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Ch. Lightship wave buoy daily means for Mar 2011

Daily means from the Ch. Lightship wave buoy for Mar 2011, including available wave height, period, direction, wind and sea temperature data.

Last observation shown

Data available:  to 

Monthly means for

Latest

Period Summary

Programmatically generated summary. Hog Says

742 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 2.6 ft (10th–90th percentile 1.3–4.9 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 7.6 seconds (10th–90th percentile 6–10.4 seconds). Typical wind was 18.4 mph (10th–90th percentile 8.1–28.9 mph) and mean water temperature was 9.3°C (10th–90th percentile 9–10°C). 39 of 3,693 checked values (1.1%) were excluded by quality control. Across 1 comparable year, mean wave height was below the same-month mean of 4.2 ft and mean wave period was the same as the same-month mean of 7.6 seconds.

Generated only from the observations and comparisons shown on this page.

Typical Wave Height

2.6ft
Mean: 2.9 ft
P10–P90: 1.3 — 4.9 ft
Recorded extremes

0.7 — 8.2 ft

Available for 732 of 742 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

7.6secs
P10–P90: 6 — 10.4secs
Recorded extremes

5 — 13secs

Available for 727 of 742 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

9.3°C
P10–P90: 9 — 10°C
Recorded extremes

9 — 11°C

Available for 729 of 742 hourly samples

Typical Wind

Variable, 18.4mph
Mean: 18.5 mph
P10–P90: 8.1 — 28.9 mph
Recorded extremes

2.2 — 42.6 mph

Circular concentration: 27%

Available for 734 of 742 hourly samples

Compared With Previous Marchs

Historical baseline from 695 observations across 1 year.

Wave Height
2.9ft
1.3ft below mean
Historical mean 4.2ft
Wave Period
7.6s
In line with the historical mean
Historical mean 7.6s
Water Temperature
9.3°C
Not enough comparable data

Chart showing grouped wave observations for Ch. Lightship. Use the table on this page for a text version of the same measurements. To open hourly observations, use a linked day name in the table.

About Ch. Lightship wave buoy

Channel Lightship (WMO 62103) is a UK Met Office station in the central English Channel. Its offshore position provides marine observations away from the immediate influence of the coast and is useful for tracking conditions along this major shipping route. The feed can include wind, pressure, air and sea temperature, visibility and wave observations when available.

Metrics are rows; days run left to right.
Ch. Lightship wave buoy daily means Mar 2011Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)4554243235333332233222111234446
Mean observed period(s)6Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported9Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported9Reported9Reported6Reported5Reported6Reported11Reported11Reported11Reported11Reported9Reported8Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionNEconcentration 98%NEconcentration 96%NEconcentration 98%ENEconcentration 98%ENEconcentration 96%Econcentration 98%Econcentration 98%SWconcentration 75%Wconcentration 99%WSWconcentration 99%SSWconcentration 75%SSEconcentration 95%NWconcentration 64%ENEconcentration 92%ENEconcentration 95%NNEconcentration 92%WNWconcentration 78%Variableconcentration 16%ENEconcentration 79%SSWconcentration 87%Variableconcentration 14%NEconcentration 97%Econcentration 98%Econcentration 98%ENEconcentration 95%SSEconcentration 48%ENEconcentration 95%Econcentration 91%Sconcentration 76%SWconcentration 90%SWconcentration 99%
Mean wind speed (mph)232426271930261423311517142423161718131361220211061816111728
Mean water temperature(°C)9.09.09.09.09.09.09.09.09.09.09.09.09.19.09.09.29.09.09.09.19.59.49.49.59.610.010.010.010.010.010.0

Swipe sideways to see more days.

Wave metric colour key

Colours move through the scale as each number increases. They do not by themselves mean that conditions are good, safe or suitable for you.

Wave & swell height0–40+ ft
Wave & swell period0–22+ s
Wind speed0–75 mph

The displayed numbers remain the source of truth; colour is an additional visual cue.

Which wave period is shown?

The table shows the best period measurement supplied for each observation. It is not necessarily the energy period used to calculate wave power.

Tp
Peak period: the period at the strongest spectral peak.
Tavg
The provider's average wave period.
Tm02
A mean period calculated from the wave spectrum.
Tz
Mean zero-crossing period.
Reported
A legacy value whose period type was not recorded.
Mixed
A daily or monthly mean containing more than one period type.

Wave power needs a genuine energy period (Te). SurfHog does not substitute Tp, Tavg, Tm02 or Tz when Te is missing.

What does buoy wave power mean?

kW/m means kilowatts of wave power per metre of wave crest. It describes the rate at which the observed sea state carries energy past the buoy.

Unlike the shore-directed forecast value, buoy wave power is the total power at the observation point. It is not projected towards a particular beach and does not predict breaking wave height.

In deep water, wave power can be calculated with:

P is approximately 0.49 times significant wave height squared times wave energy period.

P is power in kW/m, Hs is significant wave height in metres, and Te is wave energy period in seconds.

  • Provider-reported power is used when available.
  • Otherwise, a value is calculated only when both significant height and a genuine energy period are available. The ≈ symbol marks calculated values.
  • A dash is shown instead of substituting peak, Tm02, zero-crossing or other period measurements.
  • Daily and monthly figures use the mean of hourly-normalized observation power values; they are not calculated from mean height and period.

Wave direction, spectrum, water depth and local bathymetry still matter. Wave power is best read alongside height, period and direction rather than as a standalone surf-quality score.

The observation data displayed on this page is from the UK Met Office.

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