The Sea State describes the state of the water surface and is useful in describing the conditions as seen on a boat or ship. This has implications for activities such as ship-to-ship transfers.
Range: 0 to 9
|
State |
Wave Description |
Average Wave Height in feet |
Spray |
Wind Description (Beaufort Scale) |
|
0 |
like a mirror, OR ripples without foam crests |
0 - 0.1 |
none |
calm or light air (0 or 1) |
|
1 |
small wavelets; crests have glassy appearance but do not break |
0.1 – 0.5 |
none |
light breeze (2) |
|
2 |
large wavelets; crests begin to break; foam has a glassy appearance; scattered whitecaps |
0.5 – 1 |
none |
gentle breeze (3) |
|
3 |
small waves; whitecaps fairly frequent |
1 - 2 |
minimal |
moderate breeze (4) |
|
4 |
moderate waves, becoming longer; many whitecaps |
3 - 5 |
chance of some spray |
fresh breeze (5) |
|
5 |
large waves; white foam crests are more extensive |
6 - 10 |
some spray |
strong breeze (6) |
|
6 |
sea heaps up; white foam from breaking waves begins to be blown in streaks |
11 - 17 |
spindrift (blown air spray) |
moderate gale (7) |
|
7 |
moderately high waves |
18 - 29 |
spray affects visibility |
fresh gale (8) |
|
8 |
high waves and sea begins to roll |
30 - 42 |
visibility affected |
strong gale (9) |
|
9 |
very high to exceptionally high waves |
> 42 feet |
visibility seriously affected |
whole gale, storm, hurricane (10-12) |
Specialty: Emergency Medicine, Critical Care
ICD-10: ,
