Waves in Saint Helena Bay

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Thursday, October 29, at 1:04 am (GMT+2)

Now · significant height 3.7 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 10.3 s · SW
Swell: 3.0 ft · 12 s
Highest expected: 7.4 ft

Today the sea at Saint Helena Bay is slight: 3.7 ft waves with a period of 10.3 s from the southwest. The swell, 3.0 ft at 12 s, comes from the west-southwest.

Wave height, next 7 days

2.04.0 ft 5.1 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 common1.9 ft
Significant3.7 ft
Highest expected7.4 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 7.4 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 7.4 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 · week peak	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	5.1 ft	Moderate	SW	13 s	4.5 ft WSW	15 mph SSW
Fri 30	5.1 ft	Moderate	SW	10 s	3.5 ft WSW	20 mph SSW
Sat 31	4.5 ft	Moderate	SW	9 s	3.5 ft WSW	17 mph SSW
Sun 1	4.7 ft	Moderate	SW	10 s	3.8 ft WSW	19 mph SSW
Mon 2	4.0 ft	Slight	WSW	10 s	3.3 ft WSW	17 mph SSW
Tue 3	3.0 ft	Slight	WSW	10 s	2.8 ft WSW	15 mph SSW
Wed 4	2.6 ft	Slight	SW	11 s	2.4 ft SW	10 mph SW

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	3.7 ft	3.9 ft	4.2 ft	4.5 ft	4.7 ft	4.8 ft	5.0 ft	5.1 ft
Period	9.8 s	11.4 s	12.7 s	12.7 s	12.1 s	11.0 s	9.4 s	8.4 s
Direction	SW	SW	SW	SW	WSW	WSW	SW	SW
Swell	2.8 ft · 12 s	3.3 ft · 12 s	3.9 ft · 12 s	4.3 ft · 11 s	4.4 ft · 11 s	4.3 ft · 11 s	4.0 ft · 11 s	3.7 ft · 10 s
Wind (mph)	10 S	7 S	5 S	4 SW	6 SW	15 SSW	14 SSW	13 S

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	3.6 ft SW	9 s	2.6 ft WSW
Tue 27	2.6 ft WSW	9 s	2.6 ft WSW
Mon 26	3.6 ft SW	7 s	2.0 ft W
Sun 25	4.3 ft SSW	6 s	1.6 ft WSW
Sat 24	3.3 ft SW	9 s	2.0 ft SW
Fri 23	3.6 ft WSW	10 s	3.3 ft WSW
Thu 22	4.6 ft WSW	10 s	4.6 ft WSW

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Wed 21	5.9 ft W	9 s	5.6 ft WSW
Tue 20	3.0 ft WSW	9 s	3.0 ft WSW
Mon 19	4.3 ft WSW	10 s	4.3 ft WSW
Sun 18	5.2 ft WSW	11 s	4.9 ft WSW
Sat 17	5.2 ft WSW	10 s	4.6 ft WSW
Fri 16	5.2 ft WSW	11 s	5.2 ft WSW
Thu 15	6.2 ft WSW	12 s	5.9 ft WSW

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 Saint Helena BayQuestions

How are the waves today in Saint Helena Bay?

Slight (3.7 ft with a period of 10.3 s from the southwest). The highest wave to expect is around 7.4 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Thursday 29, with waves up to 5.1 ft (moderate).

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 7.4 ft.

More about Saint Helena Bay today

Waves near Saint Helena Bay

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 9.8 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 am (local time).

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