Waves in San Francisco

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 4:01 pm (PDT)

Now · significant height 2.1 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 9.7 s · W
Swell: 1.6 ft · 5 s
Highest expected: 4.2 ft

Today the sea at San Francisco is slight: 2.1 ft waves with a period of 9.7 s from the west. The swell, 1.6 ft at 5 s, comes from the west-northwest.

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.0 ft 2.6 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 common1.0 ft
Significant2.1 ft
Highest expected4.2 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 4.2 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 4.2 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	0.3 ft–1.6 ft
3	Slight · today	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	2.6 ft	Slight	W	10 s	2.2 ft WNW	10 mph NW
Thu 29	2.2 ft	Slight	W	10 s	1.8 ft W	8 mph SSW
Fri 30	2.2 ft	Slight	W	10 s	1.4 ft WSW	12 mph W
Sat 31	2.1 ft	Slight	WSW	13 s	1.5 ft SW	9 mph W
Sun 1	2.4 ft	Slight	W	10 s	1.6 ft W	11 mph NW
Mon 2	2.5 ft	Slight	W	15 s	2.0 ft W	7 mph N
Tue 3	2.5 ft	Slight	W	14 s	2.1 ft W	8 mph N

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	2.6 ft	2.4 ft	2.2 ft	2.2 ft	2.1 ft	2.0 ft	2.1 ft	2.2 ft
Period	7.9 s	8.2 s	8.7 s	9.2 s	9.7 s	9.8 s	9.5 s	9.0 s
Direction	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W
Swell	2.2 ft · 5 s	2.1 ft · 5 s	2.0 ft · 6 s	1.8 ft · 6 s	1.6 ft · 6 s	1.6 ft · 5 s	1.6 ft · 5 s	1.8 ft · 5 s
Wind (mph)	3 NW	0 SW	4 NNE	4 NNE	4 NNE	6 NW	10 W	7 W

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	2.6 ft W	8 s	2.3 ft WNW
Mon 26	2.0 ft W	10 s	1.0 ft WNW
Sun 25	1.6 ft W	10 s	1.3 ft WSW
Sat 24	2.6 ft W	9 s	2.6 ft WNW
Fri 23	3.3 ft W	9 s	3.0 ft WNW
Thu 22	2.6 ft W	11 s	2.3 ft W
Wed 21	2.6 ft W	11 s	2.3 ft W

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	2.6 ft W	12 s	2.3 ft WNW
Mon 19	3.0 ft W	11 s	2.6 ft W
Sun 18	3.0 ft W	10 s	2.3 ft W
Sat 17	2.3 ft W	11 s	1.3 ft WSW
Fri 16	1.6 ft W	12 s	1.0 ft W
Thu 15	1.6 ft W	12 s	1.3 ft WSW
Wed 14	2.3 ft W	12 s	1.3 ft W

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 San FranciscoQuestions

How are the waves today in San Francisco?

Slight (2.1 ft with a period of 9.7 s from the west). The highest wave to expect is around 4.2 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Wednesday 28, with waves up to 2.6 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 4.2 ft.

More about San Francisco today

Waves near San Francisco

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 2.7 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 4:01 pm (local time).

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