Waves in Laurel

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Thursday, October 29, at 2:24 am (EDT)

Now · significant height 1.1 ft

Sea state: Smooth · Douglas 2
Period: 2.7 s · NE
Swell: 0.4 ft · 3 s
Highest expected: 2.4 ft

Today the sea at Laurel is smooth: 1.1 ft waves with a period of 2.7 s from the northeast. The swell, 0.4 ft at 3 s, comes from the north-northwest.

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.0 ft 1.2 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 common0.6 ft
Significant1.1 ft
Highest expected2.4 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 2.4 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 2.4 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	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	1.2 ft	Smooth	NNE	3 s	0.4 ft NNW	12 mph NE
Fri 30	0.9 ft	Smooth	NNE	3 s	0.5 ft NNW	13 mph NE
Sat 31	1.1 ft	Smooth	ENE	2 s	0.3 ft NNE	14 mph ENE
Sun 1	1.0 ft	Smooth	E	3 s	0.4 ft ESE	13 mph ENE
Mon 2	1.2 ft	Smooth	ENE	3 s	0.5 ft ENE	12 mph NE
Tue 3	0.9 ft	Smooth	NNE	2 s	0.3 ft N	10 mph NE
Wed 4	0.5 ft	Smooth	NNE	2 s	0.3 ft N	9 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	1.2 ft	1.1 ft	1.0 ft	0.9 ft	1.0 ft	0.9 ft	0.9 ft	1.0 ft
Period	2.8 s	2.7 s	2.7 s	2.7 s	2.5 s	2.6 s	2.6 s	2.6 s
Direction	NNE	NE	NE	NNE	NNE	NNE	NNE	NNE
Swell	0.4 ft · 4 s	0.4 ft · 3 s	0.3 ft · 4 s	0.3 ft · 3 s	0.3 ft · 4 s	0.3 ft · 3 s	0.3 ft · 3 s	0.4 ft · 3 s
Wind (mph)	10 NE	8 NNE	7 NE	10 NE	12 NE	11 NE	10 NE	10 NE

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	2.0 ft NNE	3 s	0.7 ft NNW
Tue 27	1.6 ft NNE	3 s	0.7 ft NNW
Mon 26	2.0 ft NNE	3 s	0.7 ft NNW
Sun 25	2.0 ft NNE	3 s	0.7 ft NNW
Sat 24	2.0 ft N	3 s	0.7 ft NNW
Fri 23	1.0 ft N	3 s	0.3 ft NNW
Thu 22	1.0 ft N	3 s	0.7 ft NNW

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Wed 21	1.0 ft N	3 s	0.3 ft NNW
Tue 20	1.3 ft NNE	4 s	0.3 ft NNW
Mon 19	1.6 ft NNE	3 s	0.3 ft NNW
Sun 18	3.0 ft NNE	5 s	1.6 ft WNW
Sat 17	2.0 ft W	7 s	1.3 ft WSW
Fri 16	0.7 ft S	5 s	0.3 ft S
Thu 15	0.7 ft SE	5 s	0.7 ft SSE

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 LaurelQuestions

How are the waves today in Laurel?

Smooth (1.1 ft with a period of 2.7 s from the northeast). The highest wave to expect is around 2.4 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Thursday 29, with waves up to 1.2 ft (smooth).

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 2.4 ft.

More about Laurel today

Waves near Laurel

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 1.3 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 2:24 am (local time).

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