Waves in Mill Valley

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 4:52 pm (PDT)

Now · significant height 4.1 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 10.3 s · W
Swell: 3.0 ft · 6 s
Highest expected: 8.1 ft

Today the sea at Mill Valley is slight: 4.1 ft waves with a period of 10.3 s from the west. The swell, 3.0 ft at 6 s, comes from the west-northwest. Biggest waves: Monday 2, with waves up to 4.9 ft (moderate).

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.04.05.0 ft 4.9 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 common2.0 ft
Significant4.1 ft
Highest expected8.1 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 8.1 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 8.1 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 · week peak	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	4.9 ft	Moderate	W	11 s	4.1 ft WNW	8 mph NW
Thu 29	4.4 ft	Moderate	W	11 s	3.5 ft SW	3 mph WSW
Fri 30	4.1 ft	Moderate	WSW	11 s	2.8 ft SW	10 mph W
Sat 31	4.3 ft	Moderate	SW	14 s	2.8 ft SSW	6 mph WNW
Sun 1	4.7 ft	Moderate	W	11 s	3.0 ft SSW	8 mph NNW
Mon 2	4.9 ft	Moderate	W	16 s	4.0 ft W	6 mph NNE
Tue 3	4.9 ft	Moderate	W	15 s	4.0 ft WNW	9 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	4.9 ft	4.6 ft	4.3 ft	4.1 ft	4.0 ft	4.0 ft	4.1 ft	4.4 ft
Period	8.3 s	8.8 s	9.5 s	10.1 s	10.4 s	10.5 s	10.1 s	9.6 s
Direction	WNW	WNW	WNW	W	W	W	W	W
Swell	4.1 ft · 5 s	3.9 ft · 6 s	3.7 ft · 6 s	3.3 ft · 6 s	3.1 ft · 6 s	3.0 ft · 6 s	3.1 ft · 6 s	3.5 ft · 5 s
Wind (mph)	3 N	3 N	3 NNW	3 N	3 ENE	5 SSW	4 W	3 SE

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 WNW	8 s	4.3 ft WNW
Mon 26	3.9 ft W	11 s	2.3 ft W
Sun 25	3.0 ft WSW	11 s	2.3 ft SW
Sat 24	5.2 ft W	10 s	4.9 ft WNW
Fri 23	6.2 ft W	10 s	5.6 ft WNW
Thu 22	4.9 ft WSW	12 s	3.9 ft SW
Wed 21	4.9 ft WSW	12 s	4.3 ft WNW

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	5.2 ft W	13 s	4.6 ft W
Mon 19	5.6 ft W	12 s	4.6 ft WNW
Sun 18	5.6 ft W	11 s	3.3 ft W
Sat 17	4.6 ft WSW	13 s	2.3 ft SSW
Fri 16	3.3 ft WSW	13 s	2.0 ft SSW
Thu 15	3.6 ft WSW	13 s	2.3 ft SSW
Wed 14	4.3 ft WSW	13 s	3.0 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 Mill ValleyQuestions

How are the waves today in Mill Valley?

Slight (4.1 ft with a period of 10.3 s from the west). The highest wave to expect is around 8.1 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Monday 2, with waves up to 4.9 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 8.1 ft.

More about Mill Valley today

Waves near Mill Valley

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 7.9 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 4:52 pm (local time).

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