Waves in Shikotan

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Thursday, October 29, at 1:04 pm (GMT+11)

Now · significant height 6.0 ft

Sea state: Moderate · Douglas 4
Period: 7.7 s · NW
Swell: 3.6 ft · 8 s
Highest expected: 12 ft

Waves up to 11 ft today

Today the sea at Shikotan is moderate: 6.0 ft waves with a period of 7.7 s from the northwest. The swell, 3.6 ft at 8 s, comes from the north.

Wave height, next 7 days

2.04.06.08.01012 ft 11 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 common3.0 ft
Significant6.0 ft
Highest expected12 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 12 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 12 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	1.6 ft–4.1 ft
4	Moderate · today	4.1 ft–8.2 ft
5	Rough · week peak	8.2 ft–13.1 ft
6	Very rough	13.1 ft–19.7 ft
7	High	19.7 ft–29.5 ft

Waves day by day

Day	Max wave	Sea state	Direction	Max period	Swell	Max wind
Today	11 ft	Rough	NW	8 s	5.1 ft N	28 mph W
Fri 30	7.3 ft	Moderate	SSW	7 s	5.6 ft S	24 mph SSW
Sat 31	7.2 ft	Moderate	S	8 s	6.9 ft S	20 mph WSW
Sun 1	10 ft	Rough	W	7 s	4.6 ft SSW	32 mph WNW
Mon 2	8.7 ft	Rough	NNW	11 s	4.5 ft N	23 mph W
Tue 3	6.4 ft	Moderate	S	11 s	4.3 ft S	21 mph NNW
Wed 4	6.2 ft	Moderate	WSW	9 s	4.0 ft S	22 mph WNW

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	11 ft	10 ft	9.0 ft	7.7 ft	6.4 ft	5.4 ft	4.5 ft	4.3 ft
Period	7.9 s	8.0 s	7.9 s	7.9 s	7.8 s	7.8 s	8.0 s	7.3 s
Direction	NW	NW	NW	NW	NW	NW	NNW	NW
Swell	4.5 ft · 9 s	5.0 ft · 9 s	4.7 ft · 9 s	4.2 ft · 9 s	3.7 ft · 8 s	3.3 ft · 8 s	3.0 ft · 8 s	2.6 ft · 8 s
Wind (mph)	28 NW	27 WNW	23 WNW	20 WNW	19 W	15 W	11 WSW	18 SSW

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	12 ft WSW	9 s	5.2 ft SSE
Tue 27	4.6 ft SSE	9 s	3.0 ft SE
Mon 26	5.6 ft NW	7 s	3.0 ft NW
Sun 25	4.6 ft SSW	8 s	3.3 ft S
Sat 24	4.6 ft SW	9 s	3.6 ft SSW
Fri 23	7.2 ft NW	9 s	4.3 ft NNW
Thu 22	8.2 ft WSW	8 s	6.6 ft S

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Wed 21	7.5 ft S	8 s	4.3 ft S
Tue 20	6.9 ft SSW	8 s	5.9 ft S
Mon 19	7.2 ft SSW	10 s	6.2 ft E
Sun 18	5.9 ft NNW	10 s	3.9 ft N
Sat 17	5.9 ft NW	7 s	2.6 ft NNW
Fri 16	6.2 ft SW	8 s	4.9 ft SSW
Thu 15	7.5 ft SSW	8 s	4.9 ft S

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 ShikotanQuestions

How are the waves today in Shikotan?

Moderate (6.0 ft with a period of 7.7 s from the northwest). The highest wave to expect is around 12 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Thursday 29, with waves up to 11 ft (rough).

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 12 ft.

More about Shikotan today

Waves near Shikotan

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 0.8 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 1:04 pm (local time).

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