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Chesil wave buoy observations on Tue, Dec 12, 2023

Hourly readings from the Chesil wave buoy for Tue, Dec 12, 2023, including available wave height, period, direction, wind and sea temperature data.

Last observation shown

Oldest observation available

Daily means for

Latest

Period Summary

Programmatically generated summary. Hog Says

48 wave-buoy observations were recorded during the day. Typical wave height was 6.3 ft (10th–90th percentile 4–7.1 ft), while mean average of more than one wave period type was 8.1 seconds (10th–90th percentile 5.9–10.5 seconds). Mean water temperature was 10.8°C. 1 of 191 checked values (0.5%) were excluded by quality control.

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

Line chart showing wave height, wave period and sea temperature for Chesil. Use the detailed observations table below for the same data in text form.

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; hours run left to right. Times use your device time zone.
Chesil wave buoy hourly observations Tue, Dec 12, 2023Last observation shown
Metric
Significant wave height (ft)444444444455556666666667777667676777777777777666
Maximum wave height (ft)66666666676778910881089910101010121010111110101010121110111110121011911107
Peak period (s)10111014-10-5555131113127666676777788888888888898889109101110
Zero-crossing period (s)555445455555555555555555555555555556666666666666
Energy period (s)------------------------------------------------
Wave power, kilowatts per metre------------------------------------------------
Peak wave directionSWSWSWSW-SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW
Directional spread (°)14.014.025.048.0-23.052.025.027.020.020.028.033.021.024.016.018.018.018.016.014.018.020.022.017.020.017.016.016.014.017.015.014.016.016.017.014.018.014.016.016.019.012.010.016.012.015.011.0
Water temperature(°C)10.810.910.810.910.910.910.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.810.8

Swipe sideways to see more hours.

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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