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K4 wave buoy daily means for Apr 2012

Daily means from the K4 wave buoy for Apr 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

720 wave-buoy observations covered all 30 days. Typical wave height was 8.9 ft (10th–90th percentile 5.2–14.1 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 7.3 seconds (10th–90th percentile 6–9 seconds). Typical wind was 17.3 mph (10th–90th percentile 6.9–26.5 mph) and mean water temperature was 10.6°C (10th–90th percentile 10.5–10.7°C). 1 of 3,600 checked values (0%) were excluded by quality control. Across 2 comparable years, mean wave height was below the same-month mean of 9.7 ft and mean wave period was the same as the same-month mean of 7.3 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

8.9ft
Mean: 9.5 ft
P10–P90: 5.2 — 14.1 ft
Recorded extremes

3.3 — 30.8 ft

Available for 719 of 720 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

7.3secs
P10–P90: 6 — 9secs
Recorded extremes

5 — 13secs

Mean Water Temperature

10.6°C
P10–P90: 10.5 — 10.7°C
Recorded extremes

10.3 — 11°C

Typical Wind

N, 17.3mph
Mean: 17.3 mph
P10–P90: 6.9 — 26.5 mph
Recorded extremes

2.3 — 42.6 mph

Circular concentration: 60%

Compared With Previous Aprils

Historical baseline from 1,436 observations across 2 years.

Wave Height
9.5ft
0.2ft below mean
Historical mean 9.7ft
Wave Period
7.3s
In line with the historical mean
Historical mean 7.3s
Water Temperature
10.6°C
0.2°C below mean
Historical mean 10.8°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 Apr 2012Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)551097810101114119765924QC rejected11910869111710747
Mean observed period(s)9Reported9Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported9Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported10Reported9Reported7Reported6Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)------------------------------
Mean wind directionSEconcentration 38%WNWconcentration 84%NNEconcentration 92%Nconcentration 96%NNWconcentration 96%NNWconcentration 97%NNWconcentration 98%Wconcentration 97%WNWconcentration 92%NWconcentration 98%NNWconcentration 98%NWconcentration 94%NEconcentration 86%NEconcentration 92%ESEconcentration 83%SSWconcentration 77%WNWconcentration 55%Nconcentration 98%NNWconcentration 99%NNWconcentration 94%NWconcentration 97%NWconcentration 65%Nconcentration 66%NEconcentration 90%NEconcentration 97%Nconcentration 98%NNEconcentration 97%NEconcentration 91%NNWconcentration 77%NNEconcentration 95%
Mean wind speed (mph)6924181520192119161616141216232623222021106142730188823
Mean water temperature(°C)10.810.810.710.710.610.610.610.610.610.610.610.610.710.610.610.610.510.510.510.510.510.610.710.810.610.510.410.510.610.6

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.

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

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