Waves in Oban

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Thursday, October 29, at 12:03 pm (GMT+13)

Now · significant height 3.3 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 4.7 s · W
Swell: 0.8 ft · 9 s
Highest expected: 7.0 ft

Today the sea at Oban is slight: 3.3 ft waves with a period of 4.7 s from the west. The swell, 0.8 ft at 9 s, comes from the west-northwest. Biggest waves: Sunday 1, with waves up to 4.3 ft (moderate).

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.04.0 ft 4.3 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 common1.7 ft
Significant3.3 ft
Highest expected7.0 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 7.0 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 7.0 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	3.8 ft	Slight	W	5 s	1.6 ft WNW	19 mph W
Fri 30	3.9 ft	Slight	WSW	6 s	1.9 ft WSW	20 mph WSW
Sat 31	3.9 ft	Slight	W	6 s	1.8 ft SSW	19 mph WNW
Sun 1	4.3 ft	Moderate	NNW	5 s	1.3 ft WNW	21 mph NW
Mon 2	3.1 ft	Slight	WNW	6 s	1.6 ft WNW	19 mph W
Tue 3	1.3 ft	Smooth	WNW	7 s	0.9 ft WNW	10 mph NW
Wed 4	2.2 ft	Slight	E	5 s	2.0 ft E	9 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	3.0 ft	3.0 ft	3.1 ft	3.2 ft	3.3 ft	3.6 ft	3.8 ft	3.3 ft
Period	5.3 s	5.0 s	5.0 s	5.0 s	4.8 s	4.7 s	4.8 s	5.0 s
Direction	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	W	W	W	W
Swell	1.6 ft · 7 s	1.0 ft · 7 s	1.0 ft · 6 s	1.1 ft · 6 s	0.8 ft · 9 s	0.7 ft · 9 s	0.8 ft · 8 s	1.1 ft · 8 s
Wind (mph)	16 W	15 W	14 W	14 W	17 W	19 W	18 W	14 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	8.2 ft NW	7 s	2.6 ft WNW
Tue 27	5.2 ft W	5 s	1.0 ft W
Mon 26	5.2 ft NW	6 s	1.6 ft WNW
Sun 25	4.3 ft NW	5 s	1.0 ft WNW
Sat 24	4.6 ft NW	5 s	0.7 ft W
Fri 23	4.6 ft WNW	5 s	1.0 ft W
Thu 22	3.6 ft WNW	5 s	1.6 ft WNW

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Wed 21	4.6 ft WNW	5 s	0.7 ft SSE
Tue 20	4.3 ft W	6 s	1.3 ft S
Mon 19	4.6 ft WNW	6 s	1.6 ft WNW
Sun 18	4.9 ft WNW	5 s	1.0 ft SW
Sat 17	3.3 ft SSW	7 s	2.0 ft SSE
Fri 16	4.6 ft SE	7 s	3.3 ft SE
Thu 15	4.9 ft ESE	6 s	3.0 ft ESE

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 ObanQuestions

How are the waves today in Oban?

Slight (3.3 ft with a period of 4.7 s from the west). The highest wave to expect is around 7.0 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Sunday 1, with waves up to 4.3 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 7.0 ft.

More about Oban today

Waves near Oban

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 8.3 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 12:03 pm (local time).

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