Windswell Meaning in Surfing

Windswell consists of waves created by local winds near the coast. These waves are often short and choppy because they lack travel time. The energy in a windswell does not reach deep into the water. This results in waves that have less power than a groundswell. Windswells usually have a very short period between each wave peak. These conditions occur frequently during stormy or very breezy weather locally. A surfer paddles into a quick and weak windswell at the beach. The waves often break in many different places at the same time. One athlete tries to maintain speed on a crumbly windswell wave. Many coastal areas rely on windswell for daily surfing during the summer.