Waves in Río Chico

Hourly wave forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 6:53 pm (GMT-4)

Now · significant height 2.4 ft

Sea state: Slight · Douglas 3
Period: 6.4 s · NE
Swell: 1.8 ft · 6 s
Highest expected: 5.0 ft

Today the sea at Río Chico is slight: 2.4 ft waves with a period of 6.4 s from the northeast. The swell, 1.8 ft at 6 s, comes from the northeast. Biggest waves: Friday 30, with waves up to 3.1 ft (slight).

Wave height, next 7 days

1.02.03.0 ft 3.1 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 common1.2 ft
Significant2.4 ft
Highest expected5.0 ft

One wave in seven is higher than the significant height, and about 3 times a day one reaches 5.0 ft. Before heading out, expect waves of up to 5.0 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	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	NE	8 s	2.1 ft NE	6 mph ENE
Thu 29	3.0 ft	Slight	NE	6 s	2.6 ft NE	6 mph NNE
Fri 30	3.1 ft	Slight	NE	6 s	3.1 ft NE	4 mph W
Sat 31	2.8 ft	Slight	NE	6 s	2.8 ft NE	6 mph N
Sun 1	2.8 ft	Slight	NE	5 s	2.8 ft NE	5 mph NNE
Mon 2	2.8 ft	Slight	NE	5 s	2.6 ft NE	4 mph NE
Tue 3	2.4 ft	Slight	NE	6 s	2.2 ft NE	4 mph SSW

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	2.0 ft	2.2 ft	2.3 ft	2.4 ft	2.4 ft	2.4 ft	2.4 ft	2.6 ft
Period	7.6 s	7.2 s	6.9 s	6.9 s	7.0 s	7.0 s	6.7 s	6.0 s
Direction	NNE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
Swell	1.5 ft · 4 s	1.8 ft · 4 s	2.0 ft · 4 s	2.0 ft · 4 s	1.9 ft · 4 s	1.9 ft · 4 s	1.8 ft · 5 s	1.8 ft · 6 s
Wind (mph)	4 WSW	3 SW	2 WSW	1 NNE	6 ENE	6 NE	3 NE	1 S

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 NNE	8 s	2.0 ft NE
Mon 26	2.6 ft NE	7 s	2.3 ft NE
Sun 25	2.3 ft NE	6 s	2.3 ft NE
Sat 24	3.0 ft NE	6 s	2.6 ft NE
Fri 23	2.6 ft NE	6 s	2.3 ft NE
Thu 22	2.0 ft NNE	8 s	1.6 ft NE
Wed 21	2.0 ft NNE	7 s	1.6 ft NE

Show all 14 days

Day	Max wave	Period	Swell
Tue 20	2.6 ft NE	7 s	2.3 ft NE
Mon 19	2.6 ft NE	6 s	2.3 ft NE
Sun 18	2.6 ft NE	7 s	2.3 ft NE
Sat 17	2.6 ft NE	6 s	2.3 ft NE
Fri 16	3.0 ft NE	5 s	3.0 ft NE
Thu 15	3.0 ft NE	5 s	2.6 ft NE
Wed 14	2.6 ft NE	5 s	2.3 ft NE

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 Río ChicoQuestions

How are the waves today in Río Chico?

Slight (2.4 ft with a period of 6.4 s from the northeast). The highest wave to expect is around 5.0 ft.

Which day will have the biggest waves this week?

Friday 30, with waves up to 3.1 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 5.0 ft.

More about Río Chico today

Waves near Río Chico

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 12 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 6:53 pm (local time).

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