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(Previous) 02/07/2005 (Next)
Winter Juice Heading to Portugal! .
A strong North Atlantic storm has been pushing toward Europe and is lining up a good swell for our Western European brethren.
Continued below...
Check out this LOLA Swell Tracking Map for Portugal…it has a solid WNW swell showing in the "Primary" swell column staring on Wednesday. I know it looks confusing at first but it is really a pretty simple way of separating swells from one another. The "primary" swell is the one that LOLA thinks contains the most energy and will have the greatest impact on generating surf. On this graphic LOLA is calling for a significant pick up in swell on Wednesday Feb-09. She is showing 10-11-feet (H=Height) with 16-second periods (T=time or swell period) coming in from a WNW direction of 330-degrees (D=Direction in compass degrees).

Once you have mastered reading it the Swell Tracking Map becomes a very powerful tool. It gives a very extended forecast view (but remember it gets less accurate the further in the future you go…like any weather forecast) and very detailed info on the most dominant swells heading into the region. If you mix this forecast with the "local knowledge" that experienced watermen gain over the years it is very hard not to have a good idea on what is going on in your local waters.

Like what you see here? Want to get this type of detailed forecast information on a daily basis, for every major surf region on earth? Then SIGN UP NOW for a Surfline Premium Membership. (First month's free.)

WHAT IS LOLA?

LOLA is the world's only automated global surf forecasting tool. LOLA can forecast waves right down the street, or it can predict surf conditions at the top spots around the globe - breaks like Tavarua, Tahiti and Jeffrey's Bay.

LOLA uses the NOAA Wavewatch III engine (running on our own computers) with Surfline-modified data from various wind models (AVN, GFS, MRF). Then LOLA combines this information with empirical data we've programmed into her gained from over 30 years of surf and weather analysis here at Surfline.

LOLA also gathers real-time data from offshore buoys to measure wave pulses from storms around the world every hour. She taps into orbiting satellites to measure hurricane-force winds and tremendous wave heights in the heart of raging storms when huge ships are running for cover. She computes near-shore wave animations measuring detailed wave heights along the coast, taking into account how swells are distorted by offshore islands and the continental shelf.

When you add it all up, LOLA is the ultimate forecasting tool for surfers looking for timely, accurate and comprehensive information about waves.

Initially, we created LOLA as a proprietary tool for Surfline forecasters. But we decided to share the knowledge and give Surfline's Premium Members the chance to use LOLA themselves, to give them the best chance to score more good surf more often.

Not a Premium Member? Then CLICK HERE for a free LOLA demo.

If you are already a Premium Member, please proceed straight to the LOLA home page.