We anticipate a great swell hitting Nazaré later this week," said Mike Parsons, WSL Big Wave Tour Commissioner. "A WNW swell is moving toward the region and expected to hit Praia do Norte with ideal winds on Friday, November 16. We have issued a Yellow Alert to potentially run on Friday. We are closely monitoring the conditions, and if all continues to align, we will go Green 48 hours prior.

The Big Wave Tour is placing the Nazaré Challenge on Yellow Alert with a projected swell headed towards the region.

The WSL Big Wave team constantly monitors swell-producing storms that have the potential to produce waves over 30 feet. They issue a 'Yellow Alert' when a large swell, paired with favorable weather conditions, is forecasted to hit one of our Big Wave Tour locations. Once the Yellow Alert is issued, the WSL Big Wave team continues to carefully track the swells and conditions with the aim of issuing a 'Green Alert' 48 hours ahead of the event start.

Surfline, forecast partner of the WSL, is calling for:

A developing storm near Greenland is expected to produce a strong WNW swell for Friday. Confidence is medium to high for a swell to provide good surf throughout the day. We expect to see wave face size in the 20-30' range through the day on Friday, with the very largest sets of the morning up to 35'.

While this isn't a giant swell, especially by Nazare standards, local wind and conditions look about as good as it gets on Friday: light+ offshore ESE wind through the morning, trending more SE (still offshore) for the early afternoon hours, generally below 10 knots. Furthermore, the two previous days (Wednesday-Thursday) are also expected to see light offshore wind and small swell, which should mean conditions are extra clean on Friday.

Nazaré Challenge Competitor List:

Alternates:

If called on, the WSL Nazaré Challenge will broadcast LIVE on Facebook and worldsurfleague.com (no Facebook login required for desktop viewing).