TidePlanet

Waves in Red Head

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 9:29 pm (ADT)
Now · significant height 1.3 ft
Sea state
Smooth · Douglas 2
Period
3.1 s · SW
Swell
0.8 ft · 3 s
Highest expected
2.9 ft

Today the sea at Red Head is smooth: 1.3 ft waves with a period of 3.1 s from the southwest. The swell, 0.8 ft at 3 s, comes from the southwest. Biggest waves: Friday 30, with waves up to 4.7 ft (moderate).

Wave height, next 7 days

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 common0.7 ft
  • Significant1.3 ft
  • Highest expected2.9 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 2.9 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 2.9 ft.

The Douglas sea state scale

DegreeNameWave height
0 Calm (glassy) 0
1 Calm (rippled) 0.0 ft–0.3 ft
2 Smooth · today 0.3 ft–1.6 ft
3 Slight 1.6 ft–4.1 ft
4 Moderate · week peak 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 1.6 ft Smooth SW 6 s 0.9 ft SSW 14 mph W
Thu 29 4.4 ft Moderate SSW 5 s 2.2 ft SSW 21 mph SW
Fri 30 4.7 ft Moderate SSW 6 s 3.9 ft SSW 18 mph WSW
Sat 31 1.9 ft Slight WSW 5 s 1.6 ft SSW 18 mph NW
Sun 1 2.2 ft Slight SW 5 s 1.7 ft SW 15 mph WSW
Mon 2 2.5 ft Slight SW 4 s 2.2 ft SSW 15 mph WSW
Tue 3 2.0 ft Slight SSW 4 s 2.0 ft SSW 8 mph NNW

Today, every 3 hours

Time 12:00 am3:00 am6:00 am9:00 am12:00 pm3:00 pm6:00 pm9:00 pm
Waves 0.7 ft0.7 ft0.6 ft0.5 ft0.3 ft0.6 ft1.0 ft1.2 ft
Period 3.0 s2.9 s3.6 s5.4 s6.5 s4.1 s3.0 s3.1 s
Direction WWNWWSWSSWSSWSSWSWSW
Swell 0.2 ft · 7 s0.3 ft · 2 s0.3 ft · 7 s0.3 ft · 8 s0.3 ft · 7 s0.2 ft · 7 s0.4 ft · 4 s0.7 ft · 3 s
Wind (mph) 9 NNW6 NW6 NNW5 N7 WNW12 SW13 SW13 WSW

Previous days

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

DayMax wavePeriodSwell
Tue 27 2.0 ft W4 s1.6 ft SSW
Mon 26 2.3 ft SSW4 s2.0 ft SSW
Sun 25 1.6 ft SW6 s1.0 ft SSW
Sat 24 1.0 ft ENE4 s0.7 ft E
Fri 23 3.6 ft NNE6 s1.6 ft S
Thu 22 3.3 ft ENE6 s1.6 ft SSE
Wed 21 1.3 ft E5 s1.0 ft E
Show all 14 days
DayMax wavePeriodSwell
Tue 20 1.3 ft NW4 s1.3 ft SSW
Mon 19 2.0 ft SSW5 s1.3 ft SSW
Sun 18 1.6 ft SSW7 s1.3 ft SSW
Sat 17 4.3 ft SSW6 s3.3 ft SSW
Fri 16 4.6 ft S7 s2.6 ft SSW
Thu 15 2.3 ft WSW5 s1.6 ft SSW
Wed 14 4.3 ft SE6 s2.6 ft S

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 Red HeadQuestions

How are the waves today in Red Head?

Smooth (1.3 ft with a period of 3.1 s from the southwest). The highest wave to expect is around 2.9 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Friday 30, with waves up to 4.7 ft (moderate).

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 2.9 ft.

More about Red Head today

Waves near Red Head

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 3.5 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 9:29 pm (local time).

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