Today
Monitoring
Nazaré Big Wave Forecast
Track the offshore swell, wind and signals that put Praia do Norte on watch.
Loading offshore conditions…
Offshore swell and wind show when Nazaré deserves closer attention. The final wave size at Praia do Norte still depends on the canyon, local conditions and the way each swell reaches the coast.
Spectator safety at Praia do Norte
Watch from the fort — not the beach
Forte de São Miguel Arcanjo
Praia do Norte is an extreme big-wave spot. This page is offshore monitoring information, not a safety assessment — no forecast, status or model on this site guarantees your safety.
- Wave series here are unpredictable — a set can reach areas of the beach that look safe from a distance.
- Never approach the water's edge to watch or film a big session.
- Always follow barriers and instructions from local authorities.
More safety guidance
- Extreme conditions are ridden only by elite, jet-ski-supported professionals — never a recreational activity.
- Watch from the Forte de São Miguel Arcanjo terraces above the beach, not from the sand.
Praia do Norte in pictures
A selection of real photographs of Praia do Norte and the Forte de São Miguel Arcanjo — with no wave-height claim attached.
Photo gallery
Nazaré big-wave season, month by month
When large, long-period Atlantic swells are historically more common at Praia do Norte — not Atlantic Six's own forecast for any single day.
- JanPeak big-wave season
- FebPeak big-wave season
- MarMonitoring season
- AprLow season
- MayLow season
- JunLow season
- JulLow season
- AugLow season
- SepLow season
- OctMonitoring season
- NovPeak big-wave season
- DecPeak big-wave season
Seasonality indicates when large Atlantic swells are more common. It does not guarantee a big-wave event.
How Nazaré's big waves work: the canyon
The Nazaré Canyon changes everything. A modest offshore swell can build into a huge wave at the peak — or produce far less — depending on its angle, period and the way it reaches the canyon.
Period matters as much as height. At Nazaré, long-period swell — often around 16–20 seconds — arriving from the right direction is what gives the canyon the energy to create its biggest days. A shorter-period swell at the same height will usually produce a much smaller result.
Why we don't say "20-metre waves tomorrow"
That is why this page focuses on what can be read clearly offshore: swell height, period, direction and wind.
The Offshore signal badge in the panel above reads exactly these same public thresholds — swell period of at least 16 seconds, swell direction between west and north-west (270°–315°), and wind blowing from the north-east to east at up to about 25 km/h (light-to-moderate, offshore or cross-shore) — and simply reports how many of the three are currently met, as Low, Elevated or Strong. It never estimates a wave height and is not a prediction that a specific event will occur.
Hourly Open-Meteo data · nearest model point approximately 11 km offshore
Sources and methodology
Offshore swell and wind are read hourly from the Open-Meteo Marine and Forecast APIs at the nearest available grid point, roughly 11 km from Praia do Norte — not from a buoy or camera at the beach itself.
Tide observation reference: Instituto Hidrográfico. Exact source names and the last update time for today's reading are shown in the conditions panel above.
A second, fully independent swell reading from the Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS IBI wave model, roughly 5 km resolution) is shown alongside the Open-Meteo panel above for comparison and transparency. The two sources are never merged into a single number — the Offshore signal badge is based on the Open-Meteo reading only.
The "coming days" cards apply those same three thresholds to the hourly forecast series in the same payload, counting a criterion as met for a day or a part of a day only when it holds for more than half of that period's hours. They remain an offshore-conditions signal — never a wave-height forecast, and never a statement that a specific event will occur on a given date.
Frequently asked questions
Are there big waves in Nazaré today?
Check the offshore swell height, period and direction in the panel above for today's real reading at the Nazaré grid point. This page doesn't itself label a day as "big" — the giant-wave season historically runs October to March, and the Praia do Norte spot guide has more season context.
When is the next big-wave event in Nazaré?
Atlantic Six doesn't predict specific big-wave events — the Nazaré Canyon's amplification is too specific to this one spot to reduce to a simple trigger. The panel above shows how far ahead offshore model data is currently available.
Where can spectators watch safely?
From the Forte de São Miguel Arcanjo terraces above the beach — never from the sand or the water's edge. See the Spectator safety section above for the full guidance.
More technical questions
Does offshore swell height equal wave height at Praia do Norte?
No. The offshore figure above is a numerical model reading at a grid point roughly 11 km out, not the amplified wave breaking at the point — see "How Nazaré's big waves work: the canyon" above for why the two differ.
Can the Nazaré Canyon amplify waves?
Yes — the canyon's ability to focus and amplify incoming swell into some of the largest surfed waves on Earth is well documented. What Atlantic Six doesn't publish is a model that turns today's offshore reading into a specific amplified wave-height number.
Is this a 15-metre wave forecast?
No. Atlantic Six never publishes a 15 m+ threshold or face-height estimate — turning an offshore reading into an accurate local wave height at Praia do Norte is the hard, canyon-specific part this page doesn't guess at, so it shows offshore monitoring data only.
How often is the forecast updated?
The offshore reading is refreshed roughly once an hour. The exact update time for the current reading is shown at the top of the conditions panel above.
Praia do Norte, in full
For big-wave season timing, access, where to watch from and the full safety picture, see the dedicated Praia do Norte surf spot guide — this Big Waves page focuses on today's offshore signal, the spot guide covers the rest.
Read the Praia do Norte spot guide →Continue exploring
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