Waves in El Ostional

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 5:03 pm (CST)

Now · significant height 2.6 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 10.7 s · WSW
Swell: 2.0 ft · 12 s
Highest expected: 5.2 ft

Today the sea at El Ostional is slight: 2.6 ft waves with a period of 10.7 s from the west-southwest. The swell, 2.0 ft at 12 s, comes from the west-southwest. Biggest waves: Sunday 1, with waves up to 3.5 ft (slight).

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.0 ft 3.5 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 common1.3 ft
Significant2.6 ft
Highest expected5.2 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 5.2 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 5.2 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	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	2.8 ft	Slight	WSW	12 s	2.2 ft WSW	14 mph E
Thu 29	2.8 ft	Slight	WSW	12 s	2.2 ft WSW	14 mph ENE
Fri 30	3.0 ft	Slight	WSW	13 s	2.3 ft SW	16 mph ENE
Sat 31	3.3 ft	Slight	WSW	14 s	3.0 ft WSW	14 mph ENE
Sun 1	3.5 ft	Slight	WSW	14 s	3.2 ft WSW	13 mph ENE
Mon 2	3.5 ft	Slight	WSW	13 s	3.2 ft SW	14 mph ENE
Tue 3	3.0 ft	Slight	WSW	13 s	2.8 ft WSW	10 mph E

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	2.4 ft	2.5 ft	2.6 ft	2.7 ft	2.7 ft	2.8 ft	2.6 ft	2.5 ft
Period	11.1 s	10.7 s	10.6 s	9.6 s	9.9 s	9.9 s	11.1 s	11.9 s
Direction	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW
Swell	2.1 ft · 11 s	2.2 ft · 11 s	2.2 ft · 11 s	2.1 ft · 11 s	2.1 ft · 11 s	1.9 ft · 12 s	2.0 ft · 12 s	2.1 ft · 12 s
Wind (mph)	10 E	11 E	12 ENE	13 E	14 E	11 E	10 E	11 E

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	2.3 ft WSW	11 s	2.0 ft WSW
Mon 26	3.0 ft WSW	10 s	1.6 ft WSW
Sun 25	2.6 ft WSW	10 s	2.0 ft WSW
Sat 24	3.0 ft WSW	12 s	2.3 ft WSW
Fri 23	3.3 ft SW	12 s	3.0 ft WSW
Thu 22	3.3 ft SW	12 s	3.0 ft SW
Wed 21	3.3 ft WSW	12 s	2.6 ft SW

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	3.6 ft WSW	12 s	2.6 ft SW
Mon 19	3.9 ft WSW	13 s	3.3 ft SW
Sun 18	3.9 ft SW	14 s	3.9 ft SW
Sat 17	3.3 ft SW	14 s	3.3 ft WSW
Fri 16	3.0 ft WSW	13 s	2.6 ft WSW
Thu 15	3.0 ft WSW	12 s	3.0 ft WSW
Wed 14	3.6 ft WSW	12 s	3.3 ft WSW

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 El OstionalQuestions

How are the waves today in El Ostional?

Slight (2.6 ft with a period of 10.7 s from the west-southwest). The highest wave to expect is around 5.2 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Sunday 1, with waves up to 3.5 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 5.2 ft.

More about El Ostional today

Waves near El Ostional

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 2.3 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 5:03 pm (local time).

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