Waves in Elim

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 3:35 pm (AKDT)

Now · significant height 5.0 ft

Sea state: Moderate · Douglas 4
Period: 5.0 s · SSE
Swell: 1.0 ft · 4 s
Highest expected: 10 ft

Today the sea at Elim is moderate: 5.0 ft waves with a period of 5.0 s from the south-southeast. The swell, 1.0 ft at 4 s, comes from the east-southeast.

Wave height, next 7 days

2.04.0 ft 5.1 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 common2.5 ft
Significant5.0 ft
Highest expected10 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 10 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 10 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	5.1 ft	Moderate	SSE	5 s	3.5 ft S	22 mph S
Thu 29	3.3 ft	Slight	S	5 s	2.1 ft SSE	12 mph SE
Fri 30	2.7 ft	Slight	SSE	4 s	2.2 ft SSE	9 mph SSE
Sat 31	0.9 ft	Smooth	E	4 s	0.8 ft E	10 mph N
Sun 1	1.0 ft	Smooth	SSW	6 s	0.5 ft SSW	7 mph NW
Mon 2	3.5 ft	Slight	E	5 s	3.1 ft SE	10 mph NE
Tue 3	3.8 ft	Slight	SE	5 s	3.3 ft SE	11 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	3.9 ft	3.5 ft	3.4 ft	3.5 ft	4.2 ft	4.9 ft	4.7 ft	3.9 ft
Period	4.7 s	4.6 s	4.5 s	4.3 s	4.5 s	5.0 s	5.0 s	4.9 s
Direction	S	SSE	SSE	SSE	SSE	SSE	S	SSW
Swell	2.3 ft · 5 s	2.1 ft · 4 s	2.0 ft · 4 s	1.7 ft · 4 s	1.0 ft · 5 s	0.9 ft · 4 s	2.6 ft · 4 s	2.4 ft · 4 s
Wind (mph)	10 S	10 SSE	10 SE	11 SE	11 SE	15 SSE	18 SW	16 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	4.9 ft S	5 s	3.0 ft SSW
Mon 26	5.2 ft S	5 s	3.9 ft S
Sun 25	5.9 ft S	5 s	2.0 ft S
Sat 24	8.5 ft SSE	6 s	1.6 ft S
Fri 23	10 ft SSE	7 s	2.3 ft SSW
Thu 22	3.3 ft SSW	4 s	1.6 ft SSW
Wed 21	0.7 ft WSW	4 s	0.3 ft W

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	2.3 ft NNE	4 s	1.6 ft NE
Mon 19	3.6 ft ESE	5 s	3.3 ft SE
Sun 18	3.9 ft SSE	5 s	3.6 ft SSE
Sat 17	1.0 ft SW	4 s	0.7 ft SW
Fri 16	2.0 ft NNE	4 s	1.3 ft NE
Thu 15	3.3 ft NNE	4 s	0.7 ft E
Wed 14	2.0 ft ESE	3 s	1.0 ft SE

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 ElimQuestions

How are the waves today in Elim?

Moderate (5.0 ft with a period of 5.0 s from the south-southeast). The highest wave to expect is around 10 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Wednesday 28, with waves up to 5.1 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 10 ft.

More about Elim today

Waves near Elim

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 1.6 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 3:35 pm (local time).

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