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Greenwich wave buoy daily means for Jul 2016

Daily means from the Greenwich wave buoy for Jul 2016, 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 1 ft (10th–90th percentile 0.7–3 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 5.9 seconds (10th–90th percentile 5–7 seconds). Typical wind was 16.1 mph (10th–90th percentile 8.1–24.2 mph) and mean water temperature was 15.6°C (10th–90th percentile 14.5–16.4°C). 15 of 3,710 checked values (0.4%) were excluded by quality control. Across 5 comparable years, mean wave height was the same as the same-month mean of 1.4 ft and mean wave period was below the same-month mean of 6.4 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

1ft
Mean: 1.4 ft
P10–P90: 0.7 — 3 ft
Recorded extremes

0 — 4.6 ft

Available for 740 of 742 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

5.9secs
P10–P90: 5 — 7secs
Recorded extremes

4 — 9secs

Available for 729 of 742 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

15.6°C
P10–P90: 14.5 — 16.4°C
Recorded extremes

14.1 — 18.1°C

Typical Wind

WSW, 16.1mph
Mean: 16.4 mph
P10–P90: 8.1 — 24.2 mph
Recorded extremes

1.1 — 34.4 mph

Circular concentration: 65%

Compared With Previous Julys

Historical baseline from 3,514 observations across 5 years.

Wave Height
1.4ft
In line with the historical mean
Historical mean 1.4ft
Wave Period
5.9s
0.5s below mean
Historical mean 6.4s
Water Temperature
15.6°C
0.1°C above mean
Historical mean 15.5°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 Jul 2016Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)3421211112432211110111111121211
Mean observed period(s)6Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported5Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported6Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported5Reported5Reported6Reported8Reported6Reported5Reported5Reported6Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported5Reported5Reported5Reported5Reported6Reported6Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionSWconcentration 85%WSWconcentration 98%Variableconcentration 24%WSWconcentration 64%WSWconcentration 96%NWconcentration 43%WSWconcentration 77%SWconcentration 96%SWconcentration 83%SWconcentration 96%SWconcentration 85%Wconcentration 87%NWconcentration 85%WNWconcentration 84%Wconcentration 93%Wconcentration 98%Wconcentration 90%Nconcentration 33%ENEconcentration 97%SWconcentration 47%WNWconcentration 87%NWconcentration 55%Wconcentration 93%SWconcentration 94%WSWconcentration 89%Wconcentration 88%SWconcentration 92%WSWconcentration 88%WSWconcentration 92%WSWconcentration 96%WNWconcentration 63%
Mean wind speed (mph)2428141123981916172520171817161161823149141515162019211412
Mean water temperature(°C)14.314.414.514.714.715.014.914.814.914.814.814.915.015.315.515.916.517.016.515.815.816.316.116.116.216.216.116.216.216.416.6

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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