Waves in Norfolk

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 6:55 pm (EDT)

Now · significant height 0.5 ft

Sea state: Smooth · Douglas 2
Period: 3.1 s · NE
Swell: 0.4 ft · 3 s
Highest expected: 1.0 ft

Today the sea at Norfolk is smooth: 0.5 ft waves with a period of 3.1 s from the northeast. The swell, 0.4 ft at 3 s, comes from the northeast. Biggest waves: Saturday 31, with waves up to 0.9 ft (smooth).

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.0 ft 0.9 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 common0.2 ft
Significant0.5 ft
Highest expected1.0 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 1.0 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 1.0 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	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	0.5 ft	Smooth	NE	3 s	0.4 ft NE	13 mph ENE
Thu 29	0.4 ft	Smooth	ENE	4 s	0.3 ft NE	6 mph NE
Fri 30	0.3 ft	Calm (rippled)	NE	5 s	0.3 ft NE	5 mph NW
Sat 31	0.9 ft	Smooth	NNE	4 s	0.7 ft NNE	11 mph NNE
Sun 1	0.3 ft	Calm (rippled)	NE	4 s	0.3 ft NE	8 mph ENE
Mon 2	0.1 ft	Calm (rippled)	ENE	5 s	0.1 ft ENE	9 mph ENE
Tue 3	0.1 ft	Calm (rippled)	E	6 s	0.1 ft ENE	13 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	0.5 ft	0.5 ft	0.5 ft	0.5 ft	0.5 ft	0.5 ft	0.5 ft	0.5 ft
Period	3.3 s	3.4 s	3.3 s	3.3 s	3.2 s	3.1 s	3.1 s	3.3 s
Direction	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
Swell	0.4 ft · 3 s	0.4 ft · 3 s	0.4 ft · 3 s	0.4 ft · 3 s	0.3 ft · 3 s	0.3 ft · 3 s	0.3 ft · 3 s	0.4 ft · 2 s
Wind (mph)	2 ENE	3 NE	3 NE	6 NE	11 NE	10 ENE	7 ENE	4 ENE

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	0.3 ft NE	6 s	0.3 ft NE
Mon 26	0.3 ft ENE	6 s	0.3 ft ENE
Sun 25	0.7 ft NE	4 s	0.7 ft NE
Sat 24	1.0 ft NE	4 s	0.7 ft NE
Fri 23	1.3 ft NE	5 s	0.7 ft NE
Thu 22	0.7 ft NNE	6 s	0.3 ft NNE
Wed 21	1.3 ft NNE	6 s	0.7 ft NNE

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	1.3 ft N	4 s	0.7 ft NNE
Mon 19	1.6 ft NNE	4 s	0.7 ft NE
Sun 18	2.0 ft NNE	4 s	0.7 ft NE
Sat 17	2.3 ft N	4 s	0.3 ft NNE
Fri 16	0.7 ft E	4 s	0.3 ft ENE
Thu 15	1.3 ft NE	3 s	0.7 ft NE
Wed 14	0.0 ft E	4 s	0.0 ft ENE

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 NorfolkQuestions

How are the waves today in Norfolk?

Smooth (0.5 ft with a period of 3.1 s from the northeast). The highest wave to expect is around 1.0 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Saturday 31, with waves up to 0.9 ft (smooth).

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 1.0 ft.

More about Norfolk today

Waves near Norfolk

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 7.7 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 6:55 pm (local time).

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