Chesil wave buoy daily means for May 2016

Daily means from the Chesil wave buoy for May 2016, including available wave height, period, direction, wind and sea temperature data.

Last observation shown Tue, May 31, 2016, 23:30

Data available: Fri, Dec 22, 2006 to Sat, Aug 22, 2026

Monthly means for 2016

Period Summary

Hog Says

1,488 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 1.5 ft (10th–90th percentile 0.9–3.2 ft), while mean average of more than one wave period type was 8.1 seconds (10th–90th percentile 4.1–14.3 seconds). Mean water temperature was 11.7°C (10th–90th percentile 10.7–12.7°C). 10 of 5,885 checked values (0.2%) were excluded by quality control. Across 6 comparable years, mean wave height was below the same-month mean of 2.4 ft and mean wave period was above the same-month mean of 7.1 seconds.

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

Typical Significant Wave Height

1.5ft

Mean: 1.8 ft

P10–P90: 0.9 — 3.2 ft

Recorded extremes

0.5 — 5.4 ft

Mean Observed Wave Period

8.1secs

P10–P90: 4.1 — 14.3secs

Recorded extremes

2.1 — 18.2secs

Observed Wave Direction

Circular concentration: 92%

Mean Water Temperature

11.7°C

P10–P90: 10.7 — 12.7°C

Recorded extremes

10 — 14.2°C

Available for 743 of 744 hourly samples

Compared With Previous Mays

Historical baseline from 8,907 observations across 6 years.

Wave Height: 1.8ft; 0.6ft below mean; Historical mean 2.428ft
Wave Period: 8.1s; 1s above mean; Historical mean 7.1s
Water Temperature: 11.7°C; 0.2°C above mean; Historical mean 11.5°C

Show 10th–90th percentile ranges

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.

Chesil wave buoy daily means May 2016Last observation shown May 2016
Metric	May 1	May 2	May 3	May 4	May 5	May 6	May 7	May 8	May 9	May 10	May 11	May 12	May 13	May 14	May 15	May 16	May 17	May 18	May 19	May 20	May 21	May 22	May 23	May 24	May 25	May 26	May 27	May 28	May 29	May 30	May 31
Mean significant wave height (ft)	2	4	3	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	2	4	3	3	4	3	3	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1
Mean maximum wave height (ft)	3	6	4	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	2	3	2	3	6	5	4	6	4	4	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2
Mean peak period (s)	8	5	5	9	13	11	9	7	9	9	8	9	10	10	7	4	6	6	7	5	6	8	7	10	14	13	10	8	8	7	6
Mean zero-crossing period (s)	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	4	4	6	5	5	5	5	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	6	7	6	5	6	5	3
Mean energy period (s)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Mean wave power, kilowatts per metre	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Mean peak wave direction	SWconcentration 87%	SWconcentration 100%	SWconcentration 100%	SSWconcentration 90%	SSWconcentration 90%	SSWconcentration 95%	SSWconcentration 99%	SSWconcentration 91%	SSWconcentration 84%	SWconcentration 99%	SWconcentration 100%	SWconcentration 93%	SWconcentration 82%	SSWconcentration 76%	SWconcentration 96%	SWconcentration 95%	SWconcentration 96%	SWconcentration 100%	SWconcentration 100%	SWconcentration 99%	SWconcentration 100%	SWconcentration 99%	SWconcentration 100%	SWconcentration 94%	SSWconcentration 72%	SWconcentration 89%	SWconcentration 99%	SWconcentration 99%	SWconcentration 99%	SWconcentration 100%	WSWconcentration 84%
Mean directional spread (°)	40.0	20.9	29.2	52.1	63.2	57.6	56.1	46.3	53.4	54.1	55.0	58.3	60.6	50.1	37.2	34.5	36.5	20.9	27.0	28.0	24.1	35.9	32.5	47.1	58.5	56.2	47.8	54.2	51.6	52.4	40.7
Mean water temperature(°C)	10.2	10.3	10.5	10.8	10.8	10.8	11.0	11.1	11.2	11.5	11.6	11.7	11.5	11.4	11.6	11.8	11.8	11.9	12.0	12.1	12.3	12.4	12.3	12.2	12.3	12.5	12.7	13.2	12.8	12.6	12.5

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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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