Waves in St. Helens

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Thursday, October 29, at 12:33 am (GMT)

Now · significant height 1.3 ft

Sea state: Smooth · Douglas 2
Period: 6.2 s · SW
Swell: 1.3 ft · 5 s
Highest expected: 2.8 ft

Today the sea at St. Helens is smooth: 1.3 ft waves with a period of 6.2 s from the southwest. The swell, 1.3 ft at 5 s, comes from the southwest. Biggest waves: Wednesday 4, 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 common0.7 ft
Significant1.3 ft
Highest expected2.8 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 2.8 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 2.8 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 · 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	1.7 ft	Slight	SSW	7 s	1.3 ft SW	13 mph E
Fri 30	2.4 ft	Slight	ESE	4 s	1.4 ft SE	17 mph E
Sat 31	2.4 ft	Slight	ESE	4 s	1.6 ft ESE	10 mph ENE
Sun 1	1.7 ft	Slight	E	4 s	1.1 ft ESE	8 mph NNE
Mon 2	2.4 ft	Slight	NE	4 s	1.2 ft E	14 mph NNE
Tue 3	2.5 ft	Slight	NE	4 s	1.2 ft E	14 mph NNE
Wed 4	2.8 ft	Slight	ENE	4 s	1.2 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	1.4 ft	1.2 ft	1.0 ft	0.9 ft	0.9 ft	0.9 ft	1.0 ft	1.4 ft
Period	6.1 s	6.6 s	6.9 s	7.0 s	6.9 s	5.6 s	4.0 s	3.5 s
Direction	SW	SW	SW	SW	SW	SW	S	SE
Swell	1.3 ft · 4 s	1.1 ft · 5 s	1.0 ft · 5 s	0.9 ft · 5 s	0.7 ft · 5 s	0.7 ft · 5 s	0.6 ft · 6 s	0.5 ft · 8 s
Wind (mph)	5 SW	4 WSW	4 E	6 NE	9 ESE	12 E	10 E	12 E

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	2.6 ft WSW	6 s	1.6 ft SW
Tue 27	6.2 ft SW	6 s	2.0 ft SSW
Mon 26	4.9 ft SSW	5 s	1.0 ft SSW
Sun 25	6.9 ft WSW	7 s	2.0 ft SW
Sat 24	7.2 ft SW	6 s	2.0 ft SW
Fri 23	7.2 ft SSW	8 s	4.9 ft SSW
Thu 22	5.2 ft SW	6 s	2.0 ft SW

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Wed 21	5.6 ft SW	6 s	2.0 ft SW
Tue 20	2.3 ft ESE	4 s	2.0 ft ESE
Mon 19	2.6 ft E	4 s	1.6 ft ESE
Sun 18	2.6 ft NNE	4 s	1.0 ft E
Sat 17	2.6 ft NNE	4 s	0.7 ft ENE
Fri 16	2.3 ft W	5 s	1.6 ft SW
Thu 15	2.6 ft SSW	5 s	1.3 ft SSW

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 St. HelensQuestions

How are the waves today in St. Helens?

Smooth (1.3 ft with a period of 6.2 s from the southwest). The highest wave to expect is around 2.8 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Wednesday 4, 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 2.8 ft.

More about St. Helens today

Waves near St. Helens

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 12:33 am (local time).

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