Waves in Cairnryan

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

Now · significant height 1.6 ft

Sea state: Smooth · Douglas 2
Period: 8.4 s · WNW
Swell: 1.3 ft · 8 s
Highest expected: 3.2 ft

Today the sea at Cairnryan is smooth: 1.6 ft waves with a period of 8.4 s from the west-northwest. The swell, 1.3 ft at 8 s, comes from the northwest. Biggest waves: Friday 30, with waves up to 2.8 ft (slight).

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.0 ft 2.8 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 common0.8 ft
Significant1.6 ft
Highest expected3.2 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 3.2 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 3.2 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 · today	0.3 ft–1.6 ft
3	Slight · week peak	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	2.2 ft	Slight	SW	9 s	1.7 ft WNW	16 mph SSE
Fri 30	2.8 ft	Slight	S	5 s	0.9 ft SSW	19 mph SSE
Sat 31	1.8 ft	Slight	WSW	10 s	1.1 ft WNW	12 mph SE
Sun 1	2.3 ft	Slight	NW	9 s	1.3 ft WNW	8 mph N
Mon 2	1.1 ft	Smooth	WNW	9 s	1.0 ft WNW	5 mph E
Tue 3	0.7 ft	Smooth	WNW	13 s	0.7 ft WNW	7 mph E
Wed 4	0.7 ft	Smooth	WNW	15 s	0.7 ft WNW	6 mph E

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	2.0 ft	1.8 ft	1.6 ft	1.6 ft	1.7 ft	2.0 ft	2.2 ft	2.2 ft
Period	8.7 s	8.8 s	8.6 s	6.9 s	5.6 s	4.6 s	4.3 s	4.2 s
Direction	WNW	WNW	WNW	W	WSW	SSW	SSW	S
Swell	1.7 ft · 9 s	1.6 ft · 8 s	1.4 ft · 8 s	1.2 ft · 8 s	1.0 ft · 8 s	0.9 ft · 8 s	0.8 ft · 8 s	0.7 ft · 5 s
Wind (mph)	5 SSW	4 SE	6 SSE	6 SE	15 S	15 SSE	13 SSE	14 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	4.3 ft W	9 s	2.6 ft WNW
Tue 27	5.9 ft SW	8 s	3.0 ft WNW
Mon 26	5.2 ft SW	8 s	3.3 ft WNW
Sun 25	11 ft WNW	9 s	4.3 ft WNW
Sat 24	7.5 ft SW	10 s	3.9 ft WNW
Fri 23	4.6 ft NW	8 s	2.0 ft WNW
Thu 22	3.6 ft WNW	8 s	2.3 ft WNW

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Wed 21	4.9 ft WNW	10 s	2.3 ft WNW
Tue 20	2.0 ft W	12 s	1.6 ft WNW
Mon 19	2.0 ft WNW	13 s	1.6 ft WNW
Sun 18	1.3 ft WNW	11 s	1.3 ft WNW
Sat 17	2.6 ft NW	10 s	1.6 ft WNW
Fri 16	3.0 ft WNW	9 s	2.3 ft WNW
Thu 15	4.3 ft W	11 s	3.3 ft WNW

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 CairnryanQuestions

How are the waves today in Cairnryan?

Smooth (1.6 ft with a period of 8.4 s from the west-northwest). The highest wave to expect is around 3.2 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Friday 30, with waves up to 2.8 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 3.2 ft.

More about Cairnryan today

Waves near Cairnryan

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 5.0 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 6:29 am (local time).

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