Weather & Water

Swell

Technical visualSwell and wind waves
Swell and wind wavesLong-spaced swell travels away from a remote storm into water with smaller local wind waves.REMOTE STORMLOCAL WIND
Swell and wind wavesLong-spaced swell travels away from a remote storm into water with smaller local wind waves.121REMOTE STORM2LOCAL WIND
Swell is generated elsewhere and travels beyond its source; wind waves are generated by local wind.

Waves that have propagated away from the area where they were generated.

Swell is often:

longer period

more organized

less directly tied to local wind

Multiple swell trains can coexist.

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