Skip to content
Surfhog home
Menu

Folkestone wave buoy observations on Sun, Aug 9, 2026

Hourly readings from the Folkestone wave buoy for Sun, Aug 9, 2026, including available wave height, period, direction, wind and sea temperature data.

Last observation shown

Oldest observation available

Daily means for

Latest

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

About Folkestone wave buoy

Folkestone is a Datawell Directional WaveRider station in about 13 metres of water off the Kent coast. Deployed in July 2003, it measures waves approaching the eastern English Channel close to Folkestone and the Dover Strait. Observations include wave height, period and direction, sea temperature and calculated wave power; a separate shore station supplies weather data.

Metrics are rows; hours run left to right. Times use your device time zone.
Folkestone wave buoy hourly observations Sun, Aug 9, 2026Last observation shown
Metric Latest
Wave height (ft)1111111111111111111111111111111111111222222211--
Observed period(s)4Tp4Tp4Tp4Tp4Tp4Tp4Tp4Tp4Tp4Tp4Tp4Tp4Tp4Tp4Tp4Tp4Tp4Tp5Tp5Tp3Tp3Tp3Tp3Tp3Tp3Tp3Tp4Tp4Tp3Tp2Tp4Tp3Tp2Tp3Tp3Tp3Tp3Tp3Tp3Tp3Tp3Tp3Tp3Tp3Tp3Tp--
Wave power(kW/m)0.17 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.12 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.14 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.13 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.13 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.12 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.15 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.15 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.15 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.15 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.13 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.13 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.12 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.13 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.11 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.1 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.11 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.09 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.09 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.08 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.07 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.06 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.07 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.05 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.05 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.06 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.06 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.06 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.08 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.07 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.05 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.04 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.04 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.04 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.11 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.19 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.25 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.31 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.32 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.34 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.33 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.31 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.32 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.29 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.24 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.0.25 kilowatts per metre. Provider-reported value.--
Wave directionEEEEEEEEEEESEESEESEESEESEESEEEEESESSESSESESESESESEESEESEESESESESSWSWSWSWSWSWSSWSSWSSWSSSWSSSW--
Water temperature(°C)21.321.421.321.321.221.121.121.121.121.021.121.121.121.121.021.121.021.121.221.321.321.421.421.421.421.521.621.822.022.122.521.321.221.221.221.321.321.321.321.321.221.121.121.221.321.5--

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.

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 Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme.

› Wave Buoy List