Waves in Whitehaven

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Thursday, October 29, at 6:27 am (GMT)

Now · significant height 2.0 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 4.7 s · SW
Swell: 1.6 ft · 4 s
Highest expected: 4.2 ft

Today the sea at Whitehaven is slight: 2.0 ft waves with a period of 4.7 s from the southwest. The swell, 1.6 ft at 4 s, comes from the south-southwest. Biggest waves: Friday 30, with waves up to 3.5 ft (slight).

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.0 ft 3.5 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 common1.0 ft
Significant2.0 ft
Highest expected4.2 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 4.2 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 4.2 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	2.6 ft	Slight	SSW	5 s	2.2 ft SW	14 mph SSE
Fri 30	3.5 ft	Slight	SSW	5 s	2.5 ft SW	17 mph SSE
Sat 31	2.4 ft	Slight	SSW	5 s	2.0 ft SSW	14 mph SSE
Sun 1	1.3 ft	Smooth	WNW	5 s	1.0 ft W	10 mph NE
Mon 2	0.5 ft	Smooth	NW	7 s	0.3 ft SW	7 mph NE
Tue 3	0.3 ft	Calm (rippled)	NW	7 s	0.1 ft NW	7 mph NE
Wed 4	0.1 ft	Calm (rippled)	WSW	10 s	0.1 ft WNW	3 mph ENE

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	2.6 ft	2.2 ft	2.0 ft	2.0 ft	2.2 ft	2.2 ft	2.1 ft	2.2 ft
Period	5.2 s	5.0 s	4.7 s	4.6 s	4.1 s	4.2 s	4.2 s	4.3 s
Direction	SW	SW	SW	SSW	SSW	SSW	SSW	SSW
Swell	2.2 ft · 5 s	1.8 ft · 4 s	1.5 ft · 4 s	1.8 ft · 4 s	1.5 ft · 4 s	1.8 ft · 4 s	1.8 ft · 4 s	1.8 ft · 4 s
Wind (mph)	8 SSW	9 S	10 S	11 S	13 SSE	11 SSE	10 SSE	13 SE

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	6.9 ft SW	6 s	4.9 ft SSW
Tue 27	11 ft SW	8 s	4.9 ft SSW
Mon 26	9.5 ft SSW	7 s	3.6 ft WSW
Sun 25	13 ft W	8 s	3.6 ft SSW
Sat 24	12 ft SW	8 s	3.9 ft WSW
Fri 23	5.6 ft NW	5 s	1.6 ft SW
Thu 22	4.6 ft WSW	5 s	3.6 ft WSW

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Wed 21	6.2 ft SW	6 s	3.3 ft SW
Tue 20	1.6 ft SSE	4 s	1.0 ft S
Mon 19	1.0 ft NE	5 s	1.0 ft NE
Sun 18	0.3 ft W	8 s	0.3 ft SW
Sat 17	2.0 ft WNW	6 s	1.6 ft WNW
Fri 16	2.6 ft W	5 s	2.0 ft WSW
Thu 15	8.2 ft SSW	7 s	6.2 ft SW

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 WhitehavenQuestions

How are the waves today in Whitehaven?

Slight (2.0 ft with a period of 4.7 s from the southwest). The highest wave to expect is around 4.2 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Friday 30, with waves up to 3.5 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 4.2 ft.

More about Whitehaven today

Waves near Whitehaven

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 1.7 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 6:27 am (local time).

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