Waves in Hatteras

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 4:54 pm (EDT)

Now · significant height 4.5 ft

Sea state: Moderate · Douglas 4
Period: 6.1 s · E
Swell: 3.7 ft · 6 s
Highest expected: 9.3 ft

Today the sea at Hatteras is moderate: 4.5 ft waves with a period of 6.1 s from the east. The swell, 3.7 ft at 6 s, comes from the east-southeast.

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.04.05.0 ft 4.9 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 common2.3 ft
Significant4.5 ft
Highest expected9.3 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 9.3 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 9.3 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	1.6 ft–4.1 ft
4	Moderate · today	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	4.9 ft	Moderate	E	6 s	3.9 ft ESE	17 mph NE
Thu 29	4.7 ft	Moderate	E	7 s	3.9 ft ESE	15 mph NE
Fri 30	4.3 ft	Moderate	ESE	7 s	4.1 ft ESE	9 mph NNE
Sat 31	3.9 ft	Slight	ENE	7 s	2.6 ft ESE	17 mph NNE
Sun 1	3.7 ft	Slight	ENE	5 s	2.1 ft ESE	15 mph NE
Mon 2	3.0 ft	Slight	ESE	5 s	2.6 ft ESE	14 mph ENE
Tue 3	3.9 ft	Slight	ESE	6 s	3.2 ft ESE	16 mph ENE

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	3.7 ft	4.1 ft	4.3 ft	4.3 ft	4.4 ft	4.5 ft	4.6 ft	4.8 ft
Period	6.4 s	6.0 s	5.9 s	6.0 s	6.0 s	6.1 s	6.1 s	6.2 s
Direction	ENE	ENE	ENE	E	E	E	E	E
Swell	2.8 ft · 7 s	2.6 ft · 8 s	2.3 ft · 7 s	2.8 ft · 5 s	3.3 ft · 6 s	3.5 ft · 6 s	3.7 ft · 6 s	3.8 ft · 6 s
Wind (mph)	12 NNE	14 NE	14 NNE	15 NE	14 NE	16 NE	16 NE	13 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	3.9 ft E	8 s	3.6 ft ESE
Mon 26	5.6 ft ENE	8 s	3.9 ft ESE
Sun 25	6.6 ft ENE	8 s	4.9 ft ESE
Sat 24	5.9 ft ENE	7 s	3.6 ft E
Fri 23	6.6 ft NE	7 s	2.6 ft ENE
Thu 22	5.2 ft NE	11 s	4.6 ft ENE
Wed 21	6.6 ft NE	10 s	4.6 ft ENE

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	6.9 ft NE	9 s	5.2 ft ENE
Mon 19	8.9 ft NE	9 s	6.2 ft E
Sun 18	10 ft NE	8 s	4.3 ft E
Sat 17	7.5 ft NNE	6 s	2.3 ft S
Fri 16	3.3 ft S	7 s	1.3 ft ESE
Thu 15	2.0 ft S	7 s	1.3 ft S
Wed 14	2.3 ft SSE	7 s	1.6 ft SE

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 HatterasQuestions

How are the waves today in Hatteras?

Moderate (4.5 ft with a period of 6.1 s from the east). The highest wave to expect is around 9.3 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Wednesday 28, with waves up to 4.9 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 9.3 ft.

More about Hatteras today

Waves near Hatteras

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 1.3 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 4:54 pm (local time).

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