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Ch. Lightship wave buoy daily means for Dec 2020

Daily means from the Ch. Lightship wave buoy for Dec 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

740 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 6.6 ft (10th–90th percentile 2.3–11.8 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 7.6 seconds (10th–90th percentile 6–10 seconds). Typical wind was 26.4 mph (10th–90th percentile 15–36.9 mph) and mean water temperature was 12.1°C (10th–90th percentile 11.4–12.5°C). 11 of 3,699 checked values (0.3%) were excluded by quality control. Across 10 comparable years, mean wave height was the same as the same-month mean of 6.8 ft and mean wave period was below the same-month mean of 8.1 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

6.6ft
Mean: 6.8 ft
P10–P90: 2.3 — 11.8 ft
Recorded extremes

1 — 21 ft

Mean Wave Period

7.6secs
P10–P90: 6 — 10secs
Recorded extremes

5 — 12secs

Available for 739 of 740 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

12.1°C
P10–P90: 11.4 — 12.5°C
Recorded extremes

11 — 13.1°C

Available for 739 of 740 hourly samples

Typical Wind

W, 26.4mph
Mean: 26.4 mph
P10–P90: 15 — 36.9 mph
Recorded extremes

0 — 57.5 mph

Circular concentration: 38%

Available for 730 of 740 hourly samples

Compared With Previous Decembers

Historical baseline from 7,223 observations across 10 years.

Wave Height
6.8ft
In line with the historical mean
Historical mean 6.8ft
Wave Period
7.6s
0.5s below mean
Historical mean 8.1s
Water Temperature
12.1°C
0.1°C below mean
Historical mean 12.2°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 Dec 2020Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)3257642446610711109QC rejected9121087106351410633
Mean observed period(s)5Reported6Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported6Reported8Reported8Reported6Reported7Reported8Reported10Reported8Reported10Reported9Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported10Reported9Reported8Reported8Reported9Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported9Reported9Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionNconcentration 91%NWconcentration 78%Wconcentration 81%WNWconcentration 87%NNWconcentration 58%Nconcentration 94%NEconcentration 74%NWconcentration 92%Wconcentration 43%WSWconcentration 52%Wconcentration 92%WNWconcentration 93%Sconcentration 98%SSWconcentration 96%SSWconcentration 96%Sconcentration 77%SSWconcentration 86%Sconcentration 99%SSWconcentration 94%SWconcentration 90%SSWconcentration 88%SWconcentration 93%SSWconcentration 72%Nconcentration 98%NNWconcentration 93%WSWconcentration 95%Wconcentration 89%NWconcentration 88%NNWconcentration 95%NNWconcentration 56%Nconcentration 90%
Mean wind speed (mph)21162629332013222621242830302930273633263223293521323628291816
Mean water temperature(°C)12.912.912.712.412.312.312.212.212.212.312.312.212.212.312.212.212.212.212.112.012.112.112.011.811.511.611.611.411.311.211.1

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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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