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K4 wave buoy daily means for Jan 2020

Daily means from the K4 wave buoy for Jan 2020, 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 17.4 ft (10th–90th percentile 11.2–24.9 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 8.5 seconds (10th–90th percentile 7–10 seconds). Typical wind was 26.4 mph (10th–90th percentile 16.1–35.8 mph) and mean water temperature was 10.3°C (10th–90th percentile 10.1–10.5°C). 22 of 3,645 checked values (0.6%) were excluded by quality control. Across 7 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 8.8 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

17.4ft
Mean: 17.9 ft
P10–P90: 11.2 — 24.9 ft
Recorded extremes

7.5 — 41.3 ft

Available for 715 of 729 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

8.5secs
P10–P90: 7 — 10secs
Recorded extremes

5 — 13secs

Available for 722 of 729 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

10.3°C
P10–P90: 10.1 — 10.5°C
Recorded extremes

10.1 — 14.4°C

Available for 728 of 729 hourly samples

Typical Wind

SW, 26.4mph
Mean: 26.6 mph
P10–P90: 16.1 — 35.8 mph
Recorded extremes

2.2 — 50.8 mph

Circular concentration: 81%

Compared With Previous Januarys

Historical baseline from 4,473 observations across 7 years.

Wave Height
17.9ft
3.4ft above mean
Historical mean 14.5ft
Wave Period
8.5s
0.3s below mean
Historical mean 8.8s
Water Temperature
10.3°C
0.3°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 2020Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)13182015172224281819202130282314151114181310101316181822191716
Mean observed period(s)7Reported8Reported10Reported8Reported8Reported9Reported9Reported11Reported10Reported8Reported9Reported9Reported10Reported10Reported9Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported9Reported10Reported9Reported8Reported8Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionSSWconcentration 97%WSWconcentration 42%Wconcentration 95%SWconcentration 96%SSWconcentration 98%SWconcentration 85%SWconcentration 84%WSWconcentration 89%Variableconcentration 28%SSWconcentration 95%WSWconcentration 96%SWconcentration 90%SSWconcentration 82%SWconcentration 98%WSWconcentration 94%Sconcentration 56%WNWconcentration 94%SWconcentration 82%SSWconcentration 98%SWconcentration 98%WSWconcentration 96%WSWconcentration 98%WSWconcentration 93%SWconcentration 92%SSWconcentration 99%WSWconcentration 91%WSWconcentration 94%Wconcentration 97%WSWconcentration 95%SWconcentration 82%SWconcentration 98%
Mean wind speed (mph)28282325313036222530252941363325221130281916202027272530282729
Mean water temperature(°C)10.510.410.410.610.410.410.510.410.310.310.310.310.210.210.210.210.210.110.110.210.310.310.410.510.410.410.410.310.310.210.2

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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