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Greenwich wave buoy daily means for Aug 2011

Daily means from the Greenwich wave buoy for Aug 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

717 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 1.3 ft (10th–90th percentile 0.7–3.3 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 6 seconds (10th–90th percentile 5–7 seconds). Typical wind was 16.1 mph (10th–90th percentile 6.9–27.8 mph) and mean water temperature was 16.6°C (10th–90th percentile 16.3–17°C). 17 of 3,564 checked values (0.5%) were excluded by quality control. Across 1 comparable year, mean wave height was below the same-month mean of 1.8 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

1.3ft
Mean: 1.6 ft
P10–P90: 0.7 — 3.3 ft
Recorded extremes

0.3 — 5.6 ft

Available for 700 of 717 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

6secs
P10–P90: 5 — 7secs
Recorded extremes

4 — 26secs

Available for 701 of 717 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

16.6°C
P10–P90: 16.3 — 17°C
Recorded extremes

16 — 17.7°C

Available for 714 of 717 hourly samples

Typical Wind

WSW, 16.1mph
Mean: 16.9 mph
P10–P90: 6.9 — 27.8 mph
Recorded extremes

2.2 — 40.3 mph

Circular concentration: 42%

Available for 715 of 717 hourly samples

Compared With Previous Augusts

Historical baseline from 616 observations across 1 year.

Wave Height
1.6ft
0.2ft below mean
Historical mean 1.8ft
Wave Period
6s
0.3s above mean
Historical mean 5.7s
Water Temperature
16.6°C
Not enough comparable data

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 Aug 2011Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)1112113332422111231011112233111
Mean observed period(s)5Reported7Reported6Reported5Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported5Reported5Reported6Reported6Reported5ReportedQC rejected6Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported5Reported6Reported6Reported5Reported5Reported6Reported6Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionESEconcentration 35%ENEconcentration 43%NWconcentration 45%SSWconcentration 86%WSWconcentration 93%WSWconcentration 91%WSWconcentration 85%Wconcentration 97%WNWconcentration 90%Wconcentration 96%WSWconcentration 99%WSWconcentration 98%SWconcentration 92%WSWconcentration 98%Wconcentration 90%SWconcentration 95%Variableconcentration 30%NEconcentration 92%WNWconcentration 55%Sconcentration 35%WSWconcentration 49%NEconcentration 68%Variableconcentration 10%WSWconcentration 82%SSWconcentration 73%WSWconcentration 30%Wconcentration 96%Wconcentration 98%WNWconcentration 96%NNWconcentration 86%ENEconcentration 92%
Mean wind speed (mph)107112313162324222129191820161514261011161618151616242617713
Mean water temperature(°C)16.516.416.516.316.516.416.316.316.516.516.416.516.516.616.616.716.716.617.016.916.816.716.816.916.916.716.816.816.816.916.9

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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