TidePlanet

Waves in Placer

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Thursday, October 29, at 7:28 am (GMT+8)
Now · significant height 1.0 ft
Sea state
Smooth · Douglas 2
Period
5.7 s · NE
Swell
0.9 ft · 4 s
Highest expected
2.0 ft

Today the sea at Placer is smooth: 1.0 ft waves with a period of 5.7 s from the northeast. The swell, 0.9 ft at 4 s, comes from the northeast. Biggest waves: Tuesday 3, with waves up to 1.6 ft (smooth).

Wave height, next 7 days

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 common0.5 ft
  • Significant1.0 ft
  • Highest expected2.0 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 2.0 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 2.0 ft.

The Douglas sea state scale

DegreeNameWave 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 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 1.1 ft Smooth NE 6 s 1.0 ft NE 7 mph E
Fri 30 1.0 ft Smooth NE 6 s 0.9 ft NE 7 mph ENE
Sat 31 1.0 ft Smooth NE 6 s 0.9 ft NE 7 mph N
Sun 1 1.0 ft Smooth NE 8 s 0.8 ft NE 6 mph NW
Mon 2 1.2 ft Smooth NE 9 s 0.8 ft NE 7 mph ENE
Tue 3 1.6 ft Smooth NE 11 s 1.2 ft NE 7 mph ENE
Wed 4 1.4 ft Smooth NE 11 s 1.2 ft NE 6 mph ENE

Today, every 3 hours

Time 12:00 am3:00 am6:00 am9:00 am12:00 pm3:00 pm6:00 pm9:00 pm
Waves 1.0 ft1.0 ft1.0 ft1.0 ft1.0 ft1.0 ft1.1 ft1.0 ft
Period 5.7 s5.7 s5.7 s5.8 s5.7 s5.3 s5.2 s5.6 s
Direction NENENENENENENENE
Swell 0.9 ft · 4 s0.9 ft · 4 s0.9 ft · 4 s0.9 ft · 4 s0.9 ft · 4 s0.9 ft · 4 s0.9 ft · 4 s1.0 ft · 4 s
Wind (mph) 6 E7 E7 ESE6 E6 ENE5 NE5 E4 E

Previous days

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

DayMax wavePeriodSwell
Wed 28 1.0 ft NE6 s1.0 ft NE
Tue 27 1.3 ft NE6 s1.0 ft NE
Mon 26 1.0 ft NE7 s0.7 ft NE
Sun 25 0.7 ft ENE7 s0.7 ft ENE
Sat 24 1.0 ft E7 s0.7 ft ESE
Fri 23 1.0 ft ENE8 s0.7 ft E
Thu 22 1.3 ft NNE8 s1.0 ft NNE
Show all 14 days
DayMax wavePeriodSwell
Wed 21 2.0 ft NNE8 s1.0 ft NE
Tue 20 1.6 ft NNE7 s1.0 ft NE
Mon 19 1.6 ft NE7 s1.6 ft NE
Sun 18 1.0 ft NE6 s1.0 ft NNE
Sat 17 1.0 ft NE6 s1.0 ft NNE
Fri 16 1.0 ft NE7 s1.0 ft NNE
Thu 15 1.0 ft NE7 s0.7 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 PlacerQuestions

How are the waves today in Placer?

Smooth (1.0 ft with a period of 5.7 s from the northeast). The highest wave to expect is around 2.0 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Tuesday 3, with waves up to 1.6 ft (smooth).

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 2.0 ft.

More about Placer today

Waves near Placer

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 12 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 7:28 am (local time).

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