Waves in Portland

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Thursday, October 29, at 1:40 am (GMT)

Now · significant height 3.4 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 8.8 s · WSW
Swell: 3.4 ft · 7 s
Highest expected: 6.8 ft

Today the sea at Portland is slight: 3.4 ft waves with a period of 8.8 s from the west-southwest. The swell, 3.4 ft at 7 s, comes from the west-southwest. 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
Significant3.4 ft
Highest expected6.8 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 6.8 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 6.8 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	3.6 ft	Slight	SW	9 s	3.6 ft WSW	13 mph SE
Fri 30	3.6 ft	Slight	SE	6 s	1.8 ft WSW	16 mph ESE
Sat 31	3.7 ft	Slight	SSE	7 s	2.0 ft WSW	12 mph NE
Sun 1	2.4 ft	Slight	SSE	7 s	1.7 ft SW	9 mph NE
Mon 2	3.0 ft	Slight	ENE	4 s	2.1 ft E	14 mph NNE
Tue 3	3.3 ft	Slight	ENE	4 s	1.9 ft E	15 mph NNE
Wed 4	4.1 ft	Slight	E	5 s	2.2 ft ESE	12 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	3.6 ft	3.2 ft	2.9 ft	2.7 ft	2.6 ft	2.6 ft	2.6 ft	2.7 ft
Period	8.7 s	8.9 s	8.8 s	8.5 s	7.7 s	6.9 s	6.1 s	5.3 s
Direction	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW	SW	SW	SSW	S
Swell	3.6 ft · 7 s	3.2 ft · 7 s	2.9 ft · 7 s	2.6 ft · 7 s	2.4 ft · 7 s	2.1 ft · 7 s	1.9 ft · 7 s	1.7 ft · 7 s
Wind (mph)	7 SW	4 SSW	4 S	8 SE	10 SE	10 SE	11 ESE	13 ESE

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	6.2 ft WSW	9 s	5.2 ft WSW
Tue 27	9.2 ft SW	8 s	5.6 ft WSW
Mon 26	8.5 ft SW	7 s	2.6 ft WSW
Sun 25	12 ft WSW	9 s	4.6 ft SW
Sat 24	12 ft WSW	8 s	3.3 ft SW
Fri 23	14 ft WSW	12 s	12 ft SW
Thu 22	9.5 ft SW	7 s	4.6 ft SW

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Wed 21	8.5 ft WSW	7 s	3.0 ft SW
Tue 20	3.3 ft N	4 s	2.0 ft ESE
Mon 19	3.3 ft E	4 s	1.6 ft E
Sun 18	3.0 ft NE	4 s	1.3 ft E
Sat 17	2.6 ft NNW	6 s	2.0 ft WSW
Fri 16	6.9 ft WSW	8 s	4.6 ft WSW
Thu 15	4.6 ft SW	7 s	3.0 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 PortlandQuestions

How are the waves today in Portland?

Slight (3.4 ft with a period of 8.8 s from the west-southwest). The highest wave to expect is around 6.8 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 6.8 ft.

More about Portland today

Waves near Portland

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 1.9 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 1:40 am (local time).

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