Waves in Kapalua

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 10:22 pm (HST)

Now · significant height 3.9 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 9.1 s · ENE
Swell: 2.5 ft · 9 s
Highest expected: 7.8 ft

Today the sea at Kapalua is slight: 3.9 ft waves with a period of 9.1 s from the east-northeast. The swell, 2.5 ft at 9 s, comes from the northeast. Biggest waves: Monday 2, with waves up to 6.1 ft (moderate).

Wave height, next 7 days

2.04.06.0 ft 6.1 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	4.0 ft	Slight	NE	11 s	2.6 ft NNE	13 mph NE
Thu 29	4.1 ft	Moderate	NE	9 s	2.7 ft NE	16 mph NE
Fri 30	4.3 ft	Moderate	NE	9 s	2.9 ft ENE	17 mph ENE
Sat 31	3.7 ft	Slight	ENE	10 s	2.8 ft NE	15 mph NE
Sun 1	5.1 ft	Moderate	NNE	13 s	3.1 ft NNW	22 mph NE
Mon 2	6.1 ft	Moderate	N	10 s	4.9 ft NNW	28 mph NE
Tue 3	5.9 ft	Moderate	NNE	9 s	4.7 ft N	25 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	3.6 ft	3.5 ft	3.5 ft	3.5 ft	3.7 ft	3.9 ft	3.9 ft	3.9 ft
Period	10.9 s	10.9 s	10.7 s	10.5 s	10.0 s	9.5 s	9.3 s	9.1 s
Direction	N	NNE	NNE	NNE	NE	NE	NE	NE
Swell	2.5 ft · 8 s	2.5 ft · 8 s	2.5 ft · 8 s	2.6 ft · 9 s	2.6 ft · 9 s	2.6 ft · 9 s	2.6 ft · 9 s	2.6 ft · 9 s
Wind (mph)	4 ENE	4 WSW	1 ENE	12 ENE	8 NE	10 NNE	13 ENE	12 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	4.3 ft N	12 s	3.3 ft N
Mon 26	4.3 ft N	12 s	3.3 ft NNW
Sun 25	3.9 ft N	10 s	3.3 ft NW
Sat 24	3.6 ft NE	11 s	2.6 ft N
Fri 23	3.3 ft NE	9 s	2.3 ft NE
Thu 22	3.3 ft NE	8 s	3.0 ft NE
Wed 21	4.3 ft NE	7 s	3.3 ft NE

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	4.9 ft NE	7 s	3.6 ft NE
Mon 19	5.2 ft NE	7 s	3.9 ft NE
Sun 18	5.6 ft NE	8 s	3.9 ft NE
Sat 17	4.9 ft NE	8 s	3.3 ft N
Fri 16	4.9 ft NE	8 s	3.0 ft N
Thu 15	4.6 ft NE	10 s	3.0 ft NW
Wed 14	3.9 ft NNE	12 s	2.6 ft NNW

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 KapaluaQuestions

How are the waves today in Kapalua?

Slight (3.9 ft with a period of 9.1 s from the east-northeast). The highest wave to expect is around 7.8 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Monday 2, with waves up to 6.1 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 Kapalua today

Waves near Kapalua

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 3.6 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 10:22 pm (local time).

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