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Ch. Lightship wave buoy monthly means for 2026

Monthly means from the Ch. Lightship wave buoy for 2026, including available wave height, period, direction, wind and sea temperature data.

Last observation shown

Data available:  to 

Latest

Typical Wave Height

2.6ft
Mean: 2.9 ft
P10–P90: 1 — 5.1 ft
Recorded extremes

0.7 — 6.6 ft

Available for 355 of 5,141 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

4.9secs
P10–P90: 3 — 8secs
Recorded extremes

3 — 10.7secs

Available for 350 of 5,141 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

15.2°C
P10–P90: 12.4 — 17.9°C
Recorded extremes

1 — 20.3°C

Available for 2,126 of 5,141 hourly samples

Typical Wind

N, 16.1mph
Mean: 16.6 mph
P10–P90: 5.8 — 27.7 mph
Recorded extremes

0 — 59.9 mph

Circular concentration: 95%

Available for 4,847 of 5,141 hourly samples

Chart showing grouped wave observations for Ch. Lightship. Use the table on this page for a text version of the same measurements. To open daily observations, use a linked month 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; months run left to right.
Ch. Lightship wave buoy monthly means 2026Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)------33----
Mean observed period(s)------5Reported5Mixed----
Mean wave power(kW/m)------------
Mean wind directionNconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 80%NWconcentration 42%----
Mean wind speed (mph)2121181813151110----
Mean water temperature(°C)10.6---14.014.417.117.2----

Swipe sideways to see more months.

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.

Realtime data displayed on this page is from the Met Office Marine observations.

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