come. The potential for a handful of similar events remains high well into March, he said.

Surf data taken over decades, he said, indicate that strong El Nino years are among the most consistent in generating large swells and big surf throughout the winter months of January, February and March.

If this year follows the historical pattern, there will be above-average-height waves on north shores through March, with plenty of days breaking extra large — including some giant surf days and waves breaking on the outer reefs, Caldwell said.

On the south shores, records point to a 50-50 chance of above-average winter surf, he said, but conditions have been exceptional lately and are expected to continue for the time being.

El Nino is the intermittent climate phenomenon in which warm ocean water pools at the equator in the Eastern Pacific and ends up changing weather patterns across the globe.

Many forecasters were predicting an El Nino last winter, raising hopes for epic surf. But the conditions never materialized.

By summer, there was no equivocation, with the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center claiming the 2015-16 El Nino to be among the strongest ever recorded.

Already in the past year Hawaii has experienced some powerful El Nino anomalies: extreme heat and humidity, weaker tradewinds, warmer ocean water, buckets of summer rain and elevated threats of hurricanes.

In addition to big waves, the El Nino winter in Hawaii is characterized by drought, unseasonably warm days and fewer tradewinds, more Kona days and vog when Kilauea is erupting as it is now.

While many surfers are flush with excitement, another group may not be so thrilled — oceanfront property owners.

Beach expert Chip Fletcher said he expects the large winter waves to move plenty of sand, leaving sand-depleted beaches and beaches prone to direct hits from large surf.

Fletcher, a University of Hawaii associate dean and geology professor, advised property owners who live on such beaches to plan for the worst.

“Not all areas are vulnerable,” he added. “A small change in the direction of waves can send sand moving in unpredictable ways along the shore and cause or repair erosion in unexpected ways.”

Brad Romine, coastal lands program manager with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said on Thursday that there haven’t been any new coastal erosion problems so far this winter.

“That being said, we’re only about halfway through the winter surf season and our biggest swells have come in late January the past couple years,” he said. “We were certainly concerned going into this El Nino winter season and we’re not out of the woods yet.”

Meanwhile, big waves are good for business on Oahu’s North Shore, as locals and tourists alike flock to witness the spectacle.

“Everybody wants to see it,” said Eddie Crawford, manager of Surf N Sea surf shop in Haleiwa. “When you’re traveling from the mainland, you want to see the biggest waves you’ll ever see up close and personal.”

Crawford, a surfer, said last week that he was disappointed with the big-wave season so far, but he was optimistic conditions would improve.

El Nino has also raised expectations that the Eddie — the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau — big-wave surfing contest will go off this year.

The annual Waimea Bay tournament, which requires wave faces of more than 30 feet, among other logistical demands, has not been held since 2009. The contest has been run only eight times in its 31-year history.

“We are absolutely optimistic about the intensity and frequency of major swell episodes we are experiencing this winter,” said Jodi Wilmott, one of the contest’s organizers.

El Nino surf isn’t just for superhuman watermen. Typically, there are plenty of surfing opportunities for everyone as some of the protected breaks will provide smaller but excellent waves.

“Mortal surfers will be chasing the waves that refract around the island,” Caldwell said. “Somewhere, there’s a suitable wave for everyone.”