Waves in Hawke's Bay

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 10:30 pm (GMT-2:30)

Now · significant height 5.3 ft

Sea state: Moderate · Douglas 4
Period: 5.4 s · W
Swell: 2.9 ft · 6 s
Highest expected: 11 ft

Today the sea at Hawke's Bay is moderate: 5.3 ft waves with a period of 5.4 s from the west. The swell, 2.9 ft at 6 s, comes from the southwest. Biggest waves: Monday 2, with waves up to 6.2 ft (moderate).

Wave height, next 7 days

2.04.06.0 ft 6.2 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 common2.7 ft
Significant5.3 ft
Highest expected11 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 11 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 11 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	1.6 ft–4.1 ft
4	Moderate · today	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	5.8 ft	Moderate	WNW	6 s	3.2 ft WSW	18 mph WNW
Thu 29	5.2 ft	Moderate	WSW	6 s	4.1 ft WSW	16 mph WSW
Fri 30	5.8 ft	Moderate	WSW	6 s	4.4 ft WSW	19 mph SW
Sat 31	3.5 ft	Slight	WNW	6 s	3.1 ft WSW	7 mph N
Sun 1	3.2 ft	Slight	WNW	4 s	2.1 ft WNW	14 mph W
Mon 2	6.2 ft	Moderate	WSW	6 s	3.7 ft SW	18 mph W
Tue 3	5.9 ft	Moderate	W	6 s	3.5 ft WSW	14 mph WNW

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	5.7 ft	5.4 ft	5.1 ft	4.8 ft	4.5 ft	4.7 ft	5.1 ft	5.2 ft
Period	5.7 s	5.6 s	5.4 s	5.2 s	5.1 s	5.0 s	5.2 s	5.4 s
Direction	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	W	W	W
Swell	3.2 ft · 6 s	2.9 ft · 5 s	2.6 ft · 5 s	2.4 ft · 6 s	2.0 ft · 6 s	1.1 ft · 5 s	1.7 ft · 6 s	2.5 ft · 6 s
Wind (mph)	13 NW	13 NW	14 NW	14 NW	14 WNW	17 W	16 W	15 W

Previous days

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

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 27	5.9 ft WNW	6 s	3.3 ft WSW
Mon 26	6.9 ft WSW	6 s	3.9 ft WSW
Sun 25	7.2 ft WSW	6 s	2.3 ft WSW
Sat 24	2.0 ft WNW	3 s	1.3 ft NW
Fri 23	4.6 ft N	5 s	2.0 ft NNW
Thu 22	4.3 ft WSW	5 s	2.6 ft W
Wed 21	2.3 ft WSW	5 s	1.6 ft SW

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	8.2 ft WSW	7 s	5.2 ft SW
Mon 19	9.8 ft WSW	8 s	3.6 ft WSW
Sun 18	6.9 ft W	7 s	5.2 ft SW
Sat 17	9.2 ft WSW	7 s	5.9 ft SW
Fri 16	5.9 ft WNW	6 s	3.3 ft WNW
Thu 15	5.2 ft NW	5 s	1.3 ft WSW
Wed 14	3.0 ft WSW	4 s	2.3 ft W

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 Hawke's BayQuestions

How are the waves today in Hawke's Bay?

Moderate (5.3 ft with a period of 5.4 s from the west). The highest wave to expect is around 11 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Monday 2, with waves up to 6.2 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 11 ft.

More about Hawke's Bay today

Waves near Hawke's Bay

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 9.3 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 pm (local time).

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