Live wave height, wind and water temp — plus an 8-day forecast scored 0–100 for every sport.
Photo: Bernardo Baggio / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
Today at Praia do Areal Sul: Excellent for kite foiling — 89/100 for expert level. Wind 7 kn SW · Waves 2.7 m, 12 s · Tide -1.3 to 0.3 m. Best window around 10:00 UTC. Today's conditions at Praia do Areal Sul: 2.2m waves with moderate cross-shore wind. Surfing looks Epic! in the afternoon, with Kite Foiling also worth considering. Water temperature is 16°C / 61°F.
Forecast updated · ShorSense™
Today plus the next two days are free for everyone — scored in 3-hour windows, just like the app. The full 8-day forecast lives in the 4Shor app.
Praia do Areal Sul faces W, open to the prevailing westerlies, so the wind arrives off the water rather than filtered through the land — the clean, steady flow kite foiling wants, and the reason gusts here are sea breezes rather than land turbulence.
Today's wind is cross-shore at 7 kn. Straight cross-shore is the classic kite foiling direction: it lets you hold a line along the beach rather than fighting to get back to it.
Over the published window Praia do Areal Sul clears 60/100 for kite foiling at Advanced, Expert levels — that is who this spot is for on this sport. Today, 0 of 11 daylight hours clear that line at Intermediate.
Among the 31 scored spots within reach today, Praia do Areal Sul ranks 24th for kite foiling. The order changes by discipline: the same conditions that put a spot top for one sport can drop it down the list for another.
Satellite-derived bathymetry with 10 m pixels and 10 cm vertical resolution out to ~40 m depth. The shape of the seabed is what determines where and how waves break.
Most apps run a single global model at 9–25 km. We blend regional NWP from national meteorological offices at 1.3–2 km — UK Met Office UKV, Météo-France AROME HD, ItaliaMeteo ICON-2I — with ECMWF IFS for the 8-day horizon. Finer resolution means the sea breeze, cliff funnelling and bay shadowing that changes everything for a session.
A nearshore wave model propagates the spectrum across the bathymetric mesh — modelling refraction, shoaling, dissipation, focusing and breaking as it goes. Most apps stop at swell + wind. We go further.
10 sport models × 4 ability levels weight wave height, period, wind, tide and breaking conditions differently — calibrated against ridden sessions so the scores mean what they say.
A roughly 300 m Atlantic-facing sandy beach break backed by dunes to the north and cliffs at centre and south, with rocky areas and sea urchins present. Waves are described as strong and occasionally dangerous, drawing surfers and bodyboarders, including competitions. Holds Blue Flag and Gold Quality status. Lifeguard-supervised 20 June-13 Sept 2026; hours unpublished. Boat and kayak rentals are available, but no tow or rescue-boat service is documented.
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Wind at Praia do Areal Sul today: 7 kn SW (gusting 23 kn). Wind direction relative to the shore affects kite foiling conditions significantly — offshore winds produce cleaner, glassier surfaces while onshore winds add chop. These are daily averages; the 4Shor app shows hourly detail.
Waves at Praia do Areal Sul today: 2.7 m, 12 s period from NW, crumbling character. 4Shor derives nearshore wave conditions from ECMWF IFS 9-km atmospheric data and the IBI regional ocean model, updated hourly.
For beginners, Praia do Areal Sul scores 35/100 today for surfing — Poor. A score of 65–79 is Good for a beginner; 80+ is Excellent (90+ is Epic!); below 45 the session is usually not worth it. 4Shor scores every location across Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Expert levels.
Praia do Areal Sul is scored for Surfing, Windsurfing, Kite Surfing, Kite Foiling, Wing Foiling, E-Foiling, Paddleboarding, Swimming, Kayaking, Canoeing in the 4Shor forecast system. Conditions are rated Beginner through Expert for each sport, updated every hour, so you always know whether the session is worth the drive.
Praia do Areal Sul is a coastal location near Praia da Areia Branca in Portugal. It is one of more than 2,500 European water-sport locations scored daily by 4Shor.
4Shor's ShorSense™ system combines satellite-derived seafloor mapping, nearshore wave models, wind and tide data to generate a hyper-local forecast. At Praia do Areal Sul, conditions are scored hourly on a 0–100 scale for each sport and ability level. A score of 80+ means Excellent (90+ Epic!); 65–79 is Good; below 45 the session is usually not worth the drive.
Questions about 4Shor itself — accuracy, pricing, the free trial — are answered on the FAQ page.
