How to read a surf report
- Swell size. The size of the wave, or swell height, is a measure in feet or meters.
- Swell period. The swell period is measured in seconds.
- Swell direction. Swell direction tells you where the swell is coming from in degrees/bearing.
- Wind direction.
- Wind strength/speed.
- Tide.
How do you read sea swell?
Swell speed is measured at nautical miles per hour or knots. (1 knot is 1.2 miles on land.) In order to work out the speed that a swell is travelling multiply the wave period by 1.5. The result is the speed the swell is travelling in knots.
What is a good swell period for surfing?
Short-period swell, (11 seconds or less) will usually decay within a few hundred miles, while long-period swell, (above 14 seconds), is capable of far greater journeys. That’s why powerful groundswell generated in the Southern Ocean can wind up as waves nearly half a world away in the Alaskan Gulf.
How do you describe swell direction?
Swell direction is the direction from which the swell is coming. It is measured in degrees (as on a compass), and often referred to in general directions, such as a north-northwest or southwest swell. Swell direction is an important factor to consider because it can determine the quality of waves.
What does WNW swell mean?
Swell Direction
This does mean that each surf location will have it’s own optimal swell direction… Take Woolacombe, UK as the first example – image 12 below shows that the optimal swell direction (big arrow) is West North West (WNW).
Is a 2m swell big?
Sea waves caused by the local wind, are often superimposed on swell moving in from a distance.
Sea waves and swell.
| Height | Description |
|---|---|
| Low | 0-2 metres |
| Moderate | 2-4 metres |
| Heavy | over 4 metres |
How do you read surf?
Key factors of reading surf forecasts are:
- Swell size. The size of the wave, or swell height, is a measure in feet or meters.
- Swell period. The swell period is measured in seconds.
- Swell direction. Swell direction tells you where the swell is coming from in degrees/bearing.
- Wind direction.
- Wind strength/speed.
- Tide.
How is swell measured?
Swell height is measured from the very lowest point (trough) to the very highest point (peak) of each wave.Wind-wave direction tells you the direction from which the wind-waves are coming. – Wind-Wave Height (WWH): similar to swell height, this is the average height of the highest one-third of the wind-waves.
How do you know if waves are good for surfing?
You can tell a spot has a steep profile if it gets deep very quickly. In this case the waves will break closer to the shore and they’ll be packing some power. Spots that gradually get deeper will often have gentler waves, ideal for learning to surf. Tides go in and out with high and low being roughly 6 hours apart.
What is the difference between swell and surf?
As swells arrives at the beach, shallow water forces waves to slow down and rise up above the surface, morphing as it goes through a process known as “wave shoaling”. Surf is swell that has arrived in shallow enough water to rise up above the surface, and break.
How can the length of a sea wave be expressed?
Wave height (vertical distance from trough to crest) Wave length (distance from crest to crest in the direction of propagation) Wave period (time interval between arrival of consecutive crests at a stationary point)
What is swell in surfing terms?
Swell – Swells are the surges of energy in the ocean created by the high winds of weather systems out at sea. Swells then travel through the water, and as water is such a good conductor of energy, swells travel over great distances and eventually hit our shores.
What is the difference between sea waves and swell waves?
Seas (usually described by the term combined seas) refers to wind waves and swell working together. Waves and seas are described by the height from trough to crest; swell also is described by the direction it’s coming from.
What are the different types of swell?
There are three different types of swell that you should understand: Ground Swell, Wind Swell and Hurricane Swell.
What does Lotus mean surfing?
What does Lotus mean in Surfline? LOTUS is our new forecasting model; the successor of LOLA. This new forecast model combines cutting edge prediction technology with NOAA’s Wavewatch III to give you more accurate wind and wave forecasts.
Is surf better at low tide?
In general, the best tide for surfing is anywhere from an hour after low tide to an hour before high. This gives you 4 hours, plenty of time for most surfers. This is because rip currents going out to sea are much more likely on an outgoing tide, so surfing after low on an incoming tide is best.
What does 4m swell mean?
Short swell of moderate height. 0-100 m. Less than 8 sec. 2-4 m. Average swell of moderate height.
Is 1.5 m swell big?
If the wind is stronger than 15 knots, don’t go, if the swell is bigger than 1.5 meters, don’t go and if the seas are bigger than 1.5 meters, don’t go. The difference between seas and swell.
What is considered rough swell?
At a 20-second interval it would be difficult to even detect that there was a swell. But if you change that interval to 6-seconds, it’s going to be extremely rough. A good rule of thumb is that unless the swells are over 8-feet, if the interval is at least twice the wave height, you should be good to go.
How do you pick the right wave?
The ocean cues to look out for when picking the best waves are:
- FLAT SWELLS. Waves that are flat in appearance and too far away from the peak are called flat swells.
- PITCHING WAVES. When a surfer paddles too late and attempts to stand, the wave breaks over the surfer.
- CLOSEOUTS.
- THE SPLIT PEAK.
- HALF- BUILT SWELLS.
Can you surf 1 foot waves?
Tiny surf is really unforgiving when it comes to turning. A one- or two-foot wave is usually good for one, maybe two turns. Pick your section wisely, as you may only get one chance to turn–don’t blow that chance. “On a tiny wave, a big move is likely to be your last,” says Taj Burrow.
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