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K4 wave buoy daily means for May 2016

Daily means from the K4 wave buoy for May 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

722 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 6.6 ft (10th–90th percentile 3–13.5 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 6.5 seconds (10th–90th percentile 5–8 seconds). Typical wind was 15 mph (10th–90th percentile 3.4–26.4 mph) and mean water temperature was 11.2°C (10th–90th percentile 10.3–12.7°C). 30 of 3,610 checked values (0.8%) were excluded by quality control. Across 5 comparable years, mean wave height was below the same-month mean of 9 ft and mean wave period was below the same-month mean of 6.7 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

6.6ft
Mean: 7.5 ft
P10–P90: 3 — 13.5 ft
Recorded extremes

2.6 — 26.9 ft

Available for 712 of 722 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

6.5secs
P10–P90: 5 — 8secs
Recorded extremes

4 — 11secs

Available for 713 of 722 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

11.2°C
P10–P90: 10.3 — 12.7°C
Recorded extremes

9.3 — 14°C

Typical Wind

Variable, 15mph
Mean: 14.9 mph
P10–P90: 3.4 — 26.4 mph
Recorded extremes

0 — 35.8 mph

Circular concentration: 28%

Available for 711 of 722 hourly samples

Compared With Previous Mays

Historical baseline from 3,614 observations across 5 years.

Wave Height
7.5ft
1.5ft below mean
Historical mean 9ft
Wave Period
6.5s
0.2s below mean
Historical mean 6.7s
Water Temperature
11.2°C
0.1°C above mean
Historical mean 11.1°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 May 2016Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)916151718889786467546910868677533333
Mean observed period(s)6Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported9Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported5Reported5Reported5Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported6Reported8Reported7Reported6Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported7Reported5Reported5Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported5Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionSWconcentration 59%Wconcentration 84%WSWconcentration 74%SSWconcentration 79%WSWconcentration 94%NWconcentration 65%NEconcentration 98%ENEconcentration 84%NEconcentration 98%NNEconcentration 98%NEconcentration 94%NNEconcentration 97%NNEconcentration 97%NEconcentration 86%Econcentration 37%Sconcentration 79%SWconcentration 68%WNWconcentration 75%SWconcentration 78%SWconcentration 81%Variableconcentration 15%NWconcentration 97%NNEconcentration 40%ENEconcentration 88%NNEconcentration 96%NEconcentration 97%ENEconcentration 90%ENEconcentration 61%NNEconcentration 73%NEconcentration 90%ENEconcentration 95%
Mean wind speed (mph)213024312392217171715141914310141322156198151415124699
Mean water temperature(°C)10.310.210.310.410.410.610.410.310.610.610.610.810.910.911.211.311.111.211.111.211.411.311.511.411.611.711.912.413.013.413.6

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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