Waves in Margate

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Thursday, October 29, at 10:30 am (GMT+11)

Now · significant height 2.3 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 8.5 s · SSW
Swell: 1.7 ft · 8 s
Highest expected: 4.6 ft

Today the sea at Margate is slight: 2.3 ft waves with a period of 8.5 s from the south-southwest. The swell, 1.7 ft at 8 s, comes from the south.

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.0 ft 2.4 ft Now

Significant height: the average of the highest third of the waves, what an observer would estimate by eye. Swell: waves arriving from far away, longer.

The waves you may find today

Most common1.1 ft
Significant2.3 ft
Highest expected4.6 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 4.6 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 4.6 ft.

The Douglas sea state scale

Degree	Name	Wave height
0	Calm (glassy)	0
1	Calm (rippled)	0.0 ft–0.3 ft
2	Smooth	0.3 ft–1.6 ft
3	Slight · today	1.6 ft–4.1 ft
4	Moderate	4.1 ft–8.2 ft
5	Rough	8.2 ft–13.1 ft
6	Very rough	13.1 ft–19.7 ft

Waves day by day

Day	Max wave	Sea state	Direction	Max period	Swell	Max wind
Today	2.4 ft	Slight	SSW	9 s	1.8 ft S	15 mph W
Fri 30	1.8 ft	Slight	S	9 s	1.4 ft S	7 mph SE
Sat 31	1.5 ft	Smooth	SSE	8 s	1.2 ft SSE	16 mph NW
Sun 1	1.9 ft	Slight	SSW	7 s	1.2 ft S	10 mph W
Mon 2	1.2 ft	Smooth	S	10 s	0.7 ft S	8 mph NE
Tue 3	0.9 ft	Smooth	S	8 s	0.5 ft SSW	7 mph SE
Wed 4	1.2 ft	Smooth	SW	8 s	0.6 ft SSW	6 mph SSW

Today, every 3 hours

Time	12:00 am	3:00 am	6:00 am	9:00 am	12:00 pm	3:00 pm	6:00 pm	9:00 pm
Waves	2.2 ft	2.3 ft	2.4 ft	2.3 ft	2.3 ft	2.3 ft	2.2 ft	1.9 ft
Period	9.3 s	9.4 s	9.3 s	9.0 s	8.0 s	7.4 s	7.8 s	9.0 s
Direction	S	S	S	SSW	SSW	SW	SSW	SSW
Swell	1.7 ft · 8 s	1.8 ft · 8 s	1.8 ft · 8 s	1.7 ft · 8 s	1.6 ft · 8 s	1.6 ft · 8 s	1.5 ft · 8 s	1.5 ft · 8 s
Wind (mph)	8 W	9 W	9 W	12 W	14 W	15 W	13 W	9 W

Previous days

The waves over the last 14 days. Tap a day to see it hour by hour.

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Wed 28	2.6 ft SW	9 s	1.6 ft S
Tue 27	1.3 ft SW	6 s	0.7 ft S
Mon 26	1.6 ft S	6 s	1.0 ft S
Sun 25	1.3 ft S	7 s	1.0 ft S
Sat 24	1.3 ft S	10 s	1.0 ft S
Fri 23	1.3 ft NE	7 s	0.7 ft SE
Thu 22	1.6 ft E	6 s	1.0 ft E

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Wed 21	1.3 ft SSE	7 s	1.0 ft SSE
Tue 20	1.3 ft ENE	8 s	0.7 ft SE
Mon 19	1.3 ft E	9 s	0.7 ft ENE
Sun 18	0.7 ft SE	10 s	0.7 ft SSE
Sat 17	1.0 ft SE	9 s	0.7 ft SE
Fri 16	1.6 ft ESE	7 s	1.0 ft SE
Thu 15	1.6 ft SSE	7 s	1.6 ft SSE

These are the models at the start of each day (ECMWF and GFS; waves from Météo-France), not readings from a weather station: there can be differences at specific spots.

Questions about the waves in MargateQuestions

How are the waves today in Margate?

Slight (2.3 ft with a period of 8.5 s from the south-southwest). The highest wave to expect is around 4.6 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Thursday 29, with waves up to 2.4 ft (slight).

What is the wave period?

The time, in seconds, between two crests. With long periods (over 10 s) waves come from far away, are cleaner and break harder; with short periods they are wind waves, choppier.

What is significant wave height?

The average of the highest third of the waves. One in seven is higher and, a few times a day, one comes in at almost double: today, about 4.6 ft.

More about Margate today

Waves near Margate

Only places with a different forecast: spots a few miles apart share the same model cell and wouldn't add anything.

Learn more

Waves: Open-Meteo with Météo-France (MFWAM, up to 10 days) and ECMWF WAM, CC BY 4.0; wave grid point 5.8 mi away. Near the shore, the seabed and the shape of the coast change the waves.

Forecast from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0) with models from ECMWF, NOAA, Météo-France, DWD, Copernicus Marine and CAMS. Updated at 10:30 am (local time).

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