What is wave energy in the forecast tables and swell maps?
Wave energy on the swell forecast tables and maps indicates the power of the predicted waves. It is a function of both wave size and period (the larger the waves and longer the period the greater the power). Wave energy can be the most useful guide to how powerful the surf is likely to be at your local beach / reef. Small ocean waves with a long period can create the same size surf as larger waves with a short period but they can have the same wave energy making it a potentially better guide to likely surf size. We would suggest making a note of the forecast wave energy on a small but surfable day and on a day that is the biggest you are happy to surf. This should give you the energy range that is in your comfort zone.
Wave energy on the swell forecast tables and maps indicates the power of the predicted waves. It is a function of both wave size and period (the larger the waves and longer the period the greater the power). Wave energy can be the most useful guide to how powerful the surf is likely to be at your local beach / reef. Small ocean waves with a long period can create the same size surf as larger waves with a short period but they can have the same wave energy, making it a potentially better guide to likely surf size. We would suggest making a note of the forecast wave energy on a small but surfable day and on a day that is the biggest you are happy to surf. This should give you the energy range that is in your comfort zone. As a rough guide, wave energy of 100kJ can be just about surfable at many breaks, 200-1000kJ should produce increasingly punchy waves while 1000-5,000+ can start to get really heavy and even dangerous at some breaks.
