Waves in Lyttelton

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Thursday, October 29, at 10:58 am (GMT+13)

Now · significant height 1.1 ft

Sea state: Smooth · Douglas 2
Period: 4.2 s · NE
Swell: 0.7 ft · 3 s
Highest expected: 2.3 ft

Today the sea at Lyttelton is smooth: 1.1 ft waves with a period of 4.2 s from the northeast. The swell, 0.7 ft at 3 s, comes from the northeast. Biggest waves: Monday 2, with waves up to 3.3 ft (slight).

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.0 ft 3.3 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 common0.6 ft
Significant1.1 ft
Highest expected2.3 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 2.3 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 2.3 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 · today	0.3 ft–1.6 ft
3	Slight · week peak	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	1.4 ft	Smooth	NE	6 s	1.2 ft NNE	10 mph NNE
Fri 30	1.9 ft	Slight	SSW	6 s	0.8 ft NE	22 mph SW
Sat 31	1.8 ft	Slight	SE	7 s	1.3 ft SE	14 mph NE
Sun 1	2.7 ft	Slight	NNE	5 s	1.6 ft NE	17 mph NW
Mon 2	3.3 ft	Slight	NNE	5 s	1.9 ft NE	30 mph NNW
Tue 3	1.8 ft	Slight	NE	6 s	1.6 ft NE	10 mph SSW
Wed 4	1.6 ft	Smooth	ENE	5 s	1.4 ft ENE	7 mph NNE

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	1.3 ft	1.3 ft	1.3 ft	1.1 ft	1.1 ft	1.1 ft	1.1 ft	1.0 ft
Period	3.8 s	4.1 s	4.4 s	4.4 s	4.1 s	5.0 s	6.0 s	6.1 s
Direction	NNW	N	N	NNE	ENE	ENE	NE	NE
Swell	0.7 ft · 4 s	1.0 ft · 3 s	1.0 ft · 3 s	0.8 ft · 3 s	0.8 ft · 3 s	0.9 ft · 4 s	0.9 ft · 6 s	0.9 ft · 6 s
Wind (mph)	7 NNW	7 NW	9 W	1 SW	5 E	9 NE	9 ENE	3 SE

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	1.6 ft NE	6 s	1.3 ft NE
Tue 27	3.3 ft NE	7 s	2.6 ft NE
Mon 26	3.0 ft NNE	6 s	1.6 ft NE
Sun 25	2.0 ft NE	7 s	1.6 ft NE
Sat 24	1.6 ft NE	7 s	1.3 ft NE
Fri 23	1.0 ft NE	6 s	1.0 ft NE
Thu 22	1.3 ft NE	6 s	1.0 ft NE

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Wed 21	1.0 ft ENE	5 s	1.0 ft NE
Tue 20	1.0 ft ENE	6 s	1.0 ft NE
Mon 19	1.0 ft ENE	6 s	0.7 ft NE
Sun 18	1.3 ft ESE	8 s	1.0 ft ESE
Sat 17	1.6 ft ESE	7 s	1.3 ft ESE
Fri 16	2.3 ft SSE	7 s	1.3 ft ESE
Thu 15	2.0 ft ESE	5 s	1.3 ft NE

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 LytteltonQuestions

How are the waves today in Lyttelton?

Smooth (1.1 ft with a period of 4.2 s from the northeast). The highest wave to expect is around 2.3 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Monday 2, with waves up to 3.3 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 2.3 ft.

More about Lyttelton today

Waves near Lyttelton

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 8.9 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 10:58 am (local time).

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