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K4 wave buoy daily means for Mar 2012

Daily means from the K4 wave buoy for Mar 2012, 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

743 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 11.5 ft (10th–90th percentile 5.9–19.4 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 8.1 seconds (10th–90th percentile 7–10 seconds). Typical wind was 19.6 mph (10th–90th percentile 9.2–29.9 mph) and mean water temperature was 10.5°C (10th–90th percentile 10.4–10.7°C). 7 of 3,715 checked values (0.2%) were excluded by quality control. Across 2 comparable years, mean wave height was above the same-month mean of 10.5 ft and mean wave period was above the same-month mean of 7.5 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

11.5ft
Mean: 12.6 ft
P10–P90: 5.9 — 19.4 ft
Recorded extremes

3.6 — 42.3 ft

Available for 739 of 743 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

8.1secs
P10–P90: 7 — 10secs
Recorded extremes

5 — 14secs

Available for 742 of 743 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

10.5°C
P10–P90: 10.4 — 10.7°C
Recorded extremes

10.1 — 11.1°C

Available for 741 of 743 hourly samples

Typical Wind

SW, 19.6mph
Mean: 19.6 mph
P10–P90: 9.2 — 29.9 mph
Recorded extremes

2.3 — 41.4 mph

Circular concentration: 52%

Compared With Previous Marchs

Historical baseline from 1,459 observations across 2 years.

Wave Height
12.6ft
2.1ft above mean
Historical mean 10.5ft
Wave Period
8.1s
0.6s above mean
Historical mean 7.5s
Water Temperature
10.5°C
0.1°C below mean
Historical mean 10.6°C

Chart showing grouped wave observations for K4. 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 K4 wave buoy

K4 (WMO 62105) is a UK Met Office buoy in the North Atlantic northwest of Ireland. Its remote position samples weather and sea conditions moving towards northern UK and Irish waters. The international station feed can include wind, pressure, temperature and wave observations, although the reported parameters vary with sensor availability.

Metrics are rows; days run left to right.
K4 wave buoy daily means Mar 2012Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)QC rejected13QC rejected1413142929201711107121113981317151311151111106545
Mean observed period(s)8Reported8Reported9Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported11Reported11Reported10Reported10Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported9Reported9Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionVariableconcentration 28%SSEconcentration 100%WSWconcentration 63%Wconcentration 96%WSWconcentration 70%SSWconcentration 91%Wconcentration 99%SWconcentration 95%WSWconcentration 95%WSWconcentration 96%SWconcentration 98%SSWconcentration 98%Sconcentration 100%Sconcentration 98%SSWconcentration 92%WSWconcentration 87%WNWconcentration 89%Wconcentration 85%SWconcentration 99%SSWconcentration 99%SSWconcentration 98%SEconcentration 89%SEconcentration 99%SSEconcentration 96%Sconcentration 99%SSEconcentration 97%SSEconcentration 95%Sconcentration 81%NWconcentration 92%NWconcentration 96%NNEconcentration 91%
Mean wind speed (mph)15272621183134282319171516242022121528282620202320151166911
Mean water temperature(°C)10.510.510.510.410.510.510.310.410.410.410.510.410.410.510.510.510.510.510.510.610.510.310.510.510.610.610.610.810.710.710.7

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.

The observation data displayed on this page is from the UK Met Office.

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