primary swell... secondary swell... please explain

[baggins]

Ok so you may just want to throw a link at me to some site that explains this as its probably a real kooky thing to ask

since MSW changed the look and layout of their forecasts I've noticed theres 2 swells that show - primary and secondary

whats that all about?

and how does that affect the 'Overview' part of the forecast?

cheers

Philbo

[Black]

Waves are composed of one or more swells which may come from different directions, depending on how they interact they may increase or interfere with the waves produced at the sharp end so to speak. The best waves are probably made by a single (primary) swell with long period although a secondary small interference swell may not cause too much trouble. There's more explaining but thats my best explanation straight off. Primary is the main swell secondary is another swell which has influence.

[baggins]

Thanks for that. Well explained makes sense.
I take it then that the result of primary swell combined with the secondary is what influences the overview prediction on MSW then?
Philbo

[Black]

Thats it as I understand it.