Waves in Vaisala

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Thursday, October 29, at 11:50 am (GMT+13)

Now · significant height 3.5 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 9.0 s · SE
Swell: 2.2 ft · 8 s
Highest expected: 7.0 ft

Today the sea at Vaisala is slight: 3.5 ft waves with a period of 9.0 s from the southeast. The swell, 2.2 ft at 8 s, comes from the south. Biggest waves: Wednesday 4, with waves up to 4.1 ft (slight).

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.04.0 ft 4.1 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 common1.7 ft
Significant3.5 ft
Highest expected7.0 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 7.0 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 7.0 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	4.0 ft	Slight	SE	9 s	2.7 ft S	6 mph NE
Fri 30	3.3 ft	Slight	E	11 s	2.0 ft SSW	8 mph ENE
Sat 31	3.1 ft	Slight	NNE	11 s	2.2 ft NNW	6 mph ESE
Sun 1	3.2 ft	Slight	ESE	10 s	2.2 ft NNW	4 mph NNE
Mon 2	3.6 ft	Slight	SSE	10 s	2.1 ft S	6 mph NE
Tue 3	4.0 ft	Slight	S	10 s	2.0 ft SSW	5 mph N
Wed 4	4.1 ft	Slight	SSE	10 s	2.5 ft S	4 mph NE

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	4.0 ft	3.8 ft	3.7 ft	3.6 ft	3.5 ft	3.5 ft	3.5 ft	3.4 ft
Period	8.6 s	8.9 s	9.0 s	9.0 s	9.0 s	8.8 s	8.6 s	8.7 s
Direction	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE
Swell	2.7 ft · 8 s	2.6 ft · 8 s	2.4 ft · 8 s	2.3 ft · 8 s	2.2 ft · 8 s	2.2 ft · 8 s	2.2 ft · 7 s	2.1 ft · 7 s
Wind (mph)	1 ESE	2 N	3 NE	3 NE	3 NE	5 ENE	5 ENE	4 NE

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	4.3 ft SE	9 s	3.0 ft SSE
Tue 27	4.6 ft SSE	10 s	3.3 ft S
Mon 26	4.9 ft SE	9 s	3.9 ft SSE
Sun 25	4.6 ft SE	8 s	3.6 ft SSE
Sat 24	3.9 ft SSE	9 s	3.0 ft S
Fri 23	4.6 ft SSE	10 s	3.3 ft S
Thu 22	4.9 ft SSE	9 s	3.6 ft S

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Wed 21	4.6 ft S	9 s	3.3 ft S
Tue 20	4.9 ft S	10 s	3.3 ft SSW
Mon 19	4.6 ft S	9 s	3.0 ft SSW
Sun 18	4.3 ft S	9 s	2.3 ft SSW
Sat 17	4.6 ft SSE	11 s	2.6 ft N
Fri 16	3.9 ft SSE	10 s	2.3 ft NNE
Thu 15	4.6 ft SE	10 s	2.3 ft ESE

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 VaisalaQuestions

How are the waves today in Vaisala?

Slight (3.5 ft with a period of 9.0 s from the southeast). The highest wave to expect is around 7.0 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Wednesday 4, with waves up to 4.1 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 7.0 ft.

More about Vaisala today

Waves near Vaisala

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 4.5 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 11:50 am (local time).

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