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Greenwich wave buoy daily means for Dec 2011

Daily means from the Greenwich wave buoy for Dec 2011, 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

742 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 4.9 ft (10th–90th percentile 2.3–9.5 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 6.7 seconds (10th–90th percentile 6–8 seconds). Typical wind was 29.9 mph (10th–90th percentile 18.4–42.6 mph) and mean water temperature was 12.4°C (10th–90th percentile 11.6–13.7°C). 6 of 3,700 checked values (0.2%) were excluded by quality control. Across 1 comparable year, mean wave height was above the same-month mean of 2.5 ft and mean wave period was above the same-month mean of 5.7 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

4.9ft
Mean: 5.4 ft
P10–P90: 2.3 — 9.5 ft
Recorded extremes

1 — 14.4 ft

Available for 734 of 742 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

6.7secs
P10–P90: 6 — 8secs
Recorded extremes

2 — 9secs

Available for 741 of 742 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

12.4°C
P10–P90: 11.6 — 13.7°C
Recorded extremes

11.3 — 15.7°C

Available for 738 of 742 hourly samples

Typical Wind

W, 29.9mph
Mean: 30 mph
P10–P90: 18.4 — 42.6 mph
Recorded extremes

8.1 — 54.1 mph

Circular concentration: 81%

Available for 741 of 742 hourly samples

Compared With Previous Decembers

Historical baseline from 743 observations across 1 year.

Wave Height
5.4ft
2.9ft above mean
Historical mean 2.5ft
Wave Period
6.7s
1s above mean
Historical mean 5.7s
Water Temperature
12.4°C
2.4°C above mean
Historical mean 10°C

Chart showing grouped wave observations for Greenwich. 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 Greenwich wave buoy

Greenwich Lightship (WMO 62305) is a UK Met Office station in the southern North Sea on the Greenwich meridian. It monitors marine conditions between the Dover Strait and the Thames approaches. The station feed can include wind, wave height, pressure, visibility, and air and sea temperature.

Metrics are rows; days run left to right.
Greenwich wave buoy daily means Dec 2011Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)5375659752461181075434335554QC rejected5QC rejected55
Mean observed period(s)7Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionSWconcentration 47%WNWconcentration 81%Wconcentration 93%Wconcentration 98%WNWconcentration 98%Wconcentration 98%WNWconcentration 98%WSWconcentration 94%WNWconcentration 97%WNWconcentration 93%SWconcentration 89%WSWconcentration 80%WSWconcentration 92%WSWconcentration 91%WSWconcentration 79%WNWconcentration 76%NWconcentration 93%NWconcentration 95%Wconcentration 86%WNWconcentration 96%Wconcentration 87%Wconcentration 98%WSWconcentration 78%Wconcentration 93%WSWconcentration 97%WSWconcentration 99%SSWconcentration 90%WSWconcentration 87%Wconcentration 98%Wconcentration 79%Wconcentration 98%
Mean wind speed (mph)29213428353441363018263543324035272720272226333030241932412631
Mean water temperature(°C)14.013.813.813.713.313.313.213.212.912.712.712.612.612.312.312.112.011.811.811.912.012.011.911.611.811.811.911.611.411.411.6

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.

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.

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