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K4 wave buoy daily means for Mar 2017

Daily means from the K4 wave buoy for Mar 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

729 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 12.1 ft (10th–90th percentile 7.2–18.7 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 7.9 seconds (10th–90th percentile 6–9 seconds). Typical wind was 19.7 mph (10th–90th percentile 5.8–30 mph) and mean water temperature was 10.7°C (10th–90th percentile 10.4–11°C). 54 of 3,645 checked values (1.5%) were excluded by quality control. Across 6 comparable years, mean wave height was above the same-month mean of 12 ft and mean wave period was above the same-month mean of 7.7 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

12.1ft
Mean: 12.8 ft
P10–P90: 7.2 — 18.7 ft
Recorded extremes

4.3 — 24.9 ft

Available for 716 of 729 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

7.9secs
P10–P90: 6 — 9secs
Recorded extremes

5 — 12secs

Available for 717 of 729 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

10.7°C
P10–P90: 10.4 — 11°C
Recorded extremes

10.3 — 14.7°C

Typical Wind

Variable, 19.7mph
Mean: 18.8 mph
P10–P90: 5.8 — 30 mph
Recorded extremes

0 — 42.5 mph

Circular concentration: 28%

Available for 700 of 729 hourly samples

Compared With Previous Marchs

Historical baseline from 4,347 observations across 6 years.

Wave Height
12.8ft
0.8ft above mean
Historical mean 12ft
Wave Period
7.9s
0.2s above mean
Historical mean 7.7s
Water Temperature
10.7°C
0.4°C above mean
Historical mean 10.3°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 2017Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)11141091318141511111013152218191815151718141071087510129
Mean observed period(s)8Reported9Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported9Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported10Reported9Reported9Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported9Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported9Reported8Reported7Reported6Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionNNWconcentration 32%Wconcentration 31%NNEconcentration 93%NNWconcentration 85%Wconcentration 82%WNWconcentration 84%SWconcentration 68%WSWconcentration 75%Variableconcentration 21%Sconcentration 58%SSWconcentration 78%WSWconcentration 81%SWconcentration 84%Wconcentration 93%SSWconcentration 74%Wconcentration 86%Wconcentration 84%Wconcentration 84%WSWconcentration 81%WNWconcentration 84%WNWconcentration 58%Nconcentration 89%NEconcentration 36%SSWconcentration 75%SSWconcentration 79%ENEconcentration 90%ESEconcentration 90%ESEconcentration 87%SSEconcentration 73%Sconcentration 82%SSEconcentration 32%
Mean wind speed (mph)916161318242224142620232627223031202232162210131111131320199
Mean water temperature(°C)10.710.710.511.011.010.911.011.010.810.410.710.810.710.710.710.910.710.810.710.510.510.510.510.510.610.610.610.610.610.610.7

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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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