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K4 wave buoy daily means for Jan 2016

Daily means from the K4 wave buoy for Jan 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

676 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 14.1 ft (10th–90th percentile 8.5–24 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 8.4 seconds (10th–90th percentile 7–10 seconds). Typical wind was 20.8 mph (10th–90th percentile 5.8–34.4 mph) and mean water temperature was 10.5°C (10th–90th percentile 10.4–10.9°C). 99 of 3,380 checked values (2.9%) were excluded by quality control. Across 5 comparable years, mean wave height was above the same-month mean of 14.5 ft and mean wave period was below the same-month mean of 9 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

14.1ft
Mean: 15.2 ft
P10–P90: 8.5 — 24 ft
Recorded extremes

0 — 37.4 ft

Available for 636 of 676 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

8.4secs
P10–P90: 7 — 10secs
Recorded extremes

3 — 12secs

Available for 633 of 676 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

10.5°C
P10–P90: 10.4 — 10.9°C
Recorded extremes

10.2 — 11.1°C

Typical Wind

Variable, 20.8mph
Mean: 21.1 mph
P10–P90: 5.8 — 34.4 mph
Recorded extremes

0 — 49.4 mph

Circular concentration: 22%

Available for 660 of 676 hourly samples

Compared With Previous Januarys

Historical baseline from 3,071 observations across 5 years.

Wave Height
15.2ft
0.7ft above mean
Historical mean 14.5ft
Wave Period
8.4s
0.6s below mean
Historical mean 9s
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 Jan 2016Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)1814141312101516121423169109810108111321171616211824322917
Mean observed period(s)9Reported9Reported8Reported9Reported8Reported7Reported9Reported11Reported9Reported8Reported10Reported9Reported7Reported6Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported9Reported9Reported8Reported8Reported9Reported9Reported10Reported10Reported11Reported9Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionVariableconcentration 13%NNWconcentration 53%ESEconcentration 91%NEconcentration 88%Nconcentration 85%SWconcentration 38%WSWconcentration 66%SSWconcentration 73%Econcentration 78%Variableconcentration 19%Nconcentration 99%NWconcentration 76%WNWconcentration 68%NNWconcentration 91%Wconcentration 40%Wconcentration 62%Variableconcentration 17%NWconcentration 97%SWconcentration 39%SEconcentration 84%SSEconcentration 96%SWconcentration 90%Sconcentration 75%Sconcentration 98%WSWconcentration 73%WSWconcentration 70%Wconcentration 74%SWconcentration 95%Wconcentration 96%Wconcentration 98%SWconcentration 79%
Mean wind speed (mph)1819201311182213191433191719111216179252636243025232334423323
Mean water temperature(°C)10.911.010.910.910.710.710.710.710.610.610.510.510.510.510.410.510.510.510.510.410.410.410.410.410.410.410.410.410.310.310.3

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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