Waves in Mā‘alaea

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 9:57 pm (HST)

Now · significant height 3.3 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 9.7 s · S
Swell: 2.4 ft · 11 s
Highest expected: 6.7 ft

Today the sea at Mā‘alaea is slight: 3.3 ft waves with a period of 9.7 s from the south. The swell, 2.4 ft at 11 s, comes from the south.

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.0 ft 3.3 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 common1.7 ft
Significant3.3 ft
Highest expected6.7 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 6.7 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 6.7 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	3.3 ft	Slight	S	12 s	2.5 ft S	8 mph NNE
Thu 29	3.3 ft	Slight	S	12 s	2.8 ft S	8 mph NNE
Fri 30	3.1 ft	Slight	S	12 s	2.9 ft SSW	10 mph NNE
Sat 31	3.0 ft	Slight	S	12 s	2.8 ft SSW	8 mph NE
Sun 1	3.0 ft	Slight	SSW	12 s	2.4 ft SSW	19 mph NNE
Mon 2	2.9 ft	Slight	WNW	11 s	1.9 ft SSW	20 mph NNE
Tue 3	2.6 ft	Slight	N	10 s	1.7 ft NNW	17 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	2.8 ft	2.8 ft	2.8 ft	2.7 ft	2.8 ft	3.0 ft	3.1 ft	3.3 ft
Period	12.2 s	12.2 s	12.1 s	11.9 s	11.6 s	11.1 s	10.6 s	9.7 s
Direction	SSW	SSW	SSW	SSW	S	S	S	S
Swell	2.4 ft · 10 s	2.5 ft · 10 s	2.4 ft · 10 s	2.4 ft · 10 s	2.4 ft · 10 s	2.4 ft · 11 s	2.4 ft · 11 s	2.4 ft · 11 s
Wind (mph)	7 NNE	6 N	7 NNE	7 NE	6 N	7 N	6 NE	7 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	3.0 ft SSW	13 s	2.6 ft SSW
Mon 26	3.0 ft SSW	13 s	2.6 ft SSW
Sun 25	2.6 ft SSW	12 s	2.3 ft SSW
Sat 24	2.3 ft SSW	12 s	2.0 ft SSW
Fri 23	2.0 ft S	12 s	1.6 ft SSW
Thu 22	2.3 ft S	11 s	1.6 ft SSW
Wed 21	2.3 ft SSE	10 s	1.6 ft SSW

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	2.3 ft SSE	10 s	1.6 ft S
Mon 19	2.6 ft SSE	10 s	1.6 ft S
Sun 18	3.0 ft SSE	11 s	2.0 ft S
Sat 17	3.0 ft SSE	11 s	2.0 ft S
Fri 16	3.0 ft S	13 s	2.3 ft S
Thu 15	3.0 ft S	13 s	2.3 ft S
Wed 14	2.6 ft SSW	13 s	2.3 ft SSW

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 Mā‘alaeaQuestions

How are the waves today in Mā‘alaea?

Slight (3.3 ft with a period of 9.7 s from the south). The highest wave to expect is around 6.7 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Wednesday 28, with waves up to 3.3 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 6.7 ft.

More about Mā‘alaea today

Waves near Mā‘alaea

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 1.8 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 9:57 pm (local time).

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