What conditions does Dramatic Seascapes look for?

Coastal Drama Score: ≥ 75.0%. Significant Wave Height: ≥ 1.5m. Visibility: ≥ 5000.0m. Wind Gusts: ≤ 22.0m/s. Precipitation Chance: ≤ 30.0%

How often do conditions match?

There are 5 upcoming opportunity windows in the next 10 days.

More Dramatic Seascapes in Algarve, Portugal

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Rule Dramatic Seascapes

Albufeira - Dramatic Seascapes - Algarve, Portugal

Albufeira, Faro, Portugal

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

Currently

Real-time conditions

Coastal Drama Score

40%

Wave Height3.6m

Swell Height3.6m

Wind Speed7.1m/s (moderate winds)

Cloud Cover5%

Upcoming Opportunities

When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.

Times shown in Europe/Lisbon

Next opportunity

Powerful Seascape at Sunset

Albufeira

Tomorrow · 19:00–21:00 · 2h window

Medium confidence

49%

🌊Coastal Drama Score84.6-92.8%

Wave Height: 6.0m

Swell Height: 4.7m

Wind Speed: 2.3m/s (calm conditions)

Cloud Cover: 89%

Spectacular Seascape

Albufeira

Tomorrow · 21:00–22:00

🌊Coastal Drama Score:100%

High

Powerful Seascape at Sunrise

Albufeira

Mon, Apr 20 · 07:00–08:00

🌊Coastal Drama Score:80.8%

Medium

Spectacular Seascape

Albufeira

Mon, Apr 20 · 08:00–09:00

🌊Coastal Drama Score:88.2%

Medium

Powerful Seascape at Sunrise

Albufeira

Fri, Apr 24 · 07:00–08:00

🌊Coastal Drama Score:77.5%

Medium

What this forecast looks for

Plain-language explanation from the rule

The Algarve coastline combines powerful Atlantic wave action with soft limestone geology, creating one of Europe's most dramatic coastal landscapes. Centuries of erosion have carved spectacular sea caves, towering stacks, and natural arches that demand careful timing for optimal conditions.

Benagil's famous sea cave—with its collapsed roof creating a natural skylight—becomes most dramatic when Atlantic swells surge through the entrance, creating dynamic foreground motion. Ponta da Piedade near Lagos features a maze of golden limestone pillars, sea arches, and hidden grottos best captured during stormy conditions when waves crash against the formations.

What makes Algarve coastal drama exceptional:

Benagil Cathedral Cave - Iconic dome skylight with beach interior, best photographed by kayak or paddleboard
Ponta da Piedade stacks - Dozens of formations creating intricate composition opportunities
Sagres fortress cliffs - Europe's southwestern corner where Atlantic meets Mediterranean influence
Erosion patterns - Honeycomb weathering and tafoni creating unique cliff textures

Winter months (November-February) bring the most powerful Atlantic storms and dramatic wave action. Sunrise often provides calmer conditions for sea cave access, while afternoon westerly winds create more dramatic spray and wave patterns. Always respect safety—these cliffs are actively eroding.

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72-hour requirements breakdown

What passed or failed, hour by hour

5matching hours in the next 95 hoursJump to next match

AND logic: all conditions required

Meets requirement

Misses requirement

Time Europe/Lisbon	Coastal Drama Score ≥ 75.0%	Significant Wave Height ≥ 1.5m	Visibility ≥ 5000.0m	Wind Gusts ≤ 22.0m/s	Precipitation Chance ≤ 30.0%
Fri, Apr 17
14:00	37%	2.1m	24135m	6.5m/s	0%
15:00	29%	2.2m	24134m	5.6m/s	0%
16:00	36%	2.2m	24135m	4.6m/s	0%
17:00	37%	2.3m	24135m	4.8m/s	0%
18:00	41%	2.4m	24135m	3.7m/s	0%
19:00	40%	2.5m	24135m	3m/s	0%
20:00	15%	0.34m	24135m	2.2m/s	0%
21:00	13%	0.4m	24135m	2.3m/s	0%
22:00	4.3%	0.37m	24134m	2m/s	0%
23:00	4.9%	0.36m	24134m	2.1m/s	0%
Sat, Apr 18
24:00	2.7%	0.31m	24134m	2.6m/s	0%
01:00	3.1%	0.23m	24134m	2.9m/s	0%
02:00	3.4%	0.28m	24135m	2.5m/s	0%
03:00	3.2%	0.29m	24134m	3.2m/s	0%
04:00	5.7%	0.32m	24135m	4.8m/s	0%
05:00	3.2%	0.33m	24135m	6.2m/s	0%
06:00	9.6%	0.67m	24134m	6.5m/s	0%
07:00	11%	0.29m	24135m	6.8m/s	0%
08:00	60%	3.2m	24134m	4.9m/s	0%
09:00	7.6%	0.3m	24134m	5.3m/s	0%
10:00	48%	3.4m	24135m	8.1m/s	0%
11:00	6.2%	0.31m	24134m	9.3m/s	0%
12:00	5.1%	0.42m	24135m	10m/s	0%
13:00	40%	3.9m	24134m	10m/s	0%
14:00	40%	3.6m	24134m	9.4m/s	0%
15:00	41%	3.4m	24135m	8.1m/s	0%
16:00	46%	3.2m	24135m	6.8m/s	0%
17:00	56%	3.3m	24135m	5.6m/s	0%
18:00	59%	3.4m	24135m	4.6m/s	0%
19:00	72%	3.5m	24134m	4.1m/s	0%
20:00	63%	3.6m	24135m	3.8m/s	0%
21:00	67%	3.7m	24135m	3.1m/s	0%
22:00	25%	3.8m	24134m	2.7m/s	0%
23:00	23%	3.8m	24134m	2.4m/s	0%
Sun, Apr 19
24:00	21%	3.8m	24135m	2.6m/s	0%
01:00	19%	3.8m	24135m	2.7m/s	0%
02:00	19%	3.9m	24135m	3.4m/s	0%
03:00	29%	4m	24135m	4.2m/s	0%
04:00	25%	4.1m	24135m	5.3m/s	0%
05:00	23%	4.3m	24135m	4.2m/s	0%
06:00	65%	4.4m	24134m	4.3m/s	0%
07:00	64%	4.5m	24134m	6.4m/s	0%
08:00	59%	4.7m	24135m	7.4m/s	0%
09:00	52%	4.8m	24134m	6.5m/s	0%
10:00	42%	4.9m	24134m	7m/s	0%
11:00	50%	5m	24134m	7.4m/s	0%
12:00	54%	5.1m	24135m	7.4m/s	0%
13:00	46%	5.2m	24134m	6.9m/s	0%
14:00	46%	5.3m	24135m	6.5m/s	0%
15:00	48%	5.4m	24135m	6.2m/s	0%
16:00	69%	5.6m	24134m	5.2m/s	0%
17:00	57%	5.7m	24134m	4.5m/s	0%
18:00	68%	5.8m	24134m	3.8m/s	0%
19:00	85%	6m	24134m	2.6m/s	0%
20:00	93%	6m	24134m	0.72m/s	0%
21:00	100%	6m	24134m	0.83m/s	0%
22:00	30%	6m	24135m	1.8m/s	0%
23:00	30%	5.8m	24134m	2.3m/s	0%
Mon, Apr 20
24:00	27%	5.7m	24135m	2.8m/s	0%
01:00	27%	5.5m	24134m	4.8m/s	0%
02:00	25%	5.3m	24135m	7.6m/s	0%
03:00	25%	5.1m	24135m	2.8m/s	0%
04:00	25%	4.9m	24134m	4m/s	0%
05:00	25%	4.7m	24135m	4m/s	0%
06:00	71%	4.5m	24134m	2.8m/s	0%
07:00	81%	4.3m	24134m	3.5m/s	0%
08:00	88%	4.2m	24134m	7.1m/s	0%
09:00	72%	4m	24135m	8.5m/s	0%
10:00	59%	3.9m	24135m	7.2m/s	0%
11:00	50%	3.8m	24134m	9.1m/s	0%
12:00	50%	3.6m	24134m	10m/s	0%
13:00	39%	3.5m	24135m	10m/s	0%
14:00	37%	3.4m	24135m	9m/s	0%
15:00	37%	3.3m	24134m	8.8m/s	0%
16:00	43%	3.2m	24134m	8.1m/s	0%
17:00	42%	3.1m	24135m	7.2m/s	0%
18:00	44%	3m	24135m	6.7m/s	0%
19:00	59%	2.9m	24135m	5.5m/s	0%
20:00	66%	2.8m	24135m	7.9m/s	1.6%
21:00	53%	2.8m	24135m	10m/s	3.3%
22:00	19%	2.7m	24135m	13m/s	4.9%
23:00	18%	2.6m	24135m	12m/s	3.3%
Tue, Apr 21
24:00	18%	2.5m	24135m	12m/s	1.6%
01:00	14%	2.5m	24135m	12m/s	0%
02:00	14%	2.4m	24135m	9.8m/s	7.4%
03:00	13%	2.4m	24135m	7.3m/s	15%
04:00	13%	2.3m	24135m	4.8m/s	22%
05:00	15%	2.3m	24135m	7.9m/s	31%
06:00	53%	2.2m	24135m	11m/s	41%
07:00	64%	2.2m	24135m	14m/s	50%
08:00	57%	2.2m	24135m	10m/s	46%
09:00	51%	2.1m	24135m	6.4m/s	43%
10:00	38%	2.1m	24135m	2.4m/s	39%
11:00	40%	2.1m	24135m	2.5m/s	33%
12:00	32%	2.1m	24135m	2.6m/s	28%

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 Europe/Lisbon	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
Sat, Apr 18 Sunrise 06:55 Sunset 20:10
14:00	5%	0%	0%	3.6m	188°	0.007	63°	5%	113°	7.1m/s	0.27m	11s
15:00	94%	0%	2%	3.4m	188°	0.007	57°	94%	111°	6.2m/s	0.31m	10s
16:00	100%	0%	4%	3.2m	189°	0.008	48°	100%	111°	5.6m/s	0.36m	10s
17:00	18%	0%	13%	2.9m	187°	0.009	37°	20%	115°	4.8m/s	1.1m	10s
18:00	5%	0%	5%	2.5m	185°	0.009	25°	5%	115°	4.1m/s	1.9m	9.8s
19:00	4%	0%	4%	2.2m	182°	0.01	13°	5%	115°	3.7m/s	2.7m	9.5s
20:00	6%	0%	0%	2m	173°	0.01	1.5°	6%	114°	3.4m/s	3m	9.3s
21:00 ☾	60%	0%	0%	1.7m	165°	0.01	-10°	60%	113°	3.1m/s	3.2m	9.1s
22:00 ☾	32%	0%	7%	1.5m	156°	0.01	-21°	32%	97°	2.7m/s	3.5m	8.9s
23:00 ☾	5%	0%	31%	1.5m	154°	0.01	-30°	31%	95°	2.4m/s	3.5m	8.9s
Sun, Apr 19 Sunrise 06:55 Sunset 20:10
24:00 ☾	12%	0%	13%	1.4m	153°	0.01	-37°	18%	74°	2.5m/s	3.4m	8.9s
01:00 ☾	9%	0%	5%	1.4m	151°	0.01	-41°	9%	67°	2.8m/s	3.4m	8.9s
02:00 ☾	5%	0%	5%	1.7m	145°	0.01	-41°	5%	74°	3.2m/s	3.3m	9s
03:00 ☾	60%	0%	6%	1.9m	140°	0.01	-38°	60%	83°	3.8m/s	3.3m	9s
04:00 ☾	97%	0%	18%	2.2m	134°	0.01	-31°	97%	92°	4m/s	3.3m	9.1s
05:00 ☾	100%	0%	41%	1.6m	134°	0.01	-21°	100%	95°	3.5m/s	3.7m	9.3s
06:00 ☾	100%	0%	100%	1.1m	134°	0.01	-11°	100%	76°	3.4m/s	4.1m	9.6s
07:00	100%	0%	99%	0.56m	133°	0.01	0.86°	100%	80°	4.6m/s	4.5m	9.8s
08:00	98%	0%	93%	0.46m	134°	0.01	12°	99%	102°	4.5m/s	4.6m	10s
09:00	92%	0%	6%	0.35m	135°	0.02	24°	92%	101°	4.1m/s	4.8m	10s
10:00	100%	0%	5%	0.25m	137°	0.02	36°	100%	98°	4.5m/s	4.9m	11s
11:00	96%	0%	5%	1.5m	138°	0.02	47°	96%	98°	5.2m/s	4.5m	11s
12:00	39%	0%	4%	2.8m	140°	0.01	57°	39%	103°	5.8m/s	4.1m	11s
13:00	100%	0%	0%	4.1m	142°	0.01	63°	100%	111°	5.7m/s	3.7m	11s
14:00	100%	0%	5%	4.2m	143°	0.01	63°	100%	107°	5.6m/s	4m	11s
15:00	91%	0%	5%	4.2m	144°	0.01	58°	91%	109°	5.3m/s	4.3m	12s
16:00	57%	0%	3%	4.3m	146°	0.01	48°	57%	115°	4.6m/s	4.6m	12s
17:00	89%	0%	5%	4.4m	147°	0.01	37°	89%	122°	4.1m/s	4.5m	12s
18:00	84%	0%	1%	4.6m	149°	0.01	25°	84%	124°	3.4m/s	4.3m	12s
19:00	89%	0%	0%	4.7m	150°	0.02	13°	89%	118°	2.3m/s	4.2m	13s
20:00	77%	0%	0%	4.6m	150°	0.02	1.7°	77%	143°	0.47m/s	4.2m	13s
21:00 ☾	52%	0%	0%	4.5m	150°	0.02	-10°	52%	334°	0.79m/s	4.2m	13s
22:00 ☾	100%	0%	5%	4.3m	151°	0.02	-21°	100%	345°	1.7m/s	4.1m	13s
23:00 ☾	100%	0%	23%	4.2m	151°	0.02	-30°	100%	338°	2.4m/s	4m	13s
Mon, Apr 20 Sunrise 06:53 Sunset 20:11
24:00 ☾	100%	0%	100%	4.1m	152°	0.02	-37°	100%	33°	2.8m/s	3.9m	13s
01:00 ☾	100%	0%	66%	4m	152°	0.02	-41°	100%	70°	4.4m/s	3.7m	13s
02:00 ☾	99%	0%	61%	4m	153°	-	-41°	99%	85°	5.7m/s	3.4m	13s
03:00 ☾	100%	0%	94%	4m	154°	-	-37°	100%	82°	2.6m/s	3.1m	13s
04:00 ☾	100%	0%	100%	4m	155°	-	-30°	100%	83°	3.6m/s	2.8m	12s
05:00 ☾	100%	0%	98%	3.9m	154°	-	-21°	100%	76°	3.4m/s	2.7m	12s
06:00 ☾	100%	0%	20%	3.9m	154°	-	-11°	100%	61°	2.6m/s	2.5m	12s
07:00	100%	0%	11%	3.8m	153°	-	1.1°	100%	78°	3.3m/s	2.4m	12s
08:00	25%	0%	11%	3.8m	153°	-	13°	29%	82°	5.3m/s	2.1m	12s
09:00	3%	0%	50%	3.8m	154°	-	24°	50%	84°	5.2m/s	1.9m	12s
10:00	68%	0%	5%	3.8m	154°	-	36°	68%	101°	4.6m/s	1.6m	12s
11:00	16%	1%	5%	3.7m	154°	-	48°	16%	106°	6.3m/s	1.5m	12s
12:00	31%	1%	5%	3.6m	153°	-	57°	31%	107°	7.5m/s	1.4m	12s
13:00	100%	0%	4%	3.5m	152°	-	64°	100%	106°	7.4m/s	1.3m	11s
14:00	100%	0%	5%	3.4m	152°	-	64°	100%	111°	6.6m/s	0.99m	11s
15:00	100%	0%	49%	3.3m	151°	-	58°	100%	110°	6.6m/s	0.71m	11s
16:00	100%	0%	100%	3.2m	151°	-	48°	100%	109°	5.8m/s	0.43m	11s
17:00	100%	0%	88%	3.1m	151°	-	37°	100%	105°	5.3m/s	0.39m	11s
18:00	18%	0%	99%	3m	152°	-	25°	99%	101°	5.1m/s	0.36m	11s
19:00	83%	0%	79%	2.9m	152°	-	13°	88%	106°	4m/s	0.32m	11s
20:00	89%	0%	86%	2.8m	152°	-	1.9°	92%	106°	5.3m/s	0.28m	11s
21:00 ☾	94%	0%	93%	2.8m	152°	-	-9.8°	96%	105°	6.7m/s	0.25m	11s
22:00 ☾	100%	0%	100%	2.7m	152°	-	-20°	100%	105°	8m/s	0.21m	11s
23:00 ☾	100%	0%	90%	2.4m	150°	-	-30°	100%	105°	7.9m/s	0.18m	11s
Tue, Apr 21 Sunrise 06:52 Sunset 20:12
24:00 ☾	100%	0%	79%	2.1m	148°	-	-37°	100%	106°	7.8m/s	0.14m	11s
01:00 ☾	100%	0%	69%	1.8m	146°	-	-41°	100%	107°	7.6m/s	0.11m	10s
02:00 ☾	99%	4%	79%	1.9m	146°	-	-41°	100%	111°	6.5m/s	0.09m	10s
03:00 ☾	98%	8%	90%	1.9m	146°	-	-37°	100%	115°	5.3m/s	0.07m	10s
04:00 ☾	97%	12%	100%	1.9m	146°	-	-30°	100%	118°	4.2m/s	0.05m	10s
05:00 ☾	87%	8%	76%	2m	145°	-	-21°	90%	118°	6.2m/s	0.06m	10s
06:00 ☾	77%	4%	52%	2.1m	145°	-	-10°	80%	118°	8.2m/s	0.06m	10s
07:00	67%	0%	28%	2.2m	145°	-	1.3°	70%	118°	10m/s	0.07m	10s
08:00	46%	1%	43%	2.2m	144°	-	13°	71%	118°	7.5m/s	0.08m	10s
09:00	26%	2%	58%	2.1m	143°	-	25°	72%	119°	4.8m/s	0.08m	10s
10:00	5%	3%	73%	2.1m	143°	-	37°	73%	120°	2.1m/s	0.09m	10s
11:00	37%	2%	50%	2.1m	142°	-	48°	82%	154°	2.2m/s	0.1m	10s
12:00	68%	1%	27%	2.1m	142°	-	58°	91%	189°	2.4m/s	0.11m	10s
13:00	100%	0%	4%	2.1m	141°	-	64°	100%	223°	2.6m/s	0.12m	10s

How to read: these inputs help produce the derived score; they are not requirements by themselves.

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