Live wave height, wind and water temp — plus an 8-day forecast scored 0–100 for every sport.
Photo: Michael Gaylard from Horsham, UK / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
Today at Prainha do Caniçal: Okay for surfing — 62/100 for beginner level. Wind 8 kn NE · Waves 0.7 m, 4 s · Tide -0.8 to 0.4 m. Best window around 04:00 UTC. Today's conditions at Prainha do Caniçal: 0.7m waves with moderate cross-shore wind. Kite Foiling looks Epic! in the midday, with Wing Foiling also worth considering. Water temperature is 23°C / 74°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.
Prainha do Caniçal faces S. Which swells reach it — and therefore whether there is anything worth riding — depends on that aspect more than on the open-ocean forecast height.
Today's wind is cross-shore at 8 kn. Straight cross-shore sits between the two for surfing — the face stays rideable but the wall is less organised than on a clean offshore.
Over the published window Prainha do Caniçal clears 60/100 for surfing at Beginner level — that is who this spot is for on this sport. Today, 0 of 11 daylight hours clear that line at Intermediate.
Among the 26 scored spots within reach today, Prainha do Caniçal ranks 25th for surfing. 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.
This is a black volcanic-sand cove roughly 80 m wide, framed by basalt cliffs on Madeira's east coast. Conditions vary from calm and flat to exposed Atlantic beach-break swell. A beach bar, changing rooms and sun loungers are on site, but access is via a steep concrete staircase, difficult especially on the return climb. There has historically been no lifeguard cover, though a service was being procured for the 2025 bathing season.
Put live Prainha do Caniçal conditions on your own website — a free embeddable widget, updated hourly, in three sizes. No account needed.
Get the free Prainha do Caniçal widgetToday's conditions for Prainha do Caniçal are free. Unlock the full 8-day forecast and per-sport alerts that ping you when this location is about to fire. more than 2,500 European locations, scored from the seabed up.
Wind at Prainha do Caniçal today: 8 kn NE (gusting 22 kn). Wind direction relative to the shore affects surfing 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 Prainha do Caniçal today: 0.7 m, 4 s period from S, mushy character. 4Shor derives nearshore wave conditions from ECMWF IFS 9-km atmospheric data and the IBI regional ocean model, updated hourly.
The best window for surfing at Prainha do Caniçal today is around 04:00 UTC, when conditions score 41/100 for intermediate level. Conditions can shift by the hour — the 4Shor app shows the full 24-hour score chart.
For beginners, Prainha do Caniçal scores 62/100 today for surfing — Okay. 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.
Prainha do Caniçal 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.
Prainha do Caniçal is a coastal location near Quinta do Lorde 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 Prainha do Caniçal, 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.
