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Ch. Lightship wave buoy daily means for Jul 2016

Daily means from the Ch. Lightship wave buoy for Jul 2016, 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 ft (10th–90th percentile 1.3–4.3 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 7 seconds (10th–90th percentile 6–9 seconds). Typical wind was 15 mph (10th–90th percentile 6.9–21.9 mph) and mean water temperature was 14.9°C (10th–90th percentile 13.7–16.1°C). All 3,710 checked values passed quality control. Across 6 comparable years, mean wave height was below the same-month mean of 2.6 ft and mean wave period was the same as the same-month mean of 7 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

2ft
Mean: 2.5 ft
P10–P90: 1.3 — 4.3 ft
Recorded extremes

0.7 — 7.9 ft

Mean Wave Period

7secs
P10–P90: 6 — 9secs
Recorded extremes

5 — 12secs

Mean Water Temperature

14.9°C
P10–P90: 13.7 — 16.1°C
Recorded extremes

13.4 — 17.9°C

Typical Wind

WSW, 15mph
Mean: 14.7 mph
P10–P90: 6.9 — 21.9 mph
Recorded extremes

2.2 — 31.1 mph

Circular concentration: 63%

Compared With Previous Julys

Historical baseline from 4,386 observations across 6 years.

Wave Height
2.5ft
0.1ft below mean
Historical mean 2.6ft
Wave Period
7s
In line with the historical mean
Historical mean 7s
Water Temperature
14.9°C
0.1°C below mean
Historical mean 15°C

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 Jul 2016Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)4533321336643211221222322222322
Mean observed period(s)6Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported10Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported9Reported9Reported7Reported5Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported6Reported7Reported6Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionWSWconcentration 88%Wconcentration 97%Variableconcentration 13%SWconcentration 90%Wconcentration 86%NWconcentration 75%SWconcentration 89%SWconcentration 96%SSWconcentration 92%SSWconcentration 96%SWconcentration 95%Wconcentration 98%WNWconcentration 98%NWconcentration 90%Wconcentration 85%Wconcentration 93%Wconcentration 63%ENEconcentration 82%Econcentration 99%WSWconcentration 69%WSWconcentration 80%SSWconcentration 86%Wconcentration 95%SWconcentration 88%Wconcentration 95%WSWconcentration 84%WSWconcentration 94%WSWconcentration 78%Wconcentration 98%Wconcentration 93%NWconcentration 73%
Mean wind speed (mph)212314131810715182019182017131251319229612141411171515915
Mean water temperature(°C)13.613.613.713.713.814.014.114.014.114.114.214.314.414.715.015.516.517.316.416.115.415.315.215.115.315.415.315.315.415.815.8

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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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