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Ch. Lightship wave buoy daily means for Aug 2020

Daily means from the Ch. Lightship wave buoy for Aug 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

733 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 2.3 ft (10th–90th percentile 1–7 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 7.2 seconds (10th–90th percentile 6–9 seconds). Typical wind was 17.2 mph (10th–90th percentile 6.9–30 mph) and mean water temperature was 16.8°C (10th–90th percentile 15.8–18°C). 21 of 3,665 checked values (0.6%) were excluded by quality control. Across 10 comparable years, mean wave height was above the same-month mean of 2.8 ft and mean wave period was above the same-month mean of 6.9 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

2.3ft
Mean: 3.3 ft
P10–P90: 1 — 7 ft
Recorded extremes

0 — 18 ft

Available for 729 of 733 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

7.2secs
P10–P90: 6 — 9secs
Recorded extremes

5 — 12secs

Available for 723 of 733 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

16.8°C
P10–P90: 15.8 — 18°C
Recorded extremes

15.5 — 19.2°C

Available for 731 of 733 hourly samples

Typical Wind

W, 17.2mph
Mean: 17.6 mph
P10–P90: 6.9 — 30 mph
Recorded extremes

0 — 43.8 mph

Circular concentration: 36%

Available for 728 of 733 hourly samples

Compared With Previous Augusts

Historical baseline from 7,316 observations across 10 years.

Wave Height
3.3ft
0.5ft above mean
Historical mean 2.8ft
Wave Period
7.2s
0.3s above mean
Historical mean 6.9s
Water Temperature
16.8°C
0.6°C above mean
Historical mean 16.2°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 Aug 2020Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)43223422221112111238127428QC rejected45431
Mean observed period(s)8Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported8Reported9Reported8Reported7Reported6Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported5Reported6Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionWSWconcentration 89%Wconcentration 91%WNWconcentration 92%WSWconcentration 75%SSWconcentration 88%SSEconcentration 69%NNEconcentration 85%NNWconcentration 87%NNWconcentration 87%NWconcentration 93%Nconcentration 89%ENEconcentration 70%WNWconcentration 53%WNWconcentration 88%Wconcentration 80%Econcentration 66%SWconcentration 65%SSWconcentration 96%SSEconcentration 86%Sconcentration 92%SSWconcentration 96%WSWconcentration 80%Wconcentration 100%SWconcentration 90%SWconcentration 69%Wconcentration 99%SWconcentration 71%Wconcentration 86%Nconcentration 99%NNWconcentration 86%NNWconcentration 38%
Mean wind speed (mph)16151514191113191515111091091113172322362626203326212427155
Mean water temperature(°C)16.115.915.815.815.816.116.016.016.316.416.917.818.117.917.918.018.117.717.617.316.916.816.716.816.716.716.716.716.616.717.1

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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