Waves in Salcombe

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 10:47 pm (GMT)

Now · significant height 4.7 ft

Sea state: Moderate · Douglas 4
Period: 9.4 s · WSW
Swell: 4.7 ft · 8 s
Highest expected: 9.4 ft

Today the sea at Salcombe is moderate: 4.7 ft waves with a period of 9.4 s from the west-southwest. The swell, 4.7 ft at 8 s, comes from the west-southwest.

Wave height, next 7 days

2.04.06.08.0 ft 7.7 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 common2.4 ft
Significant4.7 ft
Highest expected9.4 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 9.4 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 9.4 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	1.6 ft–4.1 ft
4	Moderate · today	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	7.7 ft	Moderate	WSW	10 s	7.3 ft WSW	16 mph WSW
Thu 29	4.5 ft	Moderate	SW	9 s	4.5 ft WSW	11 mph SE
Fri 30	4.1 ft	Slight	SSW	8 s	3.1 ft WSW	11 mph ESE
Sat 31	4.2 ft	Moderate	S	8 s	3.2 ft WSW	15 mph ENE
Sun 1	3.3 ft	Slight	SE	7 s	2.3 ft SSW	9 mph NNE
Mon 2	4.4 ft	Moderate	E	5 s	2.8 ft E	15 mph NE
Tue 3	5.1 ft	Moderate	E	6 s	3.6 ft E	15 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	7.7 ft	7.3 ft	7.3 ft	7.1 ft	6.5 ft	5.9 ft	5.4 ft	4.9 ft
Period	9.5 s	9.4 s	9.2 s	9.3 s	9.5 s	9.5 s	9.4 s	9.4 s
Direction	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW
Swell	7.3 ft · 9 s	6.6 ft · 9 s	6.2 ft · 9 s	6.4 ft · 9 s	6.0 ft · 9 s	5.7 ft · 8 s	5.3 ft · 8 s	4.9 ft · 8 s
Wind (mph)	15 W	15 WSW	12 WSW	13 WSW	11 WSW	11 WSW	8 WSW	6 WSW

Previous days

The waves over the last 14 days. Tap a day to see it hour by hour.

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 27	12 ft SW	10 s	9.8 ft SW
Mon 26	11 ft SW	8 s	5.2 ft WSW
Sun 25	14 ft WSW	9 s	8.9 ft SW
Sat 24	14 ft SW	9 s	6.2 ft SW
Fri 23	19 ft WSW	12 s	18 ft SW
Thu 22	12 ft SW	7 s	5.9 ft WSW
Wed 21	8.5 ft WSW	7 s	5.2 ft SW

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	4.6 ft S	9 s	2.6 ft SE
Mon 19	3.6 ft E	5 s	3.0 ft E
Sun 18	3.6 ft ENE	6 s	3.0 ft E
Sat 17	3.3 ft NW	9 s	2.6 ft SW
Fri 16	5.9 ft WSW	9 s	5.2 ft WSW
Thu 15	5.6 ft SW	9 s	4.6 ft WSW
Wed 14	4.6 ft SW	8 s	4.6 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 SalcombeQuestions

How are the waves today in Salcombe?

Moderate (4.7 ft with a period of 9.4 s from the west-southwest). The highest wave to expect is around 9.4 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Wednesday 28, with waves up to 7.7 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 9.4 ft.

More about Salcombe today

Waves near Salcombe

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 2.3 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 10:47 pm (local time).

Spotted a mistake? Tell us · Where the weather and sea data come from