Good question.
where is states “4ft, 12PM”
This is the predicted COMBINED swell height of all the swells you see "below " ...... in the ocean it is quite common to have multiple swells from multiple directions all occurring at the same time.... there might be a swell from New Zealand and a swell from Alaska.
Individually the swells might be only two feet, but when they COMBINE the observed swell will be bigger than two feet....
"but below the line it reads “1ft@14s from SW...1ft@13s from S....etc."
These swells that you are seeing "below" are all separate swells. This website uses data from the swells listed here and some kind of computer model to determine the combined swell height which is displayed at the top (4ft at 12 pm)
This is what they are talking about when people say mixed seas.... this means different swells from different angles are mixing together. These conditions are often the most dangerous and least enjoyable to fish in.
Swell height is important, but the period of the swell usually gives you the most useful info.....
This is a better site.... you can look at lots of different buoys and figure out the waves and wind for your local area... this is for La Jolla.
waves
http://cdip.ucsd.edu/?nav=recent&sub...oy_ww3&stn=073
wind
http://cdip.ucsd.edu/?nav=recent&sub...73&xitem=dwind
http://cdip.ucsd.edu/?nav=recent&sub...oy_ww3&stn=073
And yes if it's blowing then waves will build. The important thing to think about is sustained wind. This refers to is how long has it been blowing for. The first day of a wind event usually doesn't have much affect.... but two or three days of sustained wind will create a good wind swell.... and if it's windy all night you can expect the next day will not be fun.... hope this helps.