Waves in Melbourne Beach

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 7:46 pm (EDT)

Now · significant height 4.1 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 8.3 s · ENE
Swell: 3.5 ft · 8 s
Highest expected: 8.2 ft

Today the sea at Melbourne Beach is slight: 4.1 ft waves with a period of 8.3 s from the east-northeast. The swell, 3.5 ft at 8 s, comes from the east-northeast.

Wave height, next 7 days

2.04.06.0 ft 5.4 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 expected8.2 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 8.2 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 8.2 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 · 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	5.4 ft	Moderate	ENE	10 s	5.2 ft ENE	25 mph NE
Thu 29	4.2 ft	Moderate	ENE	9 s	3.9 ft ENE	19 mph NE
Fri 30	3.3 ft	Slight	ENE	8 s	2.8 ft ENE	17 mph NE
Sat 31	3.4 ft	Slight	ENE	7 s	2.9 ft ENE	20 mph ENE
Sun 1	3.7 ft	Slight	E	7 s	3.1 ft ENE	18 mph E
Mon 2	4.0 ft	Slight	ENE	7 s	3.2 ft ENE	15 mph ENE
Tue 3	3.3 ft	Slight	ENE	7 s	3.0 ft ENE	14 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	5.0 ft	5.1 ft	5.1 ft	5.2 ft	5.2 ft	4.6 ft	4.1 ft	4.1 ft
Period	9.6 s	9.8 s	9.7 s	9.7 s	9.7 s	9.6 s	9.1 s	8.1 s
Direction	ENE	ENE	ENE	ENE	ENE	ENE	ENE	ENE
Swell	4.6 ft · 9 s	4.8 ft · 9 s	4.8 ft · 9 s	5.1 ft · 9 s	5.1 ft · 8 s	4.5 ft · 8 s	3.9 ft · 8 s	3.5 ft · 8 s
Wind (mph)	22 NE	21 NNE	18 NNE	16 NNE	16 NE	16 NE	19 ENE	17 ENE

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	5.6 ft ENE	10 s	5.2 ft ENE
Mon 26	5.2 ft ENE	9 s	4.6 ft ENE
Sun 25	5.2 ft ENE	9 s	4.6 ft ENE
Sat 24	3.0 ft NE	7 s	2.3 ft ENE
Fri 23	2.6 ft NE	8 s	2.0 ft ENE
Thu 22	3.0 ft NE	9 s	2.3 ft NE
Wed 21	3.3 ft NE	9 s	2.6 ft ENE

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	3.9 ft NE	9 s	3.3 ft NE
Mon 19	4.3 ft NE	9 s	3.3 ft NE
Sun 18	3.9 ft NE	7 s	2.6 ft NE
Sat 17	3.0 ft NE	8 s	1.0 ft ENE
Fri 16	1.3 ft E	6 s	1.3 ft E
Thu 15	1.6 ft E	5 s	1.0 ft E
Wed 14	1.6 ft ENE	6 s	1.0 ft ENE

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 Melbourne BeachQuestions

How are the waves today in Melbourne Beach?

Slight (4.1 ft with a period of 8.3 s from the east-northeast). The highest wave to expect is around 8.2 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Wednesday 28, with waves up to 5.4 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 8.2 ft.

More about Melbourne Beach today

Waves near Melbourne Beach

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 9.7 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 7:46 pm (local time).

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