Beach forecast for Arco da Calheta
Today, Thursday, October 29, 2026 · local time (WET) · Madeira, Portugal Today, Thu, Oct 29 · WET- Swimming
- Use care · 4.6 ft
- Water
- 73 °F · nice
- Max UV
- 4 · SPF 30
- Low tide
- 9:31 am and 9:45 pm
Today, Thursday, October 29, it's a fair beach day in Arco da Calheta (6/10). The best hours are from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm: sunshine, pleasant temperatures, little wind, water at 73 °F and low tide at 9:31 am, though with some waves. The best day this week is Tuesday, November 3, at 7/10.
Beach forecast for the next 7 days
| Day | Rating | Best hours | Swimming | Water | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 6Fair beach day | 9:00 am–12:00 pm4:00–6:00 pm | Use care · 4.6 ft | 73 °F | 4 |
| Fri 30 | 4Poor beach day | 8:00 am–1:00 pm3:00–6:00 pm | Use care · 3.6 ft | 73 °F | 5 |
| Sat 31 | 1Not a beach day | No good window | Use care · 5.8 ft | 73 °F | 3 |
| Sun 1 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Use care · 5.8 ft | 73 °F | 4 |
| Mon 2 | 4Poor beach day | 4:00–6:00 pm | Use care · 3.9 ft | 73 °F | 4 |
| Tue 3 | 7Good beach day | 8:00 am–1:00 pm | Calm · 3.0 ft | 73 °F | — |
| Wed 4 | 4Poor beach day | 2:00–6:00 pm | Use care · 3.5 ft | 73 °F | — |
Each rating comes from sun, temperature, rain, wind, waves, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide.
Today in detail
3 good hours- Mostly sunny
- Feels like 78 °F: pleasant
- Onshore breeze (4 mph)
- UV 3 (moderate): SPF 30 sunscreen
- Water at 73 °F (nice)
- Low tide at 9:31 am: more sand
Today, hour by hour
- Swimming Use care · 4.6 ft
4.6 ft waves every 11 s: swim with care and stay where you can stand. Low rip current risk. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
- Water 73 °F
Nice for swimming.
- Sun & sunscreen UV 4 · SPF 30
Max UV 4 (moderate): SPF 30 sunscreen, reapplied every 2 hours.
- Wind 6 mph
Onshore breeze (6 mph).
- Tide & sand 9:31 am
Low tide at 9:31 am and 9:45 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide at 3:20 am and 3:48 pm.
The best window, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, brings sunshine, pleasant temperatures, little wind, water at 73 °F and low tide at 9:31 am, though with some waves. 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm can also work, with pleasant temperatures, little wind, a calm sea and water at 73 °F, though with a chance of rain.
We don't have data on jellyfish, sargassum or beach closures: ask the lifeguard or check with the local beach authority.
Today, hour by hour
| Time | Rating | Sky | Feels like | Wind | Waves | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00 am | 5 | Mainly clear | 72 °F | 3 mph | 4.7 ft | 0 |
| 9:00 am | 7 | Mainly clear | 76 °F | 1 mph | 4.6 ft | 1 |
| 10:00 am | 7 | Clear sky | 77 °F | 4 mph | 4.5 ft | 2 |
| 11:00 am | 6 | Partly cloudy | 78 °F | 4 mph | 4.4 ft | 3 |
| 12:00 pm | 5 | Partly cloudy | 78 °F | 5 mph | 4.3 ft | 4 |
| 1:00 pm | 4 | Partly cloudy | 79 °F | 6 mph | 4.1 ft | 4 |
| 2:00 pm | 5 | Partly cloudy | 79 °F | 5 mph | 3.9 ft | 3 |
| 3:00 pm | 5 | Partly cloudy | 79 °F | 6 mph | 3.8 ft | 2 |
| 4:00 pm | 6 | Partly cloudy | 79 °F | 4 mph | 3.7 ft | 1 |
| 5:00 pm | 6 | Partly cloudy | 78 °F | 3 mph | 3.7 ft | 0 |
Beach hours only: from one hour after sunrise to half an hour before sunset.
Beaches near Arco da Calheta
Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Praia da Calheta 1.5 mi · W
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Parking
Excellent water quality 2025 season, EEA
- Praia da Ponta do Sol 3.6 mi · SE
- Lifeguard
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Parking
Excellent water quality 2025 season, EEA
- Praia do Portinho 3.7 mi · W
- Showers
- Parking
Excellent water quality 2025 season, EEA
- Praia da Vigia 4.0 mi · NW
- Showers
- Praia dos Surfistas 5.1 mi · NW
- Restrooms
- Parking
Excellent water quality 2025 season, EEA
- Praia da Ribeira Brava 5.7 mi · SE
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Parking
Excellent water quality 2025 season, EEA
- Praia da Ribeira das Galinhas 5.7 mi · NW
- Parking
Excellent water quality 2025 season, EEA
Named beaches within 6.2 mi, nearest first. Amenities from OpenStreetMap: some may be missing or out of date. View on OpenStreetMap · Add or fix on OpenStreetMap
Beaches and amenities: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Bathing water quality: European Environment Agency (EEA), with data from the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA).
Webcams near Arco da Calheta
Webcams provided by windy.com — add a webcam
How we rate a beach day
We rate every beach hour from 0 to 10 with simple, fixed rules:
- Adds: sunshine (up to 3 points, fewer with more clouds), warmth (up to 4, from the feels-like temperature; ideal between 81 °F and 91 °F), a calm sea (1), water at 70 °F or warmer (1; from 64 °F, half) and low or mid tide (1: more sand). Anything without data is left out and the rest is scaled to 10.
- Takes away: cold (feels-like below 64 °F, 1 to 4 points), rain (half a point if likely, up to 6 if it rains; thunderstorms, 8), wind from force 4, about 12 mph (1 to 6 points; half a point more if offshore, which blows inflatables out to sea, or onshore, which churns the water), waves (1 to swim with care, 4 if dangerous, 1 more for high rip current risk), very high UV (half a point; extreme, 1), water below 59 °F (1) and spring high tides (1: little sand left).
- Swimming: calm, use care (waves from 2.6 ft, or long swell) or dangerous (from 6.6 ft, or 4.9 ft with a long period), based on how much of the wave reaches this shore given the way it faces. In the U.S., today's and tomorrow's rip current risk comes from the National Weather Service surf zone forecast when it issues one; otherwise we estimate it from the waves.
- Best windows: runs of 2 to 5 hours rated 4 or more and close to the best hour, at least one hour apart.
- Day rating: the average of the best window; a 2-hour window keeps 85% of it and a 3-hour window 95%.
Today, in the best window: sun 2.7 of 3, warmth 3 of 4, calm sea 0 of 1, water 1 of 1 and tide 1 of 1; minus waves 1; short window: the rating keeps 95%.
It's a guide, not a guarantee: weather changes and every beach is different. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
Questions about the beach in Arco da Calheta
Is it a beach day in Arco da Calheta today?
A fair beach day: 6/10. Best from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, with sunshine, pleasant temperatures, little wind, water at 73 °F and low tide at 9:31 am, though with some waves.
What are the swimming conditions in Arco da Calheta today?
4.6 ft waves every 11 s: swim with care and stay where you can stand. Low rip current risk. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
How warm is the water in Arco da Calheta?
About 73 °F today: nice. That's the sea surface temperature offshore; it can differ a little at the shoreline.
How much sun protection do I need in Arco da Calheta today?
UV reaches 4 (moderate): SPF 30 sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat.
When is low tide in Arco da Calheta?
Today low tide is at 9:31 am and 9:45 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide is at 3:20 am and 3:48 pm.
What about tomorrow? Will it be a beach day in Arco da Calheta?
Tomorrow, Friday, October 30: a poor beach day (4/10), best from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm.
What beaches are near Arco da Calheta?
Praia da Calheta (1.5 mi), Praia da Ponta do Sol (3.6 mi), Praia do Portinho (3.7 mi), Praia da Vigia (4.0 mi) and Praia dos Surfistas (5.1 mi). See below for amenities and water quality.
Are there jellyfish or sargassum today?
We don't know: there's no open data on jellyfish, sargassum or closures for each beach. Ask the lifeguard, check the flags or the local beach authority's website.
How is the rating worked out?
From the hourly forecast: sun and clouds, feels-like temperature, rain, wind (and whether it blows onshore or offshore), waves and their period, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide. Each factor adds or takes away a fixed number of points and the rating sums them up out of 10.
More about Arco da Calheta today
Learn more
Our own calculation, using the Open-Meteo forecast (ECMWF, NOAA GFS, Météo-France, Copernicus Marine and CAMS, CC BY 4.0), the tide from Funchal (TICON-4) and the sun from astronomy-engine. Slackwater database (https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database). Source: Hart-Davis, M., Dettmering, D., Seitz, F. (2025), TICON-4: TIdal CONstants based on GESLA-4 sea-level records, SEANOE, https://doi.org/10.17882/109129. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Modified: see https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database#modifications-to-source-data