Waves in Kapaau

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 7:48 pm (HST)

Now · significant height 3.9 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 9.8 s · WNW
Swell: 2.6 ft · 9 s
Highest expected: 7.8 ft

Today the sea at Kapaau is slight: 3.9 ft waves with a period of 9.8 s from the west-northwest. The swell, 2.6 ft at 9 s, comes from the north-northeast. Biggest waves: Tuesday 3, with waves up to 5.5 ft (moderate).

Wave height, next 7 days

2.04.06.0 ft 5.5 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
Significant3.9 ft
Highest expected7.8 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 7.8 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 7.8 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	4.3 ft	Moderate	NW	11 s	2.6 ft N	17 mph E
Thu 29	4.5 ft	Moderate	N	10 s	3.1 ft NNE	15 mph NE
Fri 30	4.5 ft	Moderate	NNE	10 s	3.1 ft NNE	15 mph E
Sat 31	3.5 ft	Slight	N	10 s	2.7 ft NNE	15 mph E
Sun 1	4.7 ft	Moderate	N	11 s	2.0 ft N	16 mph ENE
Mon 2	5.4 ft	Moderate	NNE	9 s	2.7 ft NNW	19 mph E
Tue 3	5.5 ft	Moderate	NNE	9 s	3.9 ft N	20 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	3.3 ft	3.4 ft	3.4 ft	3.4 ft	3.5 ft	3.5 ft	3.7 ft	4.1 ft
Period	11.1 s	11.2 s	11.4 s	11.4 s	11.4 s	11.4 s	10.7 s	9.4 s
Direction	NW	NW	NW	NNW	NNW	NNW	NW	W
Swell	2.2 ft · 8 s	2.3 ft · 8 s	2.4 ft · 9 s	2.4 ft · 9 s	2.5 ft · 9 s	2.5 ft · 9 s	2.6 ft · 9 s	2.6 ft · 9 s
Wind (mph)	10 ESE	8 E	12 E	17 E	17 E	15 E	14 E	10 E

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	3.6 ft NNW	11 s	3.0 ft N
Mon 26	3.6 ft NW	11 s	2.6 ft N
Sun 25	3.3 ft N	10 s	2.3 ft NNW
Sat 24	3.3 ft NNE	9 s	2.0 ft ENE
Fri 23	3.6 ft NE	10 s	2.3 ft NNE
Thu 22	3.0 ft NE	10 s	2.6 ft NNE
Wed 21	3.9 ft NE	8 s	3.0 ft NNE

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	4.6 ft NE	7 s	2.3 ft NNE
Mon 19	4.9 ft NE	8 s	2.6 ft NNE
Sun 18	4.9 ft NE	8 s	2.3 ft N
Sat 17	3.9 ft NNE	9 s	2.3 ft N
Fri 16	4.6 ft NE	9 s	2.3 ft SSW
Thu 15	3.9 ft NNE	10 s	1.6 ft SW
Wed 14	3.3 ft N	11 s	1.6 ft S

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 KapaauQuestions

How are the waves today in Kapaau?

Slight (3.9 ft with a period of 9.8 s from the west-northwest). The highest wave to expect is around 7.8 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Tuesday 3, with waves up to 5.5 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 7.8 ft.

More about Kapaau today

Waves near Kapaau

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 5.1 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 7:48 pm (local time).

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