Waves in Kärdla

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Thursday, October 29, at 10:05 am (EET)

Now · significant height 1.8 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 3.7 s · SW
Swell: 1.2 ft · 4 s
Highest expected: 3.8 ft

Today the sea at Kärdla is slight: 1.8 ft waves with a period of 3.7 s from the southwest. The swell, 1.2 ft at 4 s, comes from the southwest. Biggest waves: Tuesday 3, with waves up to 6.4 ft (moderate).

Wave height, next 7 days

2.04.06.0 ft 6.4 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 common0.9 ft
Significant1.8 ft
Highest expected3.8 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 3.8 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 3.8 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 · 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	3.1 ft	Slight	SW	4 s	2.2 ft WSW	9 mph SSW
Fri 30	3.9 ft	Slight	WNW	5 s	2.5 ft W	13 mph NW
Sat 31	3.4 ft	Slight	NNE	4 s	2.3 ft N	12 mph NNE
Sun 1	2.8 ft	Slight	W	4 s	1.4 ft NW	6 mph SSE
Mon 2	2.9 ft	Slight	WNW	4 s	2.1 ft W	10 mph SSW
Tue 3	6.4 ft	Moderate	NW	6 s	2.2 ft WNW	26 mph NW
Wed 4	6.4 ft	Moderate	N	6 s	2.0 ft NW	24 mph N

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	3.1 ft	2.7 ft	2.4 ft	2.0 ft	1.6 ft	1.4 ft	1.7 ft	2.4 ft
Period	4.5 s	4.2 s	3.9 s	3.7 s	3.6 s	3.4 s	3.1 s	3.5 s
Direction	SW	SW	SW	SW	SW	SW	WSW	WSW
Swell	2.2 ft · 4 s	1.9 ft · 4 s	1.5 ft · 4 s	1.3 ft · 4 s	1.0 ft · 3 s	0.9 ft · 4 s	0.5 ft · 4 s	0.5 ft · 3 s
Wind (mph)	8 S	8 S	8 S	7 S	9 SSW	4 WSW	4 SSW	6 SSW

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	4.9 ft SW	6 s	3.3 ft WSW
Tue 27	5.9 ft SW	6 s	3.3 ft W
Mon 26	5.6 ft SSW	6 s	3.3 ft WSW
Sun 25	5.6 ft S	6 s	3.3 ft SW
Sat 24	3.3 ft S	4 s	1.3 ft SW
Fri 23	3.3 ft SE	4 s	1.3 ft ESE
Thu 22	3.3 ft SE	4 s	1.0 ft SE

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Wed 21	2.6 ft ESE	4 s	1.0 ft ENE
Tue 20	2.0 ft E	3 s	1.0 ft ENE
Mon 19	1.3 ft NNE	3 s	1.0 ft NNW
Sun 18	4.6 ft N	5 s	3.0 ft NNW
Sat 17	4.9 ft W	5 s	3.0 ft W
Fri 16	5.6 ft SW	6 s	2.3 ft W
Thu 15	3.0 ft WSW	6 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 KärdlaQuestions

How are the waves today in Kärdla?

Slight (1.8 ft with a period of 3.7 s from the southwest). The highest wave to expect is around 3.8 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Tuesday 3, with waves up to 6.4 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 3.8 ft.

More about Kärdla today

Waves near Kärdla

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 15 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 10:05 am (local time).

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