Maine and New Hampshire · Wednesday, Sep 23

Higgins Beach

Updated Tue, Sep 22, 8:30 PM EDT

When to go

7:00 AM–9:00 AM

Windy · Low confidence

2.7–3.0 ft · Offshore waves · not face height

Wind: 10.0 kt · cross-shore

Forecast details

This is the best time in the forecast, though wind may make it choppy.

Other wind windows

Plan around the wind

The best available upcoming daylight wind sample to compare with the wave evidence. This compares wind only; wave size, tide suitability, and hazards can change your choice.

7:00 AM–9:00 AM · America/New_York
Unfavorable wind · up to 10.0 kt · reported gusts up to 17.1 kt
Caution: This is the best available wind comparison, not a favorable-wind label. The selected wind is unfavorable for this break.
Offshore waves: 2.7–3.0 ft across the period. Surf height unavailable. Tide data available; check the local tide response.
Wind source time: Sep 22, 7:45 PM EDT. This is not the model run issue time.

How these periods are chosen

The planner prefers three consecutive hourly samples covering two daylight hours, but retains shorter one- or two-sample evidence when that is all the forecast provides. Light wind means at most 6 kt. Moderate offshore means at most 12 kt from land toward the sea when shore orientation is verified. Strong wind or known gusts of 20 kt or more remain visible as cautions instead of making the entire comparison disappear. These are comparison labels, not locally tested surf-quality or safety ratings. Missing gusts remain unknown. Terrain shelter, currents, closures, and your ability are not assessed.

Forecast confidence

Returned marine grid point is 6.1 km from the mapped spot. Provider grid resolution is not established for this response.
Reference model hour: 11 hours from now; historical residuals do not measure forecast lead-time error.
No accepted local model for these inputs: missing history, unsupported direction/period/height, or failed historical validation.
A mapped coordinate does not establish nearshore grid resolution or terrain/shelter accuracy.

Wind NNE 9 kt

Tide 6.5 ft rising

Wave, wind and tide details

Offshore model swellESE 2.6 ft @ 5sValid 2026-09-23 08:00 · America/New_YorkMarine grid 43.5417, -70.2083 · offshore model, not a local measurement

Offshore model sea2.8 ft @ 5.7sSignificant wave height including wind waves and swell; not breaking surfValid 2026-09-23 08:00 · America/New_York

Model windNNE 9 ktcross-shoreValid 2026-09-23 08:00 · America/New_York4.6 kt offshore component

Tide6.5 ftrisingPortland station 8418150 · predicted height relative to MLLWRetrieved Sep 22, 8:31 PM EDT · provider issue time unavailable75% of adjacent local low–high range · descriptive, not a safety rating

Surf height unavailable. Coastal and offshore waves are not breaking-wave heights.

Surf and wind

Recommended window: No recommended window

Breaking surf is not reliably resolved. Hourly offshore swell and wind inputs are listed below.

Hourly forecast

Hourly surf forecast for Higgins Beach
Time	Wind	Tide	Offshore swell
12 AM	NW 4.3 ktoffshore	5 ftfalling	ESE 2.2 ft @ 5s
1 AM	NNW 5.3 ktoffshore	4 ftfalling	ESE 2.2 ft @ 5s
2 AM	N 6.2 ktoffshore	2.5 ftfalling	ESE 2.2 ft @ 5s
3 AM	NNE 7.3 ktcross-shore	1.5 ftnear low	ESE 2.2 ft @ 5s
4 AM	NNE 7.2 ktcross-shore	2 ftrising	ESE 2.2 ft @ 6s
5 AM	NNE 7.2 ktcross-shore	3 ftrising	ESE 2.3 ft @ 6s
6 AM	N 7.1 ktcross-shore	4 ftrising	ESE 2.4 ft @ 6s
7 AM	N 7.9 ktcross-shore	5.5 ftrising	ESE 2.5 ft @ 5s
8 AM	NNE 9 ktcross-shore	6.5 ftrising	ESE 2.6 ft @ 5s
9 AM	NNE 10 ktcross-shore	7.5 ftnear high	ESE 2.6 ft @ 5s
10 AM	NE 11.3 ktcross-shore	8 ftfalling	ESE 2.7 ft @ 5s
11 AM	NE 12.7 ktcross-shore	6.5 ftfalling	ESE 2.7 ft @ 5s
Noon	NE 14.1 ktcross-shore	5.5 ftfalling	ESE 2.8 ft @ 5s
1 PM	ENE 13 ktcross-shore	4.5 ftfalling	ESE 2.9 ft @ 5s
2 PM	ENE 12.5 ktcross-shore	3 ftfalling	ESE 3.0 ft @ 5s
3 PM	ENE 11.9 ktcross-shore	2 ftnear low	ESE 3.1 ft @ 5s
4 PM	E 11 ktcross-shore	2 ftrising	ESE 3.1 ft @ 5s
5 PM	E 10.1 ktcross-shore	3.5 ftrising	ESE 3.2 ft @ 4s
6 PM	E 8.6 ktcross-shore	4.5 ftrising	ESE 3.3 ft @ 4s
7 PM	E 7.3 ktcross-shore	6 ftrising	ESE 3.4 ft @ 5s
8 PM	E 7.5 ktcross-shore	7 ftrising	ESE 3.5 ft @ 5s
9 PM	ENE 7.5 ktcross-shore	8.5 ftrising	ESE 3.5 ft @ 6s
10 PM	ENE 7.6 ktcross-shore	9 ftfalling	ESE 3.4 ft @ 6s
11 PM	ENE 6.6 ktcross-shore	7.5 ftfalling	SE 3.4 ft @ 7s

12 AMUnavailable

WindNW 4.3 ktoffshoreTide5 ftfallingOffshore swellESE 2.2 ft @ 5s

1 AMUnavailable

WindNNW 5.3 ktoffshoreTide4 ftfallingOffshore swellESE 2.2 ft @ 5s

2 AMUnavailable

WindN 6.2 ktoffshoreTide2.5 ftfallingOffshore swellESE 2.2 ft @ 5s

3 AMUnavailable

WindNNE 7.3 ktcross-shoreTide1.5 ftnear lowOffshore swellESE 2.2 ft @ 5s

4 AMUnavailable

WindNNE 7.2 ktcross-shoreTide2 ftrisingOffshore swellESE 2.2 ft @ 6s

5 AMUnavailable

WindNNE 7.2 ktcross-shoreTide3 ftrisingOffshore swellESE 2.3 ft @ 6s

6 AMUnavailable

WindN 7.1 ktcross-shoreTide4 ftrisingOffshore swellESE 2.4 ft @ 6s

7 AMUnavailable

WindN 7.9 ktcross-shoreTide5.5 ftrisingOffshore swellESE 2.5 ft @ 5s

8 AMUnavailable

WindNNE 9 ktcross-shoreTide6.5 ftrisingOffshore swellESE 2.6 ft @ 5s

9 AMUnavailable

WindNNE 10 ktcross-shoreTide7.5 ftnear highOffshore swellESE 2.6 ft @ 5s

10 AMUnavailable

WindNE 11.3 ktcross-shoreTide8 ftfallingOffshore swellESE 2.7 ft @ 5s

11 AMUnavailable

WindNE 12.7 ktcross-shoreTide6.5 ftfallingOffshore swellESE 2.7 ft @ 5s

NoonUnavailable

WindNE 14.1 ktcross-shoreTide5.5 ftfallingOffshore swellESE 2.8 ft @ 5s

1 PMUnavailable

WindENE 13 ktcross-shoreTide4.5 ftfallingOffshore swellESE 2.9 ft @ 5s

2 PMUnavailable

WindENE 12.5 ktcross-shoreTide3 ftfallingOffshore swellESE 3.0 ft @ 5s

3 PMUnavailable

WindENE 11.9 ktcross-shoreTide2 ftnear lowOffshore swellESE 3.1 ft @ 5s

4 PMUnavailable

WindE 11 ktcross-shoreTide2 ftrisingOffshore swellESE 3.1 ft @ 5s

5 PMUnavailable

WindE 10.1 ktcross-shoreTide3.5 ftrisingOffshore swellESE 3.2 ft @ 4s

6 PMUnavailable

WindE 8.6 ktcross-shoreTide4.5 ftrisingOffshore swellESE 3.3 ft @ 4s

7 PMUnavailable

WindE 7.3 ktcross-shoreTide6 ftrisingOffshore swellESE 3.4 ft @ 5s

8 PMUnavailable

WindE 7.5 ktcross-shoreTide7 ftrisingOffshore swellESE 3.5 ft @ 5s

9 PMUnavailable

WindENE 7.5 ktcross-shoreTide8.5 ftrisingOffshore swellESE 3.5 ft @ 6s

10 PMUnavailable

WindENE 7.6 ktcross-shoreTide9 ftfallingOffshore swellESE 3.4 ft @ 6s

11 PMUnavailable

WindENE 6.6 ktcross-shoreTide7.5 ftfallingOffshore swellSE 3.4 ft @ 7s

Tide

Portland station 8418150 · MLLW

Interpolated tide height Recommended window

About this spot

Model-grid forecast requested at the mapped coordinate; reef, headland, and nearshore transformations are unresolved. Beach break.

Mapped spot coordinate: 43.56, -70.28.

Mainland · Coast not verified · Ocean-facing bearing 135° · Location provenance

Model request point: Higgins Beach (43.56, -70.28). Model output times describe valid conditions; the provider does not expose the model run issue time in this response.

Forecast sources

Data coverage 3/4 sources

Source availability is not forecast accuracy. Where an empirical model passes historical testing, its error and interval coverage are shown above. Source count cannot increase that confidence.

Coverage tier A · US_EAST · spot-level model point

Official breaking-surf report not connected for Maine and New HampshireUnavailableUnavailable · Unavailable

US National Weather Service Surf Zone Forecast
No current NWS surf-zone period passed the explicit per-spot forecast-zone assignment.UnavailableNo source time
NOAA NDBC real-time station files
Current buoy observations are not forecasts for the selected future date.Not applicableNo source time
NOAA CO-OPS Tides and Currents API
Portland station 8418150; predicted high/low events above MLLW, converted to feet. Timestamp is retrieval time; provider issue time is not supplied.CurrentSep 22, 8:31 PM EDT
Open-Meteo Marine API
1 of 1 configured model points availableCurrentSep 22, 7:45 PM EDT
Open-Meteo Weather API
1 of 1 configured model points availableCurrentSep 22, 7:45 PM EDT
Surf-Forecast public pages
Spot discovery and break-specific HTML fallbackNot applicableNo source time
Surfline public spot pages
Break-specific comparison, cams, and metadataNot applicableNo source time

How best guesses are made

Best guesses combine usable wave and wind evidence, with qualitative confidence and specific limitations. A missing tide or local surf-height model does not prevent useful guidance. Tide levels use the named station datum; their effect at this break remains uncertain. Wind direction is relative to the mapped beach orientation, without calibrated terrain or shelter effects. The comparison is a heuristic, not a measured quality rating.