swell period/swell direction

There used to be a little table explaining the breakdown as definied by Swellinfo, but its not there anymore. The long awaited Tutorials/FAQ will happen sometime soon, I promise!

short period wind swell < 7.5
wind swell < 8.5
medium period swell < 11.5
ground swell < 16
long period swell < 17.5
extra long period swell < 19

As for directions, there is nothing tricky going on there. There is 360 degrees in a circle, and there are 16 possible swell directions expressed on Swellinfo (N,NNE,NE,ENE,E, etc). So, some quick match tells you the direction N will have 22.5 degrees, so N goes from 347.75 to 12.25. We round to integers, but you can the point.

 

Once you hit anything beyond 13 seconds there are very few places on the east coast that can handle that type of interval. Any regular beach breaks are pretty much walled up closeouts. Forget anything beyond 14, those will be 500 yard closeouts hitting the beach all at once. I don't think I've ever even seen anything around 17-19 seconds here. We do best with medium to lower period groundswells I have found. 9-10 seconds seems to be the best for NJ.

 

exactly!!..........

 

To me whether you call a swell windswell or groundswell, short, medium or long period is all just semantics. It is what it is no matter what term you attach to it. I think the best definition of windswell vs groundswell was posted here in another thread. Basically, if the spot you are surfing is within the fetch that is generating the swell then that is windswell. If you are not in the fetch then it's groundswell. Either way, it's still just a label we attach to it.

As far as period and what you call it goes, I feel that is relative to where you surf. Most of the waves surfed on the east coast would likely be considered short to medium period if judged by west coast or Hawaii standards. I surf in way south Florida so anything around 8 to 10 seconds might be considered long period. And it's usually windswell too. Still, it's just words.

Swell direction is easier to define. If it's 90 degrees it's east. 180 is south. 135 is southeast. 112 1/2 is ESE and so on and so on.

The accuracy of any given forecast is a whole 'nother ball of wax. It will depend upon what a particular forecaster uses for data, (both current and historical), how it interprets that data and applies it to a given location. Where I usually surf is typically difficult to forecast accurately. The wave buoys are a long distance away, the Bahamas shadow mucks things up and winds are often unpredictable. I look at most of the surf predictin' sites along with general weather forecasts to try to develope a consensus as to what might happen. Over time I've learned some of what holds up and what doesn't. Sometimes they get it right and sometimes they miss by a mile. Usually it's somewhere in between.

This past week had some good examples of the above. On a couple of days everybody missed on the winds. Instead of strong on-shores, we had light off/cross-shores. As a result we had some very clean (by S. Fla standards) and fun waves. Glad I didn't rely only on what was forecast!

Bottom line, my process for getting some surf: Check the forecasts then the cams, go to my spot(s) and finally get out in the water. Sometimes it's better (or worse) than it looks even from shore. I say, if in doubt, always go out. I have never regretted paddling out for some waves.

 

I like that designation, putting all the numbers aside. Great philosophy on padding out as well.

I think with all this data we can access it's easy to get caught up in overcomplicating things...

 

Yeah, I almost overcomplicated it in trying to simplify it...

 

that's very true, but knowing the difference between groundswell & windswell is certainly NOT semantics, IMO.

 

Absolutely, agreed...I just feel like lots of dudes get lost in the details w/ this stuff and start to overanalyze. I have a buddy that looks at the animation map(which if I'm not mistaken is based on the same data as the rest of the forecast) and tries to figure the best spot to hit based on the direction in the visual. For me, it's all about what the buoy's doing coupled with wind as I'm leaving the house.

 

Iv read that if the winds creating the waves is more then 100 miles offshore it's a ground swell, less then that and it's a wind swell. Wind or ground swell dosn't matter to me aslong as there are waves. I agree with valhalla though. I'll check the forecasts, then the bouys and the weather for wind. It helps me get an idea of what to expect but nothing is set in stone. More often then not the wind that the weather forecasts and the wind the surf forecasts are two completely different things. Sometimes one is right, sometimes none are right. I drive down to the beach almost every morning. I surf so much more from doing so compared to when I would only go when it's forecasted to be good.

For example, today was forecasted to be chest high and clean. Tide was high and my go to spots were flat. Checked one last spot, didn't look to good but looked better then others. I paddled out any way, had a blast and surfed for 3 hours. Was only waist high at best but still allot of fun. If I didn't paddle out I would of missed out big time. When in doubt, paddle out. I like that. I'd rather get wet and know for sure it's not happening then to just drive home and possibly miss out.

 

That is where the term "wind waves" came from, as being from the area that is generating the waves. The term ground swell is not actually a scientific term. No Oceanography books use that term, and I don't really like it, because its not very meaningful. All swells reach the bottom at some point, and the longer the wave period, the further in depth the wave energy will be. But, on Swellinfo, we use the descriptive terms as text categories, but of course all the integer values are there as well. Putting the linguistics aside, the wave period is what is meaningful.

 

Thanks SI...not sure how that quote happened w/ my name but that's Valhalla's, don't wanna steal his thunder.

 

When you get right down to it, almost all the waves we surf are "wind waves". Windswell, groundswell or whatever you want to call it all starts from winds blowing on the water's surface. Sure there are other non-wind related waves one can surf. Tsunamis are caused by seismic disruptions. A standing wave is caused when the path of flowing water is disrupted. And you can have a tidal bore caused by the incoming tide. Few of us surf those so, for the rest of us, we are all surfing wind generated swell. It has always seemed quite arbitrary to me to say that groundswell is, say, 15 seconds (or whatever number you choose). So if it's 14.5 seconds it's now windswell? Please. Besides, to me, groundswell is kind of a poor term. It seems to imply that it is generated by the ocean floor or something...

As Swellinfo says, swell period is where it's at. A smaller swell height with a longer period is definitely preferable to the opposite. It will always have more energy.

 

Seldom, go ahead and steal all the thunder you want, bro. I seek no glory by posting on the forum of a surf predictin' site. Besides, that was somebody else's definition. I just don't recall by whom or in which thread.

Also nice to see another thread make it to the second page while still on topic and not being degenerated with wisecracks and name calling. Probably just jinxed it...

 

I've surfed 1 ft @14 seconds in NJ

 

It's all relative. If your in the South Pacific you could use the swell info key of determining the type of swell. Down here in tejas we get pumped on 8 and 10 second swells. Sure some may laugh and make snide remarks. But if it's lined up from jetty to jetty how can I complain? That's my groundswell....

 

ok lets start with windswell.the weakest of all swells,can pop up for afew hrs and disappear,its basically local winds blowing offshore.
medium period swell(I could b wrong but..)is alocal storm moving across the Midwest to the east,a typical noreaster.its basically a nice sized low pressure system and when it moves offshore it gets epic.i prefer winter storms medium period over summer/fall hurricane groundswells.my state doesn't handle long period swells that good and its usually a giant closeout at the peak of the storm,and becomes surfable as it drops a few ft

ok groundswells,the mother of all swells.thats a hurricane far far away that sends groundswell through 100s of 1000s of miles of open ocean.its a long period,and handles well off of large piers.

most giant xxl surf storms u see are groundswells.like I said I prefer a good winter south swell.south swells brings lots of current,while north swells are very fair and less rippy.also cant forget tide conditions..in new jersey,hightide usually breaks right on the beach,and its the type of days where as soon as u get to the shorebreak,the bottom drops off immediately.low tide is a barrel breaking in a foot of water a couple dozen yards out.hope that helps

 

A refreshingly good surf-related topic.
Good input, Valhalla. Thanks.

 

That's right on, IMO. Depending on size and direction, 10 sec. can be about as good as it gets at my local. Longer period than that and weird things start to happen with refraction... a lot of it having to do with Hudson Canyon in Northern Monmouth.