Waves in Sanibel

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 7:37 pm (EDT)

Now · significant height 2.0 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 3.2 s · NNE
Swell: 0.8 ft · 4 s
Highest expected: 4.2 ft

Today the sea at Sanibel is slight: 2.0 ft waves with a period of 3.2 s from the north-northeast. The swell, 0.8 ft at 4 s, comes from the north-northwest.

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.0 ft 2.4 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 common1.0 ft
Significant2.0 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	2.4 ft	Slight	N	3 s	1.0 ft NNW	22 mph NNE
Thu 29	1.8 ft	Slight	NE	3 s	0.7 ft NNW	16 mph NE
Fri 30	1.2 ft	Smooth	NNE	3 s	0.6 ft NNW	16 mph NE
Sat 31	1.6 ft	Smooth	ENE	3 s	0.5 ft NNE	17 mph ENE
Sun 1	2.0 ft	Slight	E	3 s	1.3 ft ESE	16 mph ENE
Mon 2	1.9 ft	Slight	E	3 s	0.8 ft SE	13 mph NNE
Tue 3	1.3 ft	Smooth	E	3 s	0.5 ft SE	12 mph NNE

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	2.2 ft	2.1 ft	2.0 ft	2.2 ft	2.3 ft	2.0 ft	1.8 ft	2.0 ft
Period	3.5 s	3.4 s	3.4 s	3.4 s	3.4 s	3.4 s	3.3 s	3.2 s
Direction	N	N	N	N	NNE	NNE	NNE	NNE
Swell	0.8 ft · 4 s	0.9 ft · 4 s	0.9 ft · 4 s	0.9 ft · 4 s	0.7 ft · 4 s	0.8 ft · 4 s	0.8 ft · 4 s	0.7 ft · 4 s
Wind (mph)	21 NNE	22 NNE	20 NNE	20 NNE	22 NE	12 NE	11 NNE	14 NE

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	2.3 ft NNE	4 s	1.0 ft NNW
Mon 26	2.3 ft NNE	4 s	1.0 ft NNW
Sun 25	2.3 ft NNE	4 s	1.0 ft NW
Sat 24	3.0 ft N	4 s	1.0 ft NNW
Fri 23	1.6 ft NNE	3 s	0.7 ft NNW
Thu 22	1.6 ft N	3 s	0.7 ft NNW
Wed 21	1.3 ft NNE	3 s	0.3 ft NNW

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	2.0 ft NNE	3 s	0.7 ft NNW
Mon 19	2.0 ft NNE	4 s	0.7 ft NNW
Sun 18	3.9 ft NNE	5 s	2.0 ft WNW
Sat 17	2.3 ft W	7 s	1.3 ft WSW
Fri 16	0.7 ft SSE	5 s	0.7 ft SSE
Thu 15	1.0 ft SE	4 s	0.7 ft SSE
Wed 14	1.0 ft N	4 s	0.7 ft NW

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 SanibelQuestions

How are the waves today in Sanibel?

Slight (2.0 ft with a period of 3.2 s from the north-northeast). 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 2.4 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 Sanibel today

Waves near Sanibel

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 1.4 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 7:37 pm (local time).

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