Windy Community
    • Unread
    • Categories
    • Groups
    • Go to windy.com
    • Register
    • Login

    Waves/Swell seem incorrect

    Your Feedback and Suggestions
    3
    6
    1.3k
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • JoeSurfJ
      JoeSurf | Premium
      last edited by

      Screenshot 2023-03-11 at 10.13.48 AM.png Screenshot 2023-03-11 at 10.14.15 AM.png Screenshot 2023-03-11 at 10.15.34 AM.png Screenshot 2023-03-11 at 10.15.58 AM.png 697bb019-241b-414d-8305-3977a6646df7-Screenshot 2023-03-11 at 10.11.03 AM.png 2834697f-5021-436a-ab3c-41bf35564307-Screenshot 2023-03-11 at 10.10.53 AM.png Screenshot 2023-03-11 at 10.10.53 AM.png
      Screenshot 2023-03-11 at 10.11.03 AM.pngScreenshot 2023-03-11 at 10.35.32 AM.png
      I've been using Windy to decide on good days to go boating. Unfortunately, the Waves/Swell information seems to be incorrect. Today for example, Windy is showing 5ft Waves and 4ft Swell which would be sizable and a miserable day for boating.

      Windy also doesn't seem to show different wave heights near shore where winds from the west have less effect on the eastern shore or in the Gulf Stream where wind from the North can can double the height of waves in the Gulf Stream as it moves North.

      I've included web-cam shots from our local lighthouse which I hope show there are no 5 foot waves or 4 foot swells. It's actually pretty nice right now for boating. I've also included a screen shot from Magic Seaweed which shows 2-3 ft waves and NOAA which shows 3ft.

      JoeSurfJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • JoeSurfJ
        JoeSurf @JoeSurf | Premium
        last edited by

        @JoeSurf Also, https://community.windy.com/topic/15557/can-someone-please-help-me-understand-waves-vs-swell-vs-swell-2/3?_=1619903778348 seems to be missing

        idefix37I 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • idefix37I
          idefix37 Sailor Moderator @JoeSurf
          last edited by

          @JoeSurf
          Have you tried the 3 waves models available in Windy for your area?
          GFS the model of NOAA gives 2ft wave height.

          F6880352-4A38-4D93-BDB2-9322167F111C.jpeg

          It is important to note that the resolution of these model is more than 13 km and that they can’t take into account the shallow seabed near the seashore. So the wave heights along the seashore is not so accurate.

          Here is a similar post:
          https://community.windy.com/topic/17449/swell?_=1678552602863

          JoeSurfJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • JoeSurfJ
            JoeSurf @idefix37 | Premium
            last edited by

            WindyIMG_4657.jpg @idefix37 Thanks. It took me a few minutes to figure out what you meant by "3 waves models". I needed to click the "Fcst model" icon in the lower-right.

            And I hadn't tried them. I'd read somewhere that ECMWF was the most accurate so I thought I could set-and-forget. But maybe ECMWF is European and GFS is US so GFS is more accurate for me being in the South Florida area?

            Since I was looking to see what the waves were at that moment. As I though about it more, I realized that I was assuming all the models would converge on reality as they approach the current time - meaning they would converge on what's actually being measured by the wave buoys. When I look at waves at the current time, I assume it reflects reality. But it seems like it reflects what's in the models which apparently aren't updated to reflect reality.

            And I'm realizing as I write this it assumes there's a network of buoys measuring and reporting waves in real-time.

            Maybe I've got a lot to learn about how it all works haha

            WheatsW idefix37I 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • WheatsW
              Wheats Meteorologist @JoeSurf
              last edited by

              @JoeSurf welcome to forecasting stuff friend 😀
              And we always blame the weather guy for being wrong all the time 🤣

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • idefix37I
                idefix37 Sailor Moderator @JoeSurf
                last edited by idefix37

                @JoeSurf
                The ECMWF wave model is probably slightly better and offers a higher resolution than GFS-waves.
                I suggest you compare their forecasts with the reported waves by weather buoys near your area.
                https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/

                As a surfer you want to know the waves height close to the seashore. But the waves models are not so accurate because they are not able to take into account correctly the effect of the decreasing sea depth. Their bathymetry model is too coarse.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • First post
                  Last post
                Windyty, S.E. - all rights reserved. Powered by excellent NodeBB
                NodeBB & contributors, OSM & contributors, HERE maps
                Terms of Use     Privacy Policy