Skip to content
Rule Dramatic Seascapes

Bar Harbor - Dramatic Seascapes - New England, USA

Bar Harbor, Maine, United States

Dramatic coastal photography conditions - powerful waves combined with atmospheric drama and good visibility for seascape shots.

No opportunities right now
Here’s what usually blocks matches

No Dramatic Seascapes opportunities in the next 14 days

Get notified
Free alerts · takes 30 seconds
Rule requirements (key thresholds)
Coastal Drama Score · ≥ 75.0% Significant Wave Height · ≥ 1.5m Visibility · ≥ 5000.0m Wind Gusts · ≤ 22.0m/s

Tip: Scroll down to the 72-hour table to see exactly which condition fails hour by hour.

Most common blockers (next 72 hours)
Coastal Drama Score 100% failing
Significant Wave Height 81% failing
Precipitation Chance 35% failing

Currently

Real-time conditions
Wave Height0.4m
Swell Height0.2m
Wind Speed2.2m/s (calm conditions)
Cloud Cover100%

Upcoming Opportunities

When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.

Times shown in America/New_York

No opportunities in the next 10 days

See the blocker timeline below to understand which conditions are preventing matches.

What this forecast looks for

Plain-language explanation from the rule

This forecast tracks the dramatic conditions that make the Maine coast and Cape Cod world-class seascape photography destinations. We combine wave height, wind patterns, and storm systems to predict when the rocky New England shoreline will come alive with crashing waves and moody atmosphere.

New England's coastline—especially Maine's rocky shores—creates some of North America's most dramatic seascapes. Cold North Atlantic waters meet granite cliffs, creating powerful wave action. Historic lighthouses perched on headlands add iconic human elements to wild natural drama.

What makes New England coastal photography exceptional:

  • Acadia granite coast - Thunder Hole, Otter Cliffs, and Schoodic Point where waves explode against pink granite
  • Lighthouse drama - Portland Head Light, Nubble Light, and dozens more frame seascapes with maritime history
  • Nor'easter storms - Autumn and winter storms bring massive waves and dramatic skies to the entire coastline
  • Cape Cod exposure - The Cape juts far into the Atlantic, catching dramatic weather from all directions

Best conditions occur during and after nor'easter storms, typically October through March. These powerful low-pressure systems bring huge waves, dramatic skies, and often spectacular light during clearing phases. Safety is critical—rogue waves can sweep exposed rocks. Our forecast helps you time visits for drama without excessive danger.

Create your own Dramatic Seascapes alerts

Get notified when these conditions match at your own locations.

Get this template

72-hour requirements breakdown

What passed or failed, hour by hour
0matching hours in the next 95 hours
AND logic: all conditions required
Meets requirement
Misses requirement
Time
America/New_York
Coastal Drama Score
≥ 75.0%
Significant Wave Height
≥ 1.5m
Visibility
≥ 5000.0m
Wind Gusts
≤ 22.0m/s
Precipitation Chance
≤ 30.0%
Sat, May 23
09:006.9%0.38m24134m2.7m/s0%
10:0012%0.38m24135m2.4m/s0%
11:008.5%0.37m24134m2.4m/s0%
12:009.6%0.38m24135m3.4m/s0%
13:008.5%0.39m24135m3.7m/s0%
14:004.9%0.41m24134m4m/s0%
15:005.6%0.41m24135m4.2m/s0%
16:006.8%0.41m24134m3.7m/s0%
17:006.8%0.41m24135m3.9m/s0%
18:008%0.4m24135m3.9m/s0%
19:009.5%0.4m24135m3.7m/s0%
20:0010%0.45m24135m2.1m/s0%
21:009.1%0.44m24134m1.9m/s0%
22:003.2%0.43m24135m1.5m/s0%
23:003.2%0.42m24135m0.92m/s0%
Sun, May 24
24:003.5%0.51m24134m0.8m/s0%
01:003.5%0.51m24135m0.8m/s0%
02:003.7%0.41m24134m0.51m/s0%
03:003.1%0.42m24134m0.8m/s0%
04:008.8%0.42m24134m0.81m/s0%
05:009.9%0.43m24134m0.71m/s0%
06:009.2%0.43m24135m0.82m/s0%
07:006.8%0.44m24134m1.7m/s0%
08:005.5%0.38m24135m2.5m/s0%
09:005.5%0.39m24135m3.7m/s0%
10:004.5%0.41m24135m4.3m/s0%
11:004.5%0.42m24134m4.8m/s0%
12:005.2%0.42m24134m5.1m/s0%
13:005.2%0.43m24134m5m/s0%
14:005.2%0.43m24134m4.8m/s0%
15:005.2%0.43m24135m4.3m/s5.3%
16:007.1%0.44m24134m4.2m/s11%
17:006.3%0.44m24135m4.6m/s16%
18:008.1%0.46m24134m4.8m/s27%
19:0010%0.47m24135m2.5m/s38%
20:009.7%0.49m24135m2.8m/s49%
21:008.5%0.53m24135m3.7m/s54%
22:003.2%0.58m24135m5m/s60%
23:002.9%0.62m24135m3.2m/s65%
Mon, May 25
24:003.3%0.74m24134m4.2m/s75%
01:003.3%0.86m24134m5.8m/s86%
02:002.7%0.98m24134m6.6m/s96%
03:007.3%1.1m24135m7.6m/s97%
04:0021%1.3m24134m10m/s99%
05:0027%1.5m24135m13m/s100%
06:0032%1.6m14180m14m/s100%
07:0027%1.8m5326m15m/s100%
08:0020%1.9m921m15m/s100%
09:0020%1.9m416m16m/s95%
10:0016%1.9m498m17m/s89%
11:0015%1.9m298m13m/s84%
12:0021%1.8m549m9.6m/s84%
13:0015%1.8m276m5.7m/s84%
14:0020%1.7m153m2.1m/s84%
15:0025%1.7m140m2.3m/s56%
16:0030%1.6m896m4m/s28%
17:0035%1.6m10697m5.7m/s0%
18:0046%1.5m24134m6.9m/s0%
19:0039%1.5m24134m7.7m/s0%
20:0046%1.4m24135m7.2m/s0%
21:0037%1.4m24134m7.2m/s0%
22:0013%1.4m24135m3.9m/s0%
23:0011%1.3m24134m1.7m/s0%
Tue, May 26
24:0011%1.3m24134m1.7m/s0%
01:0011%1.3m24134m3.2m/s0%
02:0013%1.2m24135m7.4m/s0%
03:0013%1.2m24134m4.2m/s0%
04:0033%1.2m24135m1.8m/s0%
05:0037%1.2m24134m1.8m/s0%
06:0034%1.1m24135m2.2m/s0%
07:0029%1.1m24134m2.7m/s0%
08:0024%1.1m24134m2.2m/s0%
09:0031%1.1m24134m2.2m/s0%
10:0020%1.1m24135m1.8m/s0%
11:0015%1m24135m2.4m/s0%
12:0015%1.1m24134m2.8m/s0%
13:0015%1.1m24135m3.7m/s0%
14:009.3%1.1m24134m4.5m/s0%
15:0013%1.1m16914m7.3m/s17%
16:0016%1.1m9693m10m/s33%
17:0011%1.2m2473m13m/s50%
18:0015%1.2m2856m9.2m/s42%
19:0019%1.2m3239m5.5m/s34%
20:0018%1.2m3621m1.8m/s26%
21:0017%1.3m6754m2.7m/s22%
22:006.6%1.3m9886m3.6m/s19%
23:006.9%1.3m13019m4.5m/s15%
Wed, May 27
24:007.6%1.3m16724m6.3m/s16%
01:008.2%1.2m20429m8m/s16%
02:007.7%1.2m24135m9.7m/s17%
03:007.7%1.1m24135m9.2m/s15%
04:0022%1.1m24135m8.7m/s12%
05:0025%1m24135m8.1m/s10%
06:0030%0.98m24135m7.7m/s15%
07:0023%0.95m24135m7.3m/s21%
How to read: colored cells show whether each predicate requirement is met; highlighted rows mean the full rule matched (an opportunity).

What does Coastal Drama Score mean?

Inputs that drive the score

This derived score summarizes multiple raw weather signals. The table below shows the supporting inputs hour by hour, so you can see what's pushing the score up or down.

Time
America/New_York
High Clouds
%
Low Clouds
%
Mid-Level Clouds
%
Primary Swell Height
m
Primary Wave Direction
°
Sea Salt AOD (550nm)
Solar Elevation
°
Total Cloud Coverage
%
Wind Direction
°
Wind Speed
m/s
Wind Wave Height
m
Wind Wave Period
s
Sun, May 24 Sunrise 04:57 Sunset 20:02
09:00
100% 0% 100% 0.17m 149° 0.007 41° 100% 159° 2.2m/s 0.33m 3.6s
10:00
100% 0% 100% 0.17m 151° 0.007 51° 100% 172° 2.7m/s 0.34m 3.6s
11:00
100% 0% 100% 0.17m 152° 0.007 60° 100% 176° 2.9m/s 0.36m 3.7s
12:00
100% 0% 100% 0.24m 152° 0.007 66° 100% 186° 3.2m/s 0.36m 3.7s
13:00
100% 0% 100% 0.3m 151° 0.007 66° 100% 190° 3.3m/s 0.37m 3.8s
14:00
100% 0% 100% 0.37m 150° 0.006 60° 100% 193° 3.2m/s 0.37m 3.9s
15:00
100% 0% 100% 0.38m 150° 0.006 51° 100% 192° 2.8m/s 0.38m 4s
16:00
100% 55% 100% 0.38m 150° 0.007 41° 100% 184° 2.6m/s 0.39m 4s
17:00
100% 100% 100% 0.39m 150° 0.009 30° 100% 172° 2.8m/s 0.4m 4.1s
18:00
100% 100% 100% 0.41m 150° 0.01 20° 100% 175° 2.2m/s 0.41m 4.3s
19:00
100% 100% 100% 0.43m 151° 0.02 9.4° 100% 185° 1.5m/s 0.42m 4.4s
20:00
100% 100% 97% 0.45m 151° 0.03 0.17° 100% 146° 1.6m/s 0.43m 4.6s
21:00
100% 100% 84% 0.37m 152° 0.04 -9° 100% 137° 1.7m/s 0.48m 4.7s
22:00
100% 100% 96% 0.28m 152° 0.05 -16° 100% 140° 1.9m/s 0.54m 4.8s
23:00
100% 100% 100% 0.2m 152° 0.06 -22° 100% 145° 1.5m/s 0.59m 4.9s
Mon, May 25 Sunrise 04:56 Sunset 20:03
24:00
100% 100% 100% 0.22m 150° 0.08 -24° 100% 146° 1.8m/s 0.71m 4.9s
01:00
100% 100% 100% 0.24m 149° 0.08 -24° 100% 148° 2m/s 0.82m 4.8s
02:00
100% 100% 100% 0.26m 147° 0.08 -21° 100% 127° 2.1m/s 0.94m 4.8s
03:00
100% 100% 54% 0.19m 150° 0.08 -16° 100% 125° 2.4m/s 1.1m 5.3s
04:00
100% 100% 99% 0.12m 153° 0.07 -8.9° 100% 130° 3.1m/s 1.3m 5.7s
05:00
100% 100% 100% 0.05m 156° 0.06 0.28° 100% 132° 3.7m/s 1.5m 6.2s
06:00
100% 100% 100% 0.66m 156° 0.06 9.5° 100% 136° 4.5m/s 1.7m 6.7s
07:00
100% 100% 100% 1.3m 157° 0.07 20° 100% 138° 4.9m/s 1.9m 7.1s
08:00
100% 100% 100% 1.9m 157° 0.09 30° 100% 138° 4.6m/s 2m 7.5s
09:00
100% 100% 100% 1.9m 157° - 41° 100% 134° 5.5m/s 2m 7.7s
10:00
100% 100% 100% 1.9m 157° - 51° 100% 133° 5.6m/s 1.9m 7.8s
11:00
100% 100% 100% 1.9m 157° - 60° 100% 151° 3.4m/s 1.9m 7.9s
12:00
100% 100% 100% 1.8m 157° - 66° 100% 152° 2.6m/s 1.8m 8s
13:00
100% 100% 100% 1.8m 156° - 66° 100% 144° 1.6m/s 1.8m 8.1s
14:00
100% 100% 100% 1.7m 156° - 60° 100% 96° 1.5m/s 1.7m 8.2s
15:00
100% 100% 58% 1.7m 156° - 51° 100% 343° 1.3m/s 1.7m 8.2s
16:00
100% 100% 0% 1.6m 155° - 41° 100% 332° 1.7m/s 1.6m 8.3s
17:00
100% 100% 0% 1.6m 155° - 30° 100% 342° 2.9m/s 1.6m 8.3s
18:00
99% 100% 0% 1.5m 154° - 20° 100% 332° 3.7m/s 1.5m 8.3s
19:00
94% 98% 0% 1.5m 154° - 9.5° 98% 328° 3.2m/s 1.4m 8.3s
20:00
70% 94% 0% 1.4m 153° - 0.29° 94% 339° 3.6m/s 1.4m 8.4s
21:00
86% 71% 0% 1.4m 153° - -8.8° 95% 346° 2.4m/s 1.4m 8.4s
22:00
100% 83% 0% 1.4m 152° - -16° 100% 326° 1.9m/s 1.3m 8.4s
23:00
100% 72% 0% 1.3m 152° - -21° 100% 291° 1.7m/s 1.2m 8.4s
Tue, May 26 Sunrise 04:55 Sunset 20:04
24:00
100% 22% 0% 1.3m 151° - -24° 100% 283° 1.8m/s 1.2m 8.3s
01:00
100% 0% 0% 1.3m 150° - -24° 100% 297° 2.1m/s 1.1m 8.3s
02:00
100% 1% 0% 1.2m 150° - -21° 100% 309° 2.4m/s 1.1m 8.3s
03:00
100% 6% 0% 1.2m 149° - -16° 100% 313° 2.2m/s 1m 8.3s
04:00
100% 2% 1% 1.2m 148° - -8.8° 100% 323° 1.9m/s 0.99m 8.3s
05:00
100% 0% 0% 1.2m 148° - 0.37° 100% 329° 1.8m/s 0.93m 8.2s
06:00
100% 0% 0% 1.1m 146° - 9.6° 100% 331° 1.7m/s 0.88m 8.2s
07:00
100% 0% 1% 1.1m 145° - 20° 100% 330° 1.6m/s 0.83m 8.1s
08:00
100% 0% 1% 1.1m 144° - 31° 100% 313° 1.3m/s 0.78m 8.1s
09:00
41% 0% 3% 1.1m 144° - 41° 41% 277° 1.5m/s 0.73m 8s
10:00
74% 0% 3% 1.1m 143° - 51° 74% 245° 1.3m/s 0.68m 8s
11:00
5% 0% 0% 1m 143° - 60° 5% 208° 2.2m/s 0.62m 8s
12:00
0% 0% 0% 1m 143° - 66° 0% 192° 3.1m/s 0.57m 7.9s
13:00
0% 0% 0% 1m 143° - 66° 0% 197° 3.7m/s 0.52m 7.9s
14:00
0% 0% 0% 0.99m 142° - 60° 0% 198° 4.5m/s 0.47m 7.9s
15:00
0% 28% 21% 0.97m 143° - 51° 28% 204° 4.3m/s 0.55m 7.9s
16:00
0% 56% 43% 0.96m 143° - 41° 56% 211° 4.1m/s 0.63m 7.9s
17:00
0% 84% 64% 0.94m 143° - 31° 84% 217° 3.9m/s 0.71m 7.8s
18:00
0% 72% 44% 0.91m 144° - 20° 72% 215° 3.1m/s 0.76m 7.8s
19:00
0% 60% 25% 0.89m 144° - 9.7° 61% 214° 2.2m/s 0.82m 7.8s
20:00
0% 49% 5% 0.86m 144° - 0.42° 49% 213° 1.3m/s 0.87m 7.7s
21:00
0% 37% 3% 0.83m 144° - -8.7° 37% 239° 1.5m/s 0.94m 7.7s
22:00
0% 24% 2% 0.8m 145° - -16° 24% 265° 1.8m/s 1m 7.7s
23:00
0% 12% 0% 0.77m 145° - -21° 12% 292° 2m/s 1.1m 7.6s
Wed, May 27 Sunrise 04:54 Sunset 20:05
24:00
0% 10% 0% 0.82m 145° - -24° 10% 298° 3m/s 1.1m 7.6s
01:00
0% 7% 0% 0.88m 145° - -24° 7% 304° 4m/s 1m 7.5s
02:00
0% 4% 0% 0.93m 145° - -21° 4% 310° 5m/s 0.97m 7.5s
03:00
0% 3% 0% 0.88m 145° - -16° 3% 315° 5.1m/s 0.94m 7.5s
04:00
0% 2% 0% 0.84m 145° - -8.6° 2% 319° 5.2m/s 0.9m 7.4s
05:00
0% 0% 0% 0.79m 145° - 0.47° 0% 323° 5.3m/s 0.87m 7.4s
06:00
31% 0% 0% 0.76m 145° - 9.7° 31% 320° 5.1m/s 0.75m 7.4s
07:00
62% 0% 0% 0.72m 146° - 20° 62% 317° 4.9m/s 0.63m 7.3s
08:00
92% 0% 0% 0.69m 146° - 31° 92% 314° 4.7m/s 0.51m 7.3s
How to read: these inputs help produce the derived score; they are not requirements by themselves.

Get Notified of Opportunities

Create your own custom alerts for this location and more.

Create Free Account