Waves in South Portland

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 5:57 pm (EDT)

Now · significant height 1.3 ft

Sea state: Smooth · Douglas 2
Period: 8.0 s · SE
Swell: 1.0 ft · 8 s
Highest expected: 2.7 ft

Today the sea at South Portland is smooth: 1.3 ft waves with a period of 8.0 s from the southeast. The swell, 1.0 ft at 8 s, comes from the southeast. Biggest waves: Thursday 29, with waves up to 2.7 ft (slight).

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.0 ft 2.7 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 common0.7 ft
Significant1.3 ft
Highest expected2.7 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 2.7 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 2.7 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 · today	0.3 ft–1.6 ft
3	Slight · week peak	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	1.5 ft	Smooth	SE	9 s	1.2 ft SE	9 mph WSW
Thu 29	2.7 ft	Slight	S	6 s	2.2 ft SSE	12 mph SW
Fri 30	2.6 ft	Slight	S	5 s	2.2 ft S	13 mph W
Sat 31	1.2 ft	Smooth	NW	8 s	0.5 ft SSE	11 mph NW
Sun 1	1.2 ft	Smooth	SSE	9 s	1.0 ft SSE	7 mph WSW
Mon 2	1.0 ft	Smooth	SE	8 s	0.7 ft ESE	7 mph WSW
Tue 3	1.1 ft	Smooth	SE	9 s	0.7 ft ESE	7 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	1.3 ft	1.4 ft	1.5 ft	1.4 ft	1.4 ft	1.3 ft	1.3 ft	1.4 ft
Period	9.5 s	8.6 s	8.8 s	9.0 s	9.0 s	8.9 s	8.0 s	6.4 s
Direction	SE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	SE	SE	SE
Swell	1.1 ft · 9 s	1.2 ft · 9 s	1.2 ft · 9 s	1.2 ft · 9 s	1.2 ft · 9 s	1.1 ft · 9 s	1.0 ft · 8 s	0.9 ft · 6 s
Wind (mph)	9 NNE	7 N	3 NW	3 WNW	3 SSW	7 S	7 SSW	7 SW

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	1.3 ft E	10 s	1.0 ft SE
Mon 26	1.6 ft SE	9 s	1.3 ft SE
Sun 25	1.6 ft ESE	12 s	1.3 ft ESE
Sat 24	1.6 ft E	10 s	1.6 ft ESE
Fri 23	3.6 ft E	9 s	3.0 ft E
Thu 22	4.6 ft ESE	8 s	4.3 ft ESE
Wed 21	4.3 ft E	8 s	4.3 ft E

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	3.9 ft ESE	9 s	3.3 ft SE
Mon 19	2.0 ft SE	9 s	1.6 ft SE
Sun 18	1.3 ft SE	11 s	1.0 ft SSE
Sat 17	3.0 ft SSE	8 s	2.6 ft SSE
Fri 16	3.3 ft SSE	10 s	3.0 ft SSE
Thu 15	2.0 ft ESE	10 s	1.3 ft SE
Wed 14	3.9 ft ESE	7 s	3.6 ft ESE

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 South PortlandQuestions

How are the waves today in South Portland?

Smooth (1.3 ft with a period of 8.0 s from the southeast). The highest wave to expect is around 2.7 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Thursday 29, with waves up to 2.7 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 2.7 ft.

More about South Portland today

Waves near South Portland

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 2.0 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 5:57 pm (local time).

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