Surfing Waves

Been surfing for so long but I've only noticed today that a 3-4 feet waves on a regular day is very different to a 3-4 feet on a stormy day. Even though the sets are super clean, there's so much energy and it's powerful. The rip current is insane! I always thought the size of the wave = how powerful the waves is. Or how much energy determines the size of the wave.

Size is part of the equation but also the speed and thickness of the wave. Perhaps the stormy day waves are generated nearby and the regular day is from far away. I am used to surfing nearby generated waves and have had to adjust to waves from far away. There are so many factors that go into wave generation I am not sure I understand it but when I see beautiful clean glassy waves they tend to be weaker than stormy waves. The speed, duration of the winds generating the waves as well the distance on the surface of the water they are blowing on and distance away from the surf spot affects how fast or powerful it is. I think the size of circles the water travels in is the ultimate indicator of power (but I could be wrong). waves are circles of water moving. Bigger circles mean more force I think but again I am not sure and not a physicist. LOL Part of the force also has to do with the depth of the bottom. Waves coming from deep water to rapidly shallow water seem more powerful but if you are surfing the same place it will only be the tide that would affect that or if a sand break the formation of shallow sandbars. I think bigger circles means thicker lips which means more power. So a storm nearby coming from out in the ocean and moving toward the shore at the speed of the waves generated would be the most powerful for the size (my guess). That is the normal conditions for my home break. So it's too close to get really big but there is a long distance of a lower speed wind on the surface of the water.