Waves in Kiawah Island

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 7:05 pm (EDT)

Now · significant height 2.8 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 6.7 s · ESE
Swell: 2.4 ft · 7 s
Highest expected: 5.8 ft

Today the sea at Kiawah Island is slight: 2.8 ft waves with a period of 6.7 s from the east-southeast. The swell, 2.4 ft at 7 s, comes from the east-southeast. Biggest waves: Sunday 1, with waves up to 3.0 ft (slight).

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.0 ft 3.0 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 common1.4 ft
Significant2.8 ft
Highest expected5.8 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 5.8 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 5.8 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	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	2.9 ft	Slight	ESE	7 s	2.5 ft ESE	14 mph NE
Thu 29	2.8 ft	Slight	ESE	7 s	2.5 ft ESE	15 mph NE
Fri 30	2.0 ft	Slight	ESE	8 s	2.0 ft ESE	11 mph NE
Sat 31	2.8 ft	Slight	E	6 s	1.9 ft ESE	21 mph NE
Sun 1	3.0 ft	Slight	E	5 s	2.2 ft ESE	21 mph NE
Mon 2	2.9 ft	Slight	E	6 s	2.4 ft ESE	20 mph NE
Tue 3	2.7 ft	Slight	ESE	6 s	2.4 ft ESE	18 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	2.2 ft	2.3 ft	2.4 ft	2.4 ft	2.6 ft	2.8 ft	2.9 ft	2.8 ft
Period	6.6 s	7.0 s	7.0 s	7.1 s	7.0 s	6.5 s	6.6 s	6.7 s
Direction	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE
Swell	2.0 ft · 6 s	2.1 ft · 6 s	2.2 ft · 7 s	2.2 ft · 7 s	2.3 ft · 7 s	2.4 ft · 7 s	2.4 ft · 7 s	2.4 ft · 7 s
Wind (mph)	5 NNE	5 NNE	7 NNE	9 NNE	11 NNE	11 NE	12 NE	10 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	2.3 ft ESE	8 s	2.0 ft ESE
Mon 26	3.0 ft E	8 s	2.3 ft ESE
Sun 25	3.3 ft ENE	7 s	2.0 ft E
Sat 24	3.0 ft ENE	6 s	2.0 ft E
Fri 23	1.3 ft E	7 s	1.0 ft E
Thu 22	1.3 ft E	8 s	1.0 ft E
Wed 21	1.6 ft E	8 s	1.3 ft E

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	1.6 ft E	9 s	1.6 ft E
Mon 19	2.3 ft ENE	9 s	1.6 ft E
Sun 18	2.3 ft NE	6 s	1.3 ft ENE
Sat 17	2.0 ft NNW	4 s	1.3 ft SSE
Fri 16	1.3 ft SSE	6 s	0.7 ft SSE
Thu 15	1.0 ft SE	6 s	1.0 ft SE
Wed 14	1.0 ft SE	8 s	1.0 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 Kiawah IslandQuestions

How are the waves today in Kiawah Island?

Slight (2.8 ft with a period of 6.7 s from the east-southeast). The highest wave to expect is around 5.8 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Sunday 1, with waves up to 3.0 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 5.8 ft.

More about Kiawah Island today

Waves near Kiawah Island

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 2.6 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 7:05 pm (local time).

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