Swell direction and the swell window

Direction is where the swell comes from

A forecast gives swell direction as a compass bearing: the direction the swell comes from. 270° is a swell from the west. 180° is a swell from the south.

Swell travels in straight lines, out from the storm that made it. It does not turn to find your beach.

Every break has a window

The swell window is the set of directions a break is open to. The coastline, headlands and islands block the rest. A swell from inside the window walks right in. A swell from outside it hits land first and barely reaches the break.

Swell bends a little around an edge, so a swell just outside the window still brings a smaller wave. That is why the dial below says "partly open" near the edges.

Try it

Malibu First Point and C Street are about 40 miles apart. Turn the swell and watch which one gets it. The wedge on each dial is that break's window, from BarrelFare's spot data.

Where you see it on BarrelFare

The score checks every swell against each break's window, hour by hour. A swell from outside the window scores low however big it is, so a flat day does not show up as a good one.

How to read a surf report and forecast