Slope=0.02, A=30

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Surf Height Range in Feet as a Function of Swell Height (Hs) and Swell Period (Ts)
Adjacent to a Coast for a Beach Slope of 0.02 and an Angle of Incidence (A) of 30 Degrees

  Hs
(feet)

18                 20-26 20-26 21-27 21-27 22-29 23-30 24-31 25-32 25-33
17                 19-25 19-25 20-26 20-26 21-28 22-29 23-30 26-31 26-32
16                 18-23 18-23 19-25 20-26 21-27 22-28 23-29 23-30 23-30
15                 17-22 17-22 18-24 19-25 20-26 21-27 21-27 22-28 22-28
14             15-20 15-20 16-21 16-21 17-23 17-23 18-24 19-25 20-26 21-27 21-27
13             14-18 14-18 15-20 15-20 16-22 17-22 17-23 18-24 19-25 20-26 20-26
12             13-17 13-18 14-19 15-20 16-21 17-22 17-22 18-23 18-23 19-25 19-25
11             12-16 12-17 13-18 13-18 15-20 16-21 16-21 17-22 17-22 18-23 18-23
10             11-15 11-15 12-16 13-17 14-18 14-19 14-19 15-20 16-21 16-21 16-21
9             10-13 10-14 11-15 12-16 12-16 13-17 13-18 14-19 14-19 15-20 15-20
8         9-11 9-11 10-12 10-13 11-14 11-14 11-15 12-16 12-16 13-17 13-17 14-18 14-18
7         8-10 8-10 9-11 9-12 10-13 10-13 10-14 11-15 11-15 12-16 12-16 13-17 13-17
6         7-9 8-10 8-10 9-11 9-11 9-12 9-12 10-13 10-13 11-14 11-14 11-15 11-15
5         6-8 7-9 7-9 8-10 8-10 8-11 8-11 9-12 9-12        
4     4-6 4-6 5-7 5-7 6-8 6-8 7-9 7-9 7-9 8-10 8-10        
3     4-5 4-5 4-5 5-6 5-6 5-7 5-7                
2 2-3 2-3 2-3 3-4 3-4 3-5 3-5                    
1 1-2 1-2 1-2                            
  4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Ts (seconds)


(1) Applies to beaches with moderate to gentle slope offshore (i.e., 1:50 = 0.02 slope or less; characteristic of most beaches around the Continental United States).

(2) Assumes a long straight coast with constant beach slope (i.e., neglects focusing/defocusing effects due to headlands, bays, and irregularities in water depth).

(3) Angle of incidence (i.e., angle between deep-water swell direction and line perpendicular to coastline) equal to 30 degrees.

(4) Occasional set waves expected to be about 25% larger than the upper range depicted in the table.

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