Waves in Chichester

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 10:59 pm (GMT)

Now · significant height 1.6 ft

Sea state: Smooth · Douglas 2
Period: 6.1 s · SW
Swell: 1.4 ft · 4 s
Highest expected: 3.2 ft

Today the sea at Chichester is smooth: 1.6 ft waves with a period of 6.1 s from the southwest. The swell, 1.4 ft at 4 s, comes from the southwest.

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.0 ft 3.0 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	3.0 ft	Slight	SW	7 s	2.1 ft SW	13 mph W
Thu 29	1.5 ft	Smooth	SW	8 s	1.4 ft SW	7 mph ENE
Fri 30	1.8 ft	Slight	SE	4 s	1.2 ft SE	11 mph E
Sat 31	1.8 ft	Slight	SE	5 s	1.3 ft SE	9 mph NE
Sun 1	1.3 ft	Smooth	ESE	4 s	1.0 ft ESE	9 mph NNE
Mon 2	2.0 ft	Slight	NE	4 s	1.2 ft ESE	14 mph NNE
Tue 3	2.1 ft	Slight	ENE	4 s	1.6 ft ESE	12 mph NNE

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	2.9 ft	2.5 ft	2.4 ft	2.7 ft	3.0 ft	2.7 ft	2.2 ft	1.8 ft
Period	6.3 s	6.5 s	6.2 s	5.5 s	5.1 s	5.2 s	5.3 s	5.7 s
Direction	SW	SW	SW	SW	WSW	SW	SW	SW
Swell	2.1 ft · 5 s	1.9 ft · 4 s	1.5 ft · 5 s	1.5 ft · 7 s	1.3 ft · 7 s	1.4 ft · 7 s	1.6 ft · 4 s	1.4 ft · 3 s
Wind (mph)	4 WNW	1 N	4 NE	2 WSW	12 WSW	10 WSW	6 W	3 WNW

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	6.6 ft SW	7 s	2.3 ft SW
Mon 26	4.9 ft SSW	5 s	1.6 ft SW
Sun 25	7.9 ft WSW	7 s	2.6 ft SW
Sat 24	8.2 ft SW	7 s	2.3 ft SW
Fri 23	8.5 ft SSW	8 s	5.6 ft SSW
Thu 22	5.2 ft SW	6 s	3.0 ft SW
Wed 21	5.9 ft SW	6 s	2.6 ft SSW

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	2.3 ft ESE	4 s	1.6 ft SE
Mon 19	2.3 ft ESE	4 s	1.3 ft SE
Sun 18	2.0 ft NNE	3 s	0.7 ft SE
Sat 17	2.0 ft N	4 s	0.7 ft WSW
Fri 16	2.3 ft WSW	5 s	1.6 ft SW
Thu 15	2.6 ft SW	5 s	1.3 ft SW
Wed 14	2.0 ft SW	7 s	1.6 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 ChichesterQuestions

How are the waves today in Chichester?

Smooth (1.6 ft with a period of 6.1 s from the southwest). The highest wave to expect is around 3.2 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Wednesday 28, with waves up to 3.0 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 Chichester today

Waves near Chichester

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 3.2 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 10:59 pm (local time).

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