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Ch. Lightship wave buoy daily means for Nov 2020

Daily means from the Ch. Lightship wave buoy for Nov 2020, 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

694 wave-buoy observations covered all 30 days. Typical wave height was 4.6 ft (10th–90th percentile 2.3–10.2 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 7.8 seconds (10th–90th percentile 6–10 seconds). Typical wind was 23 mph (10th–90th percentile 13.9–36.9 mph) and mean water temperature was 13.7°C (10th–90th percentile 13.2–14.2°C). 9 of 3,469 checked values (0.3%) were excluded by quality control. Across 10 comparable years, mean wave height was below the same-month mean of 5.6 ft and mean wave period was above the same-month mean of 7.6 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

4.6ft
Mean: 5.5 ft
P10–P90: 2.3 — 10.2 ft
Recorded extremes

1.3 — 16.4 ft

Mean Wave Period

7.8secs
P10–P90: 6 — 10secs
Recorded extremes

5 — 12secs

Available for 693 of 694 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

13.7°C
P10–P90: 13.2 — 14.2°C
Recorded extremes

12.9 — 17.9°C

Available for 693 of 694 hourly samples

Typical Wind

Variable, 23mph
Mean: 24.3 mph
P10–P90: 13.9 — 36.9 mph
Recorded extremes

0 — 49.4 mph

Circular concentration: 29%

Available for 686 of 694 hourly samples

Compared With Previous Novembers

Historical baseline from 6,755 observations across 10 years.

Wave Height
5.5ft
0.1ft below mean
Historical mean 5.6ft
Wave Period
7.8s
0.2s above mean
Historical mean 7.6s
Water Temperature
13.7°C
0.3°C below mean
Historical mean 14°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 Nov 2020Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)9131163522325867111156845544543332
Mean observed period(s)8Reported9Reported9Reported10Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported9Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported9Reported8Reported8Reported9Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported10Reported9Reported6Reported8Reported9Reported6Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)------------------------------
Mean wind directionSSWconcentration 79%WSWconcentration 85%Wconcentration 87%NNEconcentration 82%Econcentration 98%Econcentration 98%ESEconcentration 98%SSEconcentration 89%SSEconcentration 88%SWconcentration 90%Sconcentration 89%SWconcentration 80%SWconcentration 83%Sconcentration 78%WSWconcentration 81%WSWconcentration 94%SSWconcentration 88%SWconcentration 69%WNWconcentration 94%WSWconcentration 89%WSWconcentration 97%Wconcentration 78%Sconcentration 56%Sconcentration 90%NNWconcentration 33%NEconcentration 96%ENEconcentration 90%ESEconcentration 90%ENEconcentration 98%WNWconcentration 65%
Mean wind speed (mph)363832152630191419143128233136332529312026181526221922191919
Mean water temperature(°C)14.614.514.214.214.214.014.114.214.214.114.113.913.913.913.713.613.613.613.413.313.313.413.313.313.313.113.113.213.113.1

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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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