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Rule Dramatic Seascapes

Cape Cod - Dramatic Seascapes - New England, USA

Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States

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

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Here’s what usually blocks matches

No Dramatic Seascapes opportunities in the next 14 days

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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 100% failing
Precipitation Chance 56% failing

Currently

Real-time conditions
Wave Height0.1m
Swell Height0.1m
Wind Speed5.7m/s (moderate winds)
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.

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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
09:007.8%0.21m24134m3.2m/s0%
10:005.5%0.2m24135m3.5m/s0%
11:005.5%0.2m24134m3.4m/s0%
12:005.5%0.2m24135m3.4m/s0%
13:005.5%0.19m24135m3.5m/s0%
14:005.2%0.15m24134m3.1m/s0%
15:005.2%0.14m24134m3.2m/s0%
16:006.3%0.12m24134m3.5m/s33%
17:006.3%0.11m24135m4.1m/s50%
18:007.4%0.12m24135m4.1m/s38%
19:008.8%0.14m24135m4.5m/s27%
20:0011%0.2m24135m5.8m/s15%
21:009.1%0.21m24135m6m/s16%
22:003.5%0.22m24135m6.2m/s7.7%
23:003.7%0.23m24135m6.8m/s12%
Sun, May 24
24:003.5%0.21m24134m8.3m/s16%
01:003.5%0.2m24135m8.8m/s21%
02:003.7%0.15m24134m8.8m/s26%
03:003.7%0.14m24134m8.9m/s65%
04:0011%0.13m24134m9.1m/s77%
05:0012%0.12m24134m9.3m/s90%
06:0012%0.11m24135m9.9m/s92%
07:0010%0.11m24134m11m/s95%
08:009.3%0.06m24135m12m/s97%
09:007.6%0.08m24135m11m/s97%
10:005.8%0.1m23883m9.2m/s98%
11:005.2%0.12m15696m7.8m/s98%
12:005.6%0.19m19409m9.6m/s99%
13:005.8%0.25m18537m11m/s99%
14:005.4%0.32m12720m12m/s100%
15:005.4%0.35m14090m13m/s99%
16:005.5%0.39m9139m14m/s98%
17:004.7%0.42m7456m14m/s97%
18:007.6%0.37m10131m14m/s98%
19:009.2%0.33m10779m15m/s99%
20:008.4%0.28m7309m16m/s100%
21:009.1%0.25m12289m17m/s81%
22:003.2%0.22m12809m17m/s62%
23:002.8%0.19m17449m17m/s43%
Mon, May 25
24:001.2%0.18m1670m17m/s52%
01:001.6%0.18m657m17m/s61%
02:001.2%0.17m331m16m/s69%
03:001.2%0.18m186m14m/s68%
04:003.4%0.19m184m13m/s66%
05:004.1%0.2m156m10m/s64%
06:005.6%0.26m128m9.4m/s76%
07:005%0.31m108m8.9m/s87%
08:005%0.37m106m8.8m/s98%
09:004%0.45m92m8.9m/s86%
10:003.3%0.54m97m7.8m/s74%
11:003.3%0.62m107m6.7m/s62%
12:004.5%0.79m132m5.1m/s63%
13:004.5%0.96m167m4.8m/s63%
14:0010%1.1m394m3.2m/s63%
15:0011%1.1m5539m3.2m/s47%
16:0013%1.1m3319m4.3m/s31%
17:0017%1.1m3218m3m/s15%
18:0014%0.97m3375m2.5m/s17%
19:0020%0.85m24134m1.5m/s20%
20:0016%0.73m24135m0.72m/s22%
21:0014%0.67m24134m2.4m/s31%
22:004.8%0.6m24135m2.6m/s41%
23:005.7%0.54m24134m1.9m/s50%
Tue, May 26
24:004.7%0.51m24134m1.1m/s50%
01:004.7%0.48m24134m1.5m/s50%
02:004%0.45m24135m1m/s50%
03:004.7%0.41m24134m0.8m/s33%
04:0015%0.38m24135m1.7m/s17%
05:0014%0.34m14268m3.6m/s0%
06:0013%0.32m13433m4.8m/s0%
07:0012%0.3m15145m5m/s0%
08:0013%0.28m24134m3.4m/s0%
09:0011%0.26m24134m3.6m/s0%
10:008.3%0.25m24135m4.1m/s0%
11:008.2%0.23m24135m4.4m/s0%
12:004.6%0.32m24134m4.2m/s0%
13:004.2%0.41m24135m3.8m/s0%
14:004.8%0.5m24134m4.8m/s0%
15:007.9%0.56m24134m7.5m/s0%
16:0011%0.62m24135m10m/s0%
17:006.8%0.68m24135m13m/s0%
18:0011%0.65m22645m13m/s0%
19:0014%0.61m21154m13m/s0%
20:009.2%0.58m19664m13m/s0%
21:008.1%0.55m19388m12m/s0%
22:003.3%0.52m19112m12m/s0%
23:003.1%0.49m18836m11m/s0%
Wed, May 27
24:004.4%0.48m16930m11m/s0%
01:004.6%0.46m15024m10m/s0%
02:003%0.45m13118m9.6m/s0%
03:003%0.46m16790m9.4m/s0%
04:008.1%0.46m20463m9.2m/s0%
05:008.4%0.47m24135m9m/s0%
06:0012%0.46m24135m7.5m/s0%
07:009.2%0.45m24135m5.9m/s0%
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 05:13 Sunset 20:02
09:00
100% 100% 100% 0.07m 179° 0.04 40° 100% 125° 5.7m/s 0.07m 5s
10:00
100% 100% 100% 0.07m 178° 0.04 51° 100% 129° 4.7m/s 0.08m 3.8s
11:00
100% 100% 100% 0.07m 177° 0.04 61° 100% 122° 3.7m/s 0.1m 2.6s
12:00
100% 100% 100% 0.09m 179° 0.05 68° 100% 111° 4.2m/s 0.17m 2.5s
13:00
100% 100% 100% 0.11m 182° 0.05 69° 100% 102° 4.8m/s 0.25m 2.5s
14:00
100% 100% 100% 0.13m 185° 0.05 63° 100% 102° 5.6m/s 0.32m 2.4s
15:00
18% 100% 100% 0.13m 187° 0.05 54° 100% 93° 6.3m/s 0.35m 2.6s
16:00
18% 100% 100% 0.12m 188° 0.05 43° 100% 91° 7.1m/s 0.39m 2.8s
17:00
8% 100% 100% 0.12m 190° 0.05 32° 100% 97° 7.2m/s 0.42m 2.9s
18:00
71% 100% 100% 0.1m 189° 0.05 21° 100% 97° 7.5m/s 0.37m 2.9s
19:00
100% 100% 100% 0.07m 188° 0.05 9.9° 100% 102° 7.7m/s 0.33m 2.9s
20:00
100% 100% 100% 0.05m 186° 0.05 0.13° 100% 105° 7.8m/s 0.28m 2.9s
21:00
100% 100% 60% 0.05m 184° 0.06 -9.6° 100% 108° 8.5m/s 0.25m 2.8s
22:00
100% 100% 77% 0.05m 183° 0.08 -17° 100% 114° 8.4m/s 0.22m 2.8s
23:00
84% 100% 33% 0.05m 181° 0.09 -23° 100% 122° 8.3m/s 0.19m 2.8s
Mon, May 25 Sunrise 05:13 Sunset 20:03
24:00
100% 100% 7% 0.12m 177° 0.1 -27° 100% 130° 8m/s 0.18m 2.8s
01:00
100% 100% 48% 0.19m 172° 0.11 -27° 100% 133° 7.7m/s 0.17m 2.9s
02:00
100% 100% 41% 0.26m 168° 0.12 -25° 100% 140° 7.1m/s 0.16m 3s
03:00
100% 100% 99% 0.2m 166° 0.11 -19° 100% 149° 6.4m/s 0.17m 2.8s
04:00
100% 100% 100% 0.15m 164° 0.1 -12° 100% 155° 5.9m/s 0.19m 2.6s
05:00
100% 100% 100% 0.09m 162° 0.09 -2.8° 100% 165° 4.8m/s 0.2m 2.5s
06:00
100% 100% 100% 0.09m 157° 0.07 7.2° 100% 172° 4.3m/s 0.26m 2.5s
07:00
100% 100% 100% 0.08m 152° 0.06 18° 100% 184° 3.9m/s 0.31m 2.6s
08:00
100% 100% 100% 0.08m 148° 0.04 29° 100% 192° 4m/s 0.37m 2.8s
09:00
100% 100% 100% 0.13m 145° - 40° 100% 199° 3.9m/s 0.45m 3s
10:00
100% 100% 100% 0.19m 142° - 51° 100% 214° 3.8m/s 0.52m 3.1s
11:00
100% 100% 100% 0.24m 139° - 61° 100% 236° 3.2m/s 0.6m 3.3s
12:00
100% 100% 100% 0.19m 148° - 68° 100% 299° 3.6m/s 0.78m 4s
13:00
100% 100% 100% 0.14m 158° - 69° 100% 344° 3.4m/s 0.95m 4.6s
14:00
100% 98% 100% 0.09m 167° - 63° 100% 345° 2.2m/s 1.1m 5.2s
15:00
100% 84% 100% 0.42m 168° - 54° 100% 334° 2.4m/s 1.3m 5.6s
16:00
100% 97% 100% 0.76m 169° - 43° 100% 338° 3.3m/s 1.4m 6s
17:00
100% 96% 100% 1.1m 170° - 32° 100% 303° 1.8m/s 1.5m 6.4s
18:00
100% 92% 100% 0.97m 170° - 21° 100% 324° 1.4m/s 1m 6.5s
19:00
100% 97% 100% 0.84m 170° - 10° 100% 312° 0.83m/s 0.58m 6.5s
20:00
100% 13% 100% 0.72m 170° - 0.25° 100% 175° 0.6m/s 0.13m 6.5s
21:00
100% 17% 100% 0.65m 172° - -9.5° 100% 194° 2.1m/s 0.15m 7s
22:00
100% 18% 100% 0.57m 175° - -17° 100% 199° 2.2m/s 0.17m 7.6s
23:00
100% 16% 100% 0.5m 177° - -23° 100% 213° 1.7m/s 0.19m 8.1s
Tue, May 26 Sunrise 05:12 Sunset 20:04
24:00
100% 12% 83% 0.46m 177° - -27° 100% 201° 1m/s 0.2m 8.3s
01:00
98% 10% 27% 0.42m 176° - -27° 98% 179° 1.4m/s 0.21m 8.4s
02:00
100% 7% 78% 0.38m 176° - -24° 100% 167° 0.89m/s 0.22m 8.5s
03:00
100% 10% 99% 0.36m 176° - -19° 100% 77° 0.79m/s 0.19m 8.5s
04:00
100% 54% 100% 0.33m 175° - -12° 100% 78° 1.7m/s 0.17m 8.5s
05:00
100% 91% 100% 0.31m 175° - -2.7° 100% 85° 2.7m/s 0.14m 8.5s
06:00
96% 99% 100% 0.29m 174° - 7.3° 100% 93° 3.1m/s 0.13m 8.4s
07:00
99% 100% 100% 0.28m 174° - 18° 100% 101° 3.2m/s 0.11m 8.3s
08:00
100% 99% 28% 0.26m 173° - 29° 100% 104° 2.4m/s 0.1m 8.3s
09:00
100% 98% 100% 0.24m 173° - 40° 100% 124° 2.5m/s 0.1m 8.2s
10:00
100% 90% 100% 0.23m 173° - 51° 100% 148° 2.9m/s 0.1m 8.1s
11:00
100% 81% 100% 0.21m 173° - 61° 100% 161° 3.3m/s 0.1m 8s
12:00
100% 75% 99% 0.3m 177° - 68° 100% 172° 3.3m/s 0.23m 6.3s
13:00
100% 92% 100% 0.4m 181° - 69° 100% 184° 3.1m/s 0.37m 4.6s
14:00
100% 91% 93% 0.49m 186° - 63° 100% 192° 3.9m/s 0.5m 2.9s
15:00
67% 61% 62% 0.47m 188° - 54° 67% 207° 5.3m/s 0.56m 3.1s
16:00
33% 30% 31% 0.45m 189° - 43° 33% 223° 6.7m/s 0.62m 3.4s
17:00
0% 0% 0% 0.43m 191° - 32° 0% 238° 8.1m/s 0.68m 3.6s
18:00
1% 33% 0% 0.31m 191° - 21° 33% 240° 8.6m/s 0.65m 3.6s
19:00
2% 67% 0% 0.2m 191° - 10° 67% 243° 9.1m/s 0.61m 3.6s
20:00
4% 100% 0% 0.08m 190° - 0.37° 100% 246° 9.6m/s 0.58m 3.6s
21:00
16% 100% 0% 0.1m 191° - -9.3° 100% 248° 9.4m/s 0.54m 3.6s
22:00
29% 100% 0% 0.12m 192° - -17° 100% 251° 9.3m/s 0.51m 3.5s
23:00
42% 100% 0% 0.14m 193° - -23° 100% 254° 9.1m/s 0.47m 3.5s
Wed, May 27 Sunrise 05:11 Sunset 20:04
24:00
31% 72% 0% 0.23m 192° - -26° 72% 253° 8.4m/s 0.57m 3.5s
01:00
21% 44% 0% 0.33m 191° - -27° 45% 252° 7.8m/s 0.68m 3.5s
02:00
11% 16% 0% 0.42m 190° - -24° 18% 250° 7.1m/s 0.78m 3.5s
03:00
9% 11% 0% 0.33m 188° - -19° 13% 247° 7m/s 0.67m 3.8s
04:00
7% 5% 0% 0.23m 185° - -12° 9% 243° 6.8m/s 0.55m 4s
05:00
5% 0% 0% 0.14m 183° - -2.6° 5% 240° 6.7m/s 0.44m 4.2s
06:00
37% 0% 0% 0.14m 182° - 7.4° 37% 242° 5.6m/s 0.43m 4.2s
07:00
68% 0% 0% 0.13m 181° - 18° 68% 244° 4.5m/s 0.43m 4.2s
08:00
100% 0% 0% 0.13m 180° - 29° 100% 247° 3.4m/s 0.42m 4.2s
How to read: these inputs help produce the derived score; they are not requirements by themselves.

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