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More Dramatic Seascapes in Algarve, Portugal
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Rule Dramatic Seascapes

Sintra - Dramatic Seascapes - Algarve, Portugal

Sintra, Lisbon, Portugal

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

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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
Visibility 3% failing

Currently

Real-time conditions
Coastal Drama Score
7%
Wave Height0.6m
Swell Height0.1m
Wind Speed4.2m/s (calm conditions)
Cloud Cover16%

Upcoming Opportunities

When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.

Times shown in Europe/Lisbon

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

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
0matching hours in the next 95 hours
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%
Sat, May 23
14:005.1%0.68m18024m7.4m/s0%
15:005.1%0.7m18031m7.1m/s0%
16:005.1%0.72m18038m7.7m/s0%
17:006.2%0.73m18352m8.9m/s0%
18:006.2%0.73m24135m8.7m/s0%
19:0011%0.93m24134m8.4m/s0%
20:0010%0.94m24135m12m/s0%
21:0010%0.94m24134m12m/s0%
22:003.2%0.95m24135m12m/s0%
23:003.2%0.95m24135m11m/s0%
Sun, May 24
24:003.2%0.95m24135m8.2m/s0%
01:002.9%0.84m24135m5.9m/s0%
02:002.9%0.82m24134m4.9m/s0%
03:003.3%0.8m24135m4.5m/s0%
04:003.3%0.78m24135m3.9m/s0%
05:003.8%0.96m24134m4.7m/s0%
06:009.9%0.96m24135m5.2m/s0%
07:0017%1m24134m5.5m/s0%
08:007.6%0.99m24134m4.9m/s0%
09:008.8%0.97m24134m3.9m/s0%
10:007.5%0.95m24134m3.4m/s0%
11:007.7%0.92m24135m2.5m/s0%
12:005.1%0.89m18062m1.9m/s0%
13:005.1%0.66m18177m2.1m/s0%
14:007%0.63m13121m2.9m/s0%
15:003.9%0.59m1384m3.5m/s0%
16:003.9%0.56m1837m4m/s0%
17:006.2%0.55m24134m4.6m/s0%
18:006.2%0.54m24134m5.1m/s0%
19:007.4%0.53m24134m5m/s0%
20:008.8%0.53m24135m4.4m/s0%
21:009.6%0.52m24134m4.5m/s0%
22:003.5%0.52m24135m3.9m/s0%
23:004.3%0.5m24134m3.8m/s0%
Mon, May 25
24:003.1%0.48m24135m3.5m/s0%
01:003.4%0.46m24135m3.2m/s0%
02:002.7%0.45m24135m3.1m/s0%
03:003.1%0.45m24135m3.3m/s0%
04:003.1%0.44m24135m2.3m/s0%
05:003.1%0.42m24134m2.1m/s0%
06:0012%0.41m24134m2.6m/s0%
07:0012%0.39m24134m3.2m/s0%
08:0010%0.36m24135m3.7m/s0%
09:0010%0.33m24134m3.9m/s0%
10:0011%0.3m24135m3.9m/s0%
11:006.2%0.28m24135m3.4m/s0%
12:006.2%0.25m24134m3.6m/s0%
13:006%0.23m24135m4.3m/s0%
14:004.9%0.21m24134m3.6m/s0%
15:004.1%0.18m24134m3.3m/s0%
16:004.2%0.16m24134m4.1m/s0%
17:005%0.14m24134m3.9m/s0%
18:005%0.13m24135m3.9m/s0%
19:005.9%0.11m24134m3.9m/s0%
20:007.1%0.1m24135m3.9m/s0%
21:0011%0.1m24134m3.9m/s0%
22:005.8%0.09m24135m3.7m/s0%
23:002%0.09m24134m3.4m/s0%
Tue, May 26
24:003.1%0.1m24134m3m/s0%
01:002%0.1m24135m2.2m/s0%
02:002%0.12m24134m1.1m/s0%
03:002.1%0.13m24135m1.4m/s0%
04:002.5%0.15m24134m2.1m/s0%
05:002.5%0.18m24134m2.4m/s0%
06:008%0.21m24134m2.6m/s0%
07:007.4%0.24m24135m2.9m/s0%
08:006.1%0.28m24134m3.6m/s0%
09:006.1%0.31m24135m5m/s0%
10:005.2%0.35m24134m4.8m/s0%
11:004.3%0.38m24135m5m/s0%
12:005.1%0.42m24134m5m/s0%
13:006%0.45m24134m3.1m/s0%
14:006.6%0.47m24134m1.8m/s0%
15:004.9%0.49m24135m2.8m/s0%
16:004.7%0.51m24135m4.8m/s0%
17:005.7%0.54m24134m3.1m/s0%
18:005.7%0.57m24135m2.8m/s0%
19:005.8%0.6m24134m2.7m/s0%
20:009.5%0.64m24134m2.1m/s0%
21:008.8%0.69m24135m1.5m/s0%
22:006.7%0.73m24135m0.9m/s0%
23:002.7%0.76m24135m1.7m/s0%
Wed, May 27
24:002.7%0.79m24135m2.4m/s0%
01:003.2%0.82m24135m3.2m/s0%
02:003.2%0.85m24135m2.7m/s3.3%
03:003.2%0.88m24135m2.2m/s6.7%
04:003.7%0.91m24135m1.6m/s10%
05:003.7%0.92m24135m2.4m/s6.7%
06:0012%0.93m24135m3.1m/s3.3%
07:009.5%0.94m24135m3.8m/s0%
08:008%0.93m24135m4.3m/s0%
09:006.8%0.92m24135m4.8m/s0%
10:005.7%0.91m24135m5.2m/s0%
11:006.4%0.87m24135m4.8m/s0%
12:004.7%0.83m24135m4.3m/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
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
Sun, May 24 Sunrise 06:18 Sunset 20:50
14:00
5% 16% 5% 0.05m 114° 0.02 71° 16% 302° 4.2m/s 0.63m 3.7s
15:00
100% 21% 35% 0.05m 227° 0.02 64° 100% 298° 4.3m/s 0.59m 3.5s
16:00
100% 17% 96% 0.05m 339° 0.02 54° 100% 303° 4.4m/s 0.56m 3.4s
17:00
100% 2% 100% 0.05m 336° 0.02 43° 100% 316° 4.9m/s 0.55m 3.3s
18:00
100% 1% 100% 0.05m 332° 0.02 31° 100% 324° 5m/s 0.54m 3.2s
19:00
100% 1% 100% 0.05m 329° 0.02 19° 100% 333° 4.5m/s 0.53m 3.2s
20:00
100% 1% 100% 0.05m 329° 0.02 8.3° 100% 341° 4m/s 0.53m 3.1s
21:00 ☾
100% 1% 100% 0.05m 329° 0.02 -2.3° 100% 348° 4.1m/s 0.52m 3.2s
22:00 ☾
90% 0% 90% 0.05m 329° 0.02 -12° 90% 353° 3.6m/s 0.52m 3.2s
23:00 ☾
3% 0% 56% 0.05m 328° 0.02 -20° 56% 353° 3.5m/s 0.5m 3.1s
Mon, May 25 Sunrise 06:18 Sunset 20:50
24:00 ☾
0% 0% 19% 0.05m 326° 0.02 -26° 19% 354° 3.3m/s 0.48m 3.1s
01:00 ☾
0% 0% 14% 0.05m 324° 0.02 -30° 14% 356° 3m/s 0.46m 3s
02:00 ☾
0% 0% 3% 0.05m 326° 0.02 -30° 3% 355° 3m/s 0.45m 3s
03:00 ☾
0% 0% 3% 0.05m 328° 0.03 -27° 3% 7° 3.1m/s 0.45m 3s
04:00 ☾
0% 0% 3% 0.05m 330° 0.03 -21° 3% 35° 2.3m/s 0.44m 2.9s
05:00 ☾
0% 0% 0% 0.05m 332° 0.03 -13° 0% 81° 2.1m/s 0.42m 2.9s
06:00 ☾
0% 0% 0% 0.05m 334° 0.03 -3.8° 0% 115° 2.6m/s 0.4m 2.9s
07:00
0% 0% 0% 0.05m 335° 0.03 6.7° 0% 131° 3.1m/s 0.38m 2.8s
08:00
0% 0% 0% 0.06m 343° 0.02 18° 0% 138° 3.4m/s 0.35m 2.8s
09:00
0% 0% 3% 0.07m 350° 0.02 29° 3% 148° 3.5m/s 0.33m 2.8s
10:00
4% 0% 49% 0.08m 358° 0.02 41° 49% 164° 3.4m/s 0.3m 2.7s
11:00
56% 0% 96% 0.08m 243° 0.02 52° 96% 191° 3m/s 0.28m 2.7s
12:00
56% 0% 99% 0.07m 128° 0.01 63° 99% 213° 3.2m/s 0.25m 2.7s
13:00
96% 0% 100% 0.07m 13° 0.01 71° 100% 225° 3.5m/s 0.23m 2.8s
14:00
100% 0% 100% 0.09m 13° - 71° 100% 252° 3.1m/s 0.21m 2.7s
15:00
100% 0% 100% 0.12m 13° - 64° 100% 286° 3.3m/s 0.18m 2.6s
16:00
5% 0% 100% 0.14m 13° - 54° 100% 301° 4m/s 0.16m 2.5s
17:00
4% 0% 100% 0.11m 14° - 43° 100% 320° 3.8m/s 0.14m 2.5s
18:00
3% 0% 100% 0.09m 15° - 31° 100% 323° 3.7m/s 0.13m 2.4s
19:00
3% 0% 100% 0.06m 17° - 20° 100% 329° 3.6m/s 0.11m 2.3s
20:00
5% 0% 95% 0.06m 18° - 8.4° 95% 345° 3.6m/s 0.1m 2.3s
21:00 ☾
5% 0% 70% 0.07m 20° - -2.1° 70% 2° 3.7m/s 0.09m 2.2s
22:00 ☾
5% 0% 5% 0.07m 21° - -12° 5% 16° 3.6m/s 0.08m 2.2s
23:00 ☾
5% 0% 7% 0.07m 23° - -20° 7% 25° 3.4m/s 0.09m 2.1s
Tue, May 26 Sunrise 06:18 Sunset 20:51
24:00 ☾
33% 0% 89% 0.06m 25° - -26° 89% 32° 3m/s 0.09m 2s
01:00 ☾
94% 0% 100% 0.06m 27° - -30° 100% 43° 2.2m/s 0.1m 2s
02:00 ☾
100% 0% 57% 0.07m 29° - -30° 100% 36° 1.1m/s 0.12m 2s
03:00 ☾
100% 0% 83% 0.07m 32° - -27° 100% 56° 1.3m/s 0.13m 2s
04:00 ☾
100% 0% 78% 0.08m 34° - -21° 100% 66° 2.1m/s 0.15m 2s
05:00 ☾
100% 0% 94% 0.09m 37° - -13° 100% 82° 2.3m/s 0.18m 2.2s
06:00 ☾
100% 0% 19% 0.09m 40° - -3.7° 100% 89° 2.6m/s 0.21m 2.3s
07:00
100% 0% 88% 0.1m 43° - 6.8° 100% 87° 2.9m/s 0.24m 2.5s
08:00
96% 0% 46% 0.1m 43° - 18° 96% 88° 3.4m/s 0.28m 2.6s
09:00
99% 0% 69% 0.11m 43° - 29° 99% 95° 3.9m/s 0.31m 2.7s
10:00
98% 0% 76% 0.11m 42° - 41° 98% 111° 3.7m/s 0.35m 2.8s
11:00
99% 0% 68% 0.09m 42° - 53° 99% 133° 3.3m/s 0.38m 3s
12:00
100% 0% 26% 0.07m 42° - 63° 100% 169° 3m/s 0.42m 3.1s
13:00
100% 0% 8% 0.05m 42° - 71° 100% 194° 1.4m/s 0.45m 3.2s
14:00
21% 0% 5% 0.06m 39° - 72° 21% 294° 1.8m/s 0.47m 3.3s
15:00
5% 0% 16% 0.06m 37° - 65° 16% 302° 3.8m/s 0.49m 3.4s
16:00
5% 0% 5% 0.07m 34° - 54° 5% 309° 4.2m/s 0.51m 3.5s
17:00
5% 0% 5% 0.07m 31° - 43° 5% 328° 3m/s 0.54m 3.5s
18:00
5% 0% 5% 0.08m 27° - 31° 5% 344° 2.8m/s 0.57m 3.6s
19:00
5% 0% 5% 0.08m 24° - 20° 5% 354° 2.6m/s 0.6m 3.6s
20:00
5% 0% 5% 0.08m 22° - 8.5° 5% 246° 2m/s 0.64m 3.7s
21:00 ☾
5% 0% 5% 0.09m 20° - -2° 5% 139° 1.5m/s 0.69m 3.8s
22:00 ☾
5% 0% 5% 0.09m 18° - -12° 5% 31° 0.9m/s 0.73m 3.9s
23:00 ☾
5% 0% 4% 0.09m 18° - -20° 5% 72° 1.7m/s 0.76m 4s
Wed, May 27 Sunrise 06:17 Sunset 20:52
24:00 ☾
5% 0% 3% 0.1m 18° - -26° 5% 113° 2.4m/s 0.79m 4.1s
01:00 ☾
5% 0% 2% 0.1m 18° - -29° 5% 153° 3.2m/s 0.82m 4.2s
02:00 ☾
4% 0% 1% 0.1m 19° - -30° 4% 162° 2.7m/s 0.85m 4.3s
03:00 ☾
3% 0% 1% 0.11m 20° - -27° 3% 170° 2.1m/s 0.88m 4.3s
04:00 ☾
2% 0% 0% 0.11m 21° - -21° 2% 178° 1.6m/s 0.91m 4.4s
05:00 ☾
3% 0% 0% 0.11m 21° - -13° 3% 203° 2.3m/s 0.92m 4.5s
06:00 ☾
4% 0% 0% 0.12m 22° - -3.6° 4% 228° 3.1m/s 0.93m 4.6s
07:00
5% 0% 0% 0.12m 22° - 6.9° 5% 254° 3.8m/s 0.94m 4.7s
08:00
5% 0% 0% 0.13m 22° - 18° 5% 260° 3.9m/s 0.93m 4.7s
09:00
5% 0% 0% 0.15m 22° - 29° 5% 266° 4m/s 0.92m 4.7s
10:00
5% 0% 0% 0.16m 22° - 41° 5% 272° 4.1m/s 0.91m 4.7s
11:00
5% 0% 0% 0.15m 23° - 53° 5% 186° 3.7m/s 0.87m 4.6s
12:00
5% 0% 0% 0.13m 24° - 63° 5% 101° 3.3m/s 0.83m 4.6s
13:00
5% 0% 0% 0.12m 24° - 71° 5% 15° 2.9m/s 0.79m 4.6s
How to read: these inputs help produce the derived score; they are not requirements by themselves.

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