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Chesil wave buoy daily means for Sep 2008

Daily means from the Chesil wave buoy for Sep 2008, 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

1,410 wave-buoy observations covered all 30 days. Typical wave height was 1.7 ft (10th–90th percentile 0.8–6.4 ft), while mean average of more than one wave period type was 7.1 seconds (10th–90th percentile 4.7–10.8 seconds). Mean water temperature was 16.4°C (10th–90th percentile 16–16.9°C). 15 of 5,558 checked values (0.3%) were excluded by quality control.

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

Typical Significant Wave Height

1.7ft
Mean: 2.9 ft
P10–P90: 0.8 — 6.4 ft
Recorded extremes

0.5 — 9.8 ft

Mean Observed Wave Period

7.1secs
P10–P90: 4.7 — 10.8secs
Recorded extremes

2.2 — 20secs

Available for 706 of 707 hourly samples

Observed Wave Direction

SSW

Circular concentration: 87%

Mean Water Temperature

16.4°C
P10–P90: 16 — 16.9°C
Recorded extremes

15.7 — 17.1°C

Chart showing grouped wave observations for Chesil. 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 Chesil wave buoy

Chesil is a Channel Coastal Observatory National Network wave station off Dorset's exposed Jurassic Coast. It records waves approaching Chesil Beach and the western side of Portland, providing a nearshore reference for the long shingle barrier and the communities and infrastructure behind it.

Its current data source reports wave height, wave period, wave direction, directional spread, wave power and sea temperature.

Metrics are rows; days run left to right.
Chesil wave buoy daily means Sep 2008Last observation shown
Metric
Mean significant wave height (ft)67667742355322211111111111112QC rejected
Mean maximum wave height (ft)9101091011635785323212112211122129
Mean peak period (s)67678106657810811108756956118656866
Mean zero-crossing period (s)555556444455555544444565544434
Mean energy period (s)------------------------------
Mean wave power, kilowatts per metre------------------------------
Mean peak wave directionSWconcentration 100%SWconcentration 100%SWconcentration 100%SWconcentration 100%SSWconcentration 98%SWconcentration 100%SWconcentration 100%SWconcentration 100%SSWconcentration 92%SWconcentration 100%SWconcentration 100%SWconcentration 99%SWconcentration 97%SSWconcentration 87%SWconcentration 94%SWconcentration 96%SSWconcentration 95%Sconcentration 98%Sconcentration 92%Sconcentration 80%Sconcentration 100%Sconcentration 95%SSEconcentration 96%SSEconcentration 98%Sconcentration 98%SSEconcentration 99%Sconcentration 97%SSWconcentration 89%WSWconcentration 89%SWconcentration 100%
Mean directional spread (°)19.616.718.218.518.415.119.336.728.221.819.334.335.449.543.543.040.432.738.249.228.335.247.341.838.728.636.358.336.917.6
Mean water temperature(°C)17.017.016.916.816.616.616.416.416.416.416.416.516.616.516.616.416.416.316.316.316.316.216.216.116.116.016.016.116.115.8

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.

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 Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme.

Learn how SurfHog combines, checks and summarizes observations in the data and methodology notes.

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