A high surf advisory is in place for the north and west shores of isles from Niihau to Maui due to a northwest swell, in effect through 6 p.m. today.

The National Weather Service says surf of 10 to 16 feet along north and west shores of Niihau and Kauai, and north shores of Oahu, Molokai and Maui today. Surf of 8 to 12 feet is expected along west shores of Oahu and Molokai.

Weather officials warn of shore break, strong, breaking waves, and strong longshore and rip currents, making swimming difficult and dangerous. Beachgoers, swimmers and surfers should heed all advice given by ocean safety officials.

Today is expected to be clear to partly cloudy, with isolated showers in the afternoon and highs from 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit and southeast winds of 10 to 20 miles per hour. Lows tonight range from 62 to 67 degrees.

Forecasters say the trades will die down this afternoon and shift to the southeasterly direction, with the trend continuing through Thursday. While it will remain mostly dry the rest of the work week, a strong front is expected to move into the isles Friday, bringing potentially wet and unsettled weather for the weekend.

Also, another large, northwest swell is on the way Tuesday night into Wednesday, and will likely bring advisory-level surf once again along exposed north and west shores.

A small craft advisory currently remains in effect for Big Island leeward, windward and southeast waters, the Alenuihaha, Pailolo and Kaiwi channels, northwest and windward Kauai waters, and Windward Oahu and Maui waters, through 6 p.m. today.