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K4 wave buoy daily means for Oct 2017

Daily means from the K4 wave buoy for Oct 2017, 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

735 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 11.5 ft (10th–90th percentile 6.2–20 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 7.3 seconds (10th–90th percentile 6–9 seconds). Typical wind was 20.8 mph (10th–90th percentile 6.9–31.1 mph) and mean water temperature was 12.5°C (10th–90th percentile 12.2–13°C). 36 of 3,675 checked values (1%) were excluded by quality control. Across 7 comparable years, mean wave height was above the same-month mean of 11 ft and mean wave period was above the same-month mean of 7.2 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

11.5ft
Mean: 12.1 ft
P10–P90: 6.2 — 20 ft
Recorded extremes

3.3 — 29.9 ft

Available for 726 of 735 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

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

2 — 12secs

Available for 726 of 735 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

12.5°C
P10–P90: 12.2 — 13°C
Recorded extremes

12 — 14.1°C

Available for 733 of 735 hourly samples

Typical Wind

WSW, 20.8mph
Mean: 20.1 mph
P10–P90: 6.9 — 31.1 mph
Recorded extremes

0 — 46.1 mph

Circular concentration: 46%

Available for 719 of 735 hourly samples

Compared With Previous Octobers

Historical baseline from 5,028 observations across 7 years.

Wave Height
12.1ft
1.1ft above mean
Historical mean 11ft
Wave Period
7.3s
0.1s above mean
Historical mean 7.2s
Water Temperature
12.5°C
0.5°C below mean
Historical mean 13°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 Oct 2017Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)152114121010107714141319141113121010111914162116846778
Mean observed period(s)7Reported9Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported9Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported9Reported8Reported9Reported10Reported8Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionWSWconcentration 69%WNWconcentration 93%Wconcentration 84%WSWconcentration 63%NWconcentration 79%SSWconcentration 67%Wconcentration 91%SWconcentration 97%WSWconcentration 77%SWconcentration 73%Wconcentration 93%SSWconcentration 80%SWconcentration 91%SWconcentration 31%Wconcentration 67%Nconcentration 75%Wconcentration 41%SEconcentration 77%NWconcentration 76%ENEconcentration 56%NNWconcentration 65%WSWconcentration 53%SSWconcentration 82%SWconcentration 67%WSWconcentration 94%NNWconcentration 62%SSEconcentration 47%Wconcentration 98%Variableconcentration 18%SSWconcentration 97%SWconcentration 79%
Mean wind speed (mph)3030232211201516162624282817173015221819282221202581117121819
Mean water temperature(°C)13.012.912.812.912.812.712.812.913.013.113.012.812.712.512.512.412.312.312.312.312.212.212.112.212.212.212.212.312.312.312.3

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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