Waves in Albufeira

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Thursday, October 29, at 7:18 am (WET)

Now · significant height 0.8 ft

Sea state: Smooth · Douglas 2
Period: 8.7 s · WSW
Swell: 0.6 ft · 10 s
Highest expected: 1.6 ft

Today the sea at Albufeira is smooth: 0.8 ft waves with a period of 8.7 s from the west-southwest. The swell, 0.6 ft at 10 s, comes from the west.

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.0 ft 2.2 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 common0.4 ft
Significant0.8 ft
Highest expected1.6 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 1.6 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 1.6 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	2.2 ft	Slight	SSE	10 s	1.9 ft SSE	11 mph E
Fri 30	1.7 ft	Slight	SE	6 s	1.6 ft SE	7 mph ENE
Sat 31	1.6 ft	Smooth	SE	6 s	1.4 ft SE	7 mph E
Sun 1	2.2 ft	Slight	SSE	6 s	1.9 ft SSE	11 mph E
Mon 2	1.4 ft	Smooth	SSE	5 s	1.2 ft SE	9 mph NNW
Tue 3	0.7 ft	Smooth	SSW	7 s	0.5 ft SSW	9 mph NE
Wed 4	0.7 ft	Smooth	SSE	6 s	0.7 ft SE	9 mph SE

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	0.8 ft	0.7 ft	0.7 ft	0.9 ft	1.8 ft	2.2 ft	1.9 ft	1.6 ft
Period	9.4 s	9.8 s	9.4 s	7.5 s	4.6 s	4.9 s	5.2 s	5.5 s
Direction	W	W	W	SW	SE	SE	SE	SE
Swell	0.7 ft · 8 s	0.7 ft · 10 s	0.7 ft · 10 s	0.6 ft · 10 s	1.1 ft · 5 s	1.9 ft · 4 s	1.8 ft · 4 s	1.5 ft · 4 s
Wind (mph)	3 NNE	4 NNE	4 NNE	3 NNE	11 ESE	10 SE	3 SE	3 NNE

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	1.0 ft WNW	9 s	0.7 ft W
Tue 27	1.0 ft W	10 s	0.7 ft WSW
Mon 26	0.3 ft W	9 s	0.3 ft WSW
Sun 25	1.0 ft NW	6 s	0.3 ft WNW
Sat 24	1.3 ft WNW	7 s	0.3 ft WNW
Fri 23	1.3 ft WNW	8 s	0.7 ft W
Thu 22	1.0 ft W	7 s	0.3 ft W

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Wed 21	1.0 ft W	8 s	0.7 ft WSW
Tue 20	1.0 ft WSW	6 s	0.7 ft WSW
Mon 19	1.0 ft SW	5 s	0.7 ft WSW
Sun 18	1.0 ft WSW	6 s	1.0 ft WSW
Sat 17	1.0 ft SSW	7 s	1.0 ft SE
Fri 16	2.0 ft SE	7 s	1.6 ft SE
Thu 15	2.6 ft SE	6 s	2.6 ft SE

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 AlbufeiraQuestions

How are the waves today in Albufeira?

Smooth (0.8 ft with a period of 8.7 s from the west-southwest). The highest wave to expect is around 1.6 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Thursday 29, with waves up to 2.2 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 1.6 ft.

More about Albufeira today

Waves near Albufeira

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 3.4 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 7:18 am (local time).

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