Bretton Woods - Dramatic Seascapes - New England, USA
Dramatic coastal photography conditions - powerful waves combined with atmospheric drama and good visibility for seascape shots.
No Dramatic Seascapes opportunities in the next 14 days
Tip: Scroll down to the 72-hour table to see exactly which condition fails hour by hour.
Currently
Real-time conditionsUpcoming Opportunities
When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.
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 ruleThis 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.
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72-hour requirements breakdown
What passed or failed, hour by hourTime 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, Feb 21 | |||||
| 14:00 | - | - | 1155m | 2.5m/s | 26% |
| 15:00 | - | - | 1364m | 2.6m/s | 13% |
| 16:00 | - | - | 6982m | 2.6m/s | 0% |
| 17:00 | - | - | 9700m | 1.8m/s | 0% |
| 18:00 | - | - | 23655m | 1.3m/s | 0% |
| 19:00 | - | - | 24135m | 1.4m/s | 0% |
| 20:00 | - | - | 23007m | 1.6m/s | 0% |
| 21:00 | - | - | 22757m | 1.8m/s | 0% |
| 22:00 | - | - | 11006m | 1.8m/s | 0% |
| 23:00 | - | - | 9914m | 1.7m/s | 0% |
| Sun, Feb 22 | |||||
| 24:00 | - | - | 11021m | 1.8m/s | 0% |
| 01:00 | - | - | 8869m | 1.8m/s | 0% |
| 02:00 | - | - | 10114m | 2.7m/s | 0% |
| 03:00 | - | - | 10555m | 1.9m/s | 0% |
| 04:00 | - | - | 12510m | 1.8m/s | 0% |
| 05:00 | - | - | 12503m | 1.8m/s | 0% |
| 06:00 | - | - | 13495m | 1.7m/s | 0% |
| 07:00 | - | - | 13498m | 1.8m/s | 0% |
| 08:00 | - | - | 24135m | 2.9m/s | 5.6% |
| 09:00 | - | - | 24135m | 3m/s | 11% |
| 10:00 | - | - | 24135m | 3m/s | 17% |
| 11:00 | - | - | 24135m | 3.3m/s | 11% |
| 12:00 | - | - | 24135m | 3.5m/s | 5.6% |
| 13:00 | - | - | 23781m | 3.3m/s | 0% |
| 14:00 | - | - | 23748m | 3.2m/s | 1.2% |
| 15:00 | - | - | 24134m | 3m/s | 2.5% |
| 16:00 | - | - | 24135m | 3.1m/s | 3.7% |
| 17:00 | - | - | 24135m | 2.1m/s | 16% |
| 18:00 | - | - | 14524m | 2.7m/s | 27% |
| 19:00 | - | - | 13578m | 3.1m/s | 39% |
| 20:00 | - | - | 14225m | 3m/s | 39% |
| 21:00 | - | - | 10055m | 3m/s | 39% |
| 22:00 | - | - | 13021m | 2.6m/s | 39% |
| 23:00 | - | - | 11379m | 2.7m/s | 39% |
| Mon, Feb 23 | |||||
| 24:00 | - | - | 13833m | 3.1m/s | 39% |
| 01:00 | - | - | 24134m | 3.2m/s | 39% |
| 02:00 | - | - | 14306m | 3.3m/s | 33% |
| 03:00 | - | - | 11183m | 3.1m/s | 27% |
| 04:00 | - | - | 5904m | 2.8m/s | 21% |
| 05:00 | - | - | 4836m | 3.6m/s | 33% |
| 06:00 | - | - | 8159m | 3.1m/s | 45% |
| 07:00 | - | - | 22489m | 3.8m/s | 56% |
| 08:00 | - | - | 24134m | 4.1m/s | 64% |
| 09:00 | - | - | 24135m | 4.4m/s | 71% |
| 10:00 | - | - | 5053m | 4.6m/s | 79% |
| 11:00 | - | - | 2264m | 5.6m/s | 84% |
| 12:00 | - | - | 1461m | 5.1m/s | 89% |
| 13:00 | - | - | 1571m | 6.7m/s | 94% |
| 14:00 | - | - | 1612m | 7.9m/s | 83% |
| 15:00 | - | - | 1570m | 8.5m/s | 73% |
| 16:00 | - | - | 2076m | 8.8m/s | 63% |
| 17:00 | - | - | 3464m | 8.9m/s | 67% |
| 18:00 | - | - | 2145m | 8m/s | 70% |
| 19:00 | - | - | 786m | 8.2m/s | 74% |
| 20:00 | - | - | 752m | 8.4m/s | 62% |
| 21:00 | - | - | 653m | 8.3m/s | 51% |
| 22:00 | - | - | 457m | 7.2m/s | 39% |
| 23:00 | - | - | 327m | 7.3m/s | 53% |
| Tue, Feb 24 | |||||
| 24:00 | - | - | 454m | 9m/s | 68% |
| 01:00 | - | - | 349m | 8.8m/s | 82% |
| 02:00 | - | - | 248m | 9m/s | 55% |
| 03:00 | - | - | 349m | 9.6m/s | 27% |
| 04:00 | - | - | 318m | 9.7m/s | 0% |
| 05:00 | - | - | 278m | 9.2m/s | 27% |
| 06:00 | - | - | 325m | 9.6m/s | 55% |
| 07:00 | - | - | 291m | 9.5m/s | 82% |
| 08:00 | - | - | 264m | 8.1m/s | 72% |
| 09:00 | - | - | 443m | 7.3m/s | 62% |
| 10:00 | - | - | 469m | 6.7m/s | 53% |
| 11:00 | - | - | 490m | 6m/s | 48% |
| 12:00 | - | - | 614m | 5.6m/s | 44% |
| 13:00 | - | - | 521m | 5.3m/s | 39% |
| 14:00 | - | - | 383m | 5.2m/s | 26% |
| 15:00 | - | - | 684m | 4.8m/s | 13% |
| 16:00 | - | - | 1148m | 4.5m/s | 0% |
| 17:00 | - | - | 682m | 4.5m/s | 0% |
| 18:00 | - | - | 3027m | 3.1m/s | 0% |
| 19:00 | - | - | 4991m | 1.2m/s | 0% |
| 20:00 | - | - | 9523m | 1.1m/s | 0% |
| 21:00 | - | - | 14055m | 0.94m/s | 0% |
| 22:00 | - | - | 18586m | 0.8m/s | 0% |
| 23:00 | - | - | 13269m | 1.1m/s | 13% |
| Wed, Feb 25 | |||||
| 24:00 | - | - | 7953m | 1.4m/s | 26% |
| 01:00 | - | - | 2636m | 1.6m/s | 39% |
| 02:00 | - | - | 1810m | 2m/s | 50% |
| 03:00 | - | - | 984m | 2.4m/s | 62% |
| 04:00 | - | - | 158m | 2.8m/s | 74% |
| 05:00 | - | - | 177m | 3m/s | 80% |
| 06:00 | - | - | 196m | 3.2m/s | 87% |
| 07:00 | - | - | 215m | 3.4m/s | 93% |
| 08:00 | - | - | 1689m | 2.9m/s | 90% |
| 09:00 | - | - | 3164m | 2.5m/s | 86% |
| 10:00 | - | - | 4638m | 2m/s | 83% |
| 11:00 | - | - | 5469m | 1.7m/s | 87% |
| 12:00 | - | - | 6299m | 1.5m/s | 90% |
What does Coastal Drama Score mean?
Inputs that drive the scoreThis 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, Feb 22
Sunrise 06:34
Sunset 17:24 | ||||||||||||
| 14:00 | 0% | 64% | 100% | - | - | 0.008 | 29° | 100% | 133° | 2m/s | - | - |
| 15:00 | 100% | 61% | 100% | - | - | 0.01 | 22° | 100% | 120° | 1.9m/s | - | - |
| 16:00 | 100% | 74% | 100% | - | - | 0.01 | 13° | 100% | 142° | 2.1m/s | - | - |
| 17:00 | 100% | 7% | 99% | - | - | 0.01 | 3.6° | 100% | 123° | 1.8m/s | - | - |
| 18:00 ☾ | 100% | 68% | 99% | - | - | 0.009 | -7° | 100% | 127° | 2.4m/s | - | - |
| 19:00 ☾ | 100% | 70% | 100% | - | - | 0.009 | -18° | 100% | 128° | 2.5m/s | - | - |
| 20:00 ☾ | 100% | 44% | 100% | - | - | 0.009 | -28° | 100% | 123° | 2.6m/s | - | - |
| 21:00 ☾ | 100% | 34% | 100% | - | - | 0.01 | -38° | 100% | 125° | 2.5m/s | - | - |
| 22:00 ☾ | 100% | 38% | 100% | - | - | 0.01 | -47° | 100% | 116° | 2.3m/s | - | - |
| 23:00 ☾ | 100% | 56% | 100% | - | - | 0.01 | -53° | 100% | 112° | 2.1m/s | - | - |
| Mon, Feb 23
Sunrise 06:33
Sunset 17:25 | ||||||||||||
| 24:00 ☾ | 100% | 58% | 100% | - | - | 0.01 | -56° | 100% | 119° | 2.4m/s | - | - |
| 01:00 ☾ | 100% | 98% | 100% | - | - | 0.009 | -53° | 100% | 123° | 2.2m/s | - | - |
| 02:00 ☾ | 100% | 96% | 100% | - | - | 0.008 | -47° | 100% | 89° | 2.3m/s | - | - |
| 03:00 ☾ | 100% | 99% | 100% | - | - | 0.009 | -38° | 100% | 115° | 2.1m/s | - | - |
| 04:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | 0.01 | -28° | 100% | 106° | 1.9m/s | - | - |
| 05:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | 0.01 | -17° | 100% | 92° | 2.3m/s | - | - |
| 06:00 ☾ | 100% | 69% | 100% | - | - | 0.008 | -6.6° | 100% | 55° | 2m/s | - | - |
| 07:00 | 100% | 18% | 100% | - | - | 0.006 | 4.1° | 100% | 43° | 2.2m/s | - | - |
| 08:00 | 100% | 68% | 100% | - | - | 0.006 | 14° | 100% | 59° | 2m/s | - | - |
| 09:00 | 100% | 48% | 100% | - | - | 0.006 | 23° | 100% | 25° | 2.7m/s | - | - |
| 10:00 | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | 0.007 | 30° | 100% | 33° | 2.5m/s | - | - |
| 11:00 | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | 0.008 | 34° | 100% | 5° | 3.6m/s | - | - |
| 12:00 | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | 0.008 | 36° | 100% | 16° | 3.3m/s | - | - |
| 13:00 | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | 0.008 | 34° | 100% | 6° | 4.1m/s | - | - |
| 14:00 | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | 0.009 | 30° | 100% | 0° | 4.3m/s | - | - |
| 15:00 | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | 0.009 | 22° | 100% | 354° | 4.2m/s | - | - |
| 16:00 | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | 0.009 | 14° | 100% | 348° | 4.4m/s | - | - |
| 17:00 | 100% | 100% | 96% | - | - | 0.008 | 3.9° | 100% | 341° | 4.3m/s | - | - |
| 18:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | 0.008 | -6.8° | 100% | 333° | 4m/s | - | - |
| 19:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | 0.008 | -18° | 100% | 330° | 3.8m/s | - | - |
| 20:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 99% | - | - | - | -28° | 100% | 323° | 3.8m/s | - | - |
| 21:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | - | -38° | 100% | 321° | 3.8m/s | - | - |
| 22:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 86% | - | - | - | -47° | 100% | 315° | 3.4m/s | - | - |
| 23:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | - | -53° | 100% | 309° | 3.3m/s | - | - |
| Tue, Feb 24
Sunrise 06:31
Sunset 17:27 | ||||||||||||
| 24:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 98% | - | - | - | -55° | 100% | 313° | 3.8m/s | - | - |
| 01:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | - | -53° | 100% | 309° | 3.7m/s | - | - |
| 02:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | - | -46° | 100% | 304° | 3.9m/s | - | - |
| 03:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | - | -38° | 100% | 307° | 3.6m/s | - | - |
| 04:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | - | -28° | 100% | 312° | 3.6m/s | - | - |
| 05:00 ☾ | 9% | 100% | 98% | - | - | - | -17° | 100% | 311° | 3.8m/s | - | - |
| 06:00 ☾ | 72% | 100% | 5% | - | - | - | -6.3° | 100% | 311° | 3.8m/s | - | - |
| 07:00 | 30% | 100% | 5% | - | - | - | 4.3° | 100% | 307° | 3.3m/s | - | - |
| 08:00 | 5% | 100% | 57% | - | - | - | 14° | 100% | 309° | 3.7m/s | - | - |
| 09:00 | 0% | 100% | 97% | - | - | - | 23° | 100% | 311° | 3.8m/s | - | - |
| 10:00 | 0% | 100% | 100% | - | - | - | 30° | 100% | 312° | 3.7m/s | - | - |
| 11:00 | 0% | 100% | 100% | - | - | - | 35° | 100% | 312° | 3.6m/s | - | - |
| 12:00 | 0% | 100% | 75% | - | - | - | 36° | 100% | 308° | 3.5m/s | - | - |
| 13:00 | 0% | 100% | 3% | - | - | - | 35° | 100% | 304° | 3.7m/s | - | - |
| 14:00 | 0% | 100% | 0% | - | - | - | 30° | 100% | 300° | 3.7m/s | - | - |
| 15:00 | 0% | 100% | 0% | - | - | - | 23° | 100% | 304° | 3.3m/s | - | - |
| 16:00 | 0% | 100% | 1% | - | - | - | 14° | 100% | 302° | 3m/s | - | - |
| 17:00 | 67% | 100% | 100% | - | - | - | 4.1° | 100% | 301° | 2.7m/s | - | - |
| 18:00 ☾ | 90% | 91% | 77% | - | - | - | -6.5° | 93% | 309° | 1.8m/s | - | - |
| 19:00 ☾ | 4% | 91% | 0% | - | - | - | -17° | 91% | 292° | 0.93m/s | - | - |
| 20:00 ☾ | 36% | 75% | 33% | - | - | - | -28° | 94% | 227° | 0.93m/s | - | - |
| 21:00 ☾ | 68% | 59% | 67% | - | - | - | -38° | 97% | 162° | 0.93m/s | - | - |
| 22:00 ☾ | 100% | 43% | 100% | - | - | - | -46° | 100% | 97° | 0.93m/s | - | - |
| 23:00 ☾ | 100% | 62% | 100% | - | - | - | -53° | 100% | 91° | 1m/s | - | - |
| Wed, Feb 25
Sunrise 06:29
Sunset 17:28 | ||||||||||||
| 24:00 ☾ | 100% | 81% | 100% | - | - | - | -55° | 100% | 84° | 1.1m/s | - | - |
| 01:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | - | -52° | 100% | 78° | 1.2m/s | - | - |
| 02:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | - | -46° | 100% | 80° | 1.3m/s | - | - |
| 03:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | - | -37° | 100% | 82° | 1.5m/s | - | - |
| 04:00 ☾ | 100% | 100% | 100% | - | - | - | -27° | 100% | 84° | 1.6m/s | - | - |
| 05:00 ☾ | 67% | 100% | 100% | - | - | - | -17° | 100% | 89° | 1.7m/s | - | - |
| 06:00 ☾ | 33% | 100% | 100% | - | - | - | -6° | 100% | 93° | 1.8m/s | - | - |
| 07:00 | 0% | 100% | 100% | - | - | - | 4.6° | 100% | 97° | 1.9m/s | - | - |
| 08:00 | 0% | 98% | 100% | - | - | - | 14° | 100% | 91° | 1.7m/s | - | - |
| 09:00 | 0% | 97% | 100% | - | - | - | 23° | 100% | 84° | 1.5m/s | - | - |
| 10:00 | 0% | 95% | 100% | - | - | - | 30° | 100% | 78° | 1.3m/s | - | - |
| 11:00 | 0% | 92% | 100% | - | - | - | 35° | 100% | 80° | 1.3m/s | - | - |
| 12:00 | 0% | 89% | 100% | - | - | - | 37° | 100% | 83° | 1.4m/s | - | - |
| 13:00 | 0% | 87% | 100% | - | - | - | 35° | 100% | 86° | 1.4m/s | - | - |
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