Swell

Height, period, and direction, seven days out.

Seven days of swell

Every swell has three numbers: height, period, and direction. Height is the drama; period is the quality; direction decides which break it lights up.

The numbers

height     ft, at your break
period     seconds — 15s is a real swell
direction  degrees, mapped to your coast
quality    clean / choppy / glassy

Read it

A 15-second period at 3 feet is often better than a 6-second period at 6 feet. Long period means organised energy.