Waves in North Cape May

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 7:01 pm (EDT)

Now · significant height 1.2 ft

Sea state: Smooth · Douglas 2
Period: 5.6 s · ESE
Swell: 1.2 ft · 5 s
Highest expected: 2.6 ft

Today the sea at North Cape May is smooth: 1.2 ft waves with a period of 5.6 s from the east-southeast. The swell, 1.2 ft at 5 s, comes from the east-southeast. Biggest waves: Friday 30, with waves up to 2.1 ft (slight).

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.0 ft 2.1 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 common0.6 ft
Significant1.2 ft
Highest expected2.6 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 2.6 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 2.6 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	1.6 ft	Smooth	ESE	6 s	1.2 ft ESE	12 mph E
Thu 29	1.2 ft	Smooth	SE	6 s	1.1 ft SE	6 mph SSE
Fri 30	2.1 ft	Slight	S	5 s	1.1 ft SE	10 mph WNW
Sat 31	1.8 ft	Slight	E	7 s	1.0 ft SE	9 mph N
Sun 1	1.4 ft	Smooth	SE	7 s	0.7 ft SE	5 mph SE
Mon 2	1.0 ft	Smooth	SE	5 s	0.7 ft SE	5 mph SSE
Tue 3	1.5 ft	Smooth	SSE	5 s	0.7 ft SE	10 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	1.6 ft	1.5 ft	1.4 ft	1.4 ft	1.4 ft	1.4 ft	1.3 ft	1.2 ft
Period	5.6 s	5.7 s	5.8 s	5.6 s	5.3 s	5.3 s	5.6 s	5.6 s
Direction	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE
Swell	0.9 ft · 8 s	1.0 ft · 7 s	1.0 ft · 7 s	1.0 ft · 7 s	1.0 ft · 7 s	1.1 ft · 6 s	1.2 ft · 5 s	1.2 ft · 5 s
Wind (mph)	4 ESE	5 ENE	4 ENE	5 NE	10 E	9 E	6 ESE	6 ESE

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	1.6 ft ESE	7 s	1.0 ft SE
Mon 26	1.3 ft ESE	8 s	1.0 ft ESE
Sun 25	1.3 ft ESE	8 s	0.7 ft E
Sat 24	2.0 ft E	7 s	1.6 ft E
Fri 23	2.3 ft ENE	7 s	1.3 ft E
Thu 22	3.0 ft NE	8 s	2.3 ft E
Wed 21	3.3 ft ENE	9 s	2.6 ft E

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	3.0 ft ENE	9 s	2.3 ft E
Mon 19	3.6 ft E	9 s	3.3 ft E
Sun 18	3.0 ft NE	6 s	1.6 ft E
Sat 17	4.3 ft NNW	4 s	1.6 ft SE
Fri 16	2.3 ft SE	5 s	1.6 ft SE
Thu 15	2.0 ft E	5 s	0.7 ft SE
Wed 14	2.0 ft SSW	4 s	1.0 ft SSE

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 North Cape MayQuestions

How are the waves today in North Cape May?

Smooth (1.2 ft with a period of 5.6 s from the east-southeast). The highest wave to expect is around 2.6 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Friday 30, with waves up to 2.1 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 2.6 ft.

More about North Cape May today

Waves near North Cape May

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 4.1 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 7:01 pm (local time).

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