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K5 wave buoy daily means for Dec 2011

Daily means from the K5 wave buoy for Dec 2011, 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

744 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 17.4 ft (10th–90th percentile 11.5–26 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 8.7 seconds (10th–90th percentile 7–10 seconds). Typical wind was 24.2 mph (10th–90th percentile 11.5–38 mph) and mean water temperature was 10.1°C (10th–90th percentile 10–10.3°C). 12 of 3,717 checked values (0.3%) were excluded by quality control. Across 1 comparable year, mean wave height was above the same-month mean of 10.7 ft and mean wave period was above the same-month mean of 7 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

17.4ft
Mean: 18.2 ft
P10–P90: 11.5 — 26 ft
Recorded extremes

8.2 — 44.3 ft

Available for 738 of 744 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

8.7secs
P10–P90: 7 — 10secs
Recorded extremes

6 — 13secs

Available for 742 of 744 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

10.1°C
P10–P90: 10 — 10.3°C
Recorded extremes

9.9 — 11.5°C

Available for 743 of 744 hourly samples

Typical Wind

W, 24.2mph
Mean: 24.2 mph
P10–P90: 11.5 — 38 mph
Recorded extremes

3.5 — 52.9 mph

Circular concentration: 49%

Available for 739 of 744 hourly samples

Compared With Previous Decembers

Historical baseline from 740 observations across 1 year.

Wave Height
18.2ft
7.5ft above mean
Historical mean 10.7ft
Wave Period
8.7s
1.7s above mean
Historical mean 7s
Water Temperature
10.1°C
0.1°C above mean
Historical mean 10°C

Chart showing grouped wave observations for K5. 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 K5 wave buoy

K5 (WMO 64045) is a UK Met Office buoy in the far North Atlantic west of Scotland. It provides observations from a sparsely monitored ocean area upstream of the Hebrides and northern UK waters. The international feed includes marine weather and sea-temperature observations, with wave and wind parameters present only when the relevant sensors are reporting.

Metrics are rows; days run left to right.
K5 wave buoy daily means Dec 2011Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)1819QC rejected17171417202113211916171411131111171522262530211924211516
Mean observed period(s)9Reported8Reported10Reported9Reported8Reported9Reported9Reported9Reported10Reported8Reported10Reported9Reported9Reported9Reported9Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported9Reported8Reported9Reported10Reported9Reported11Reported9Reported9Reported10Reported9Reported8Reported8Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionVariableconcentration 23%WSWconcentration 88%WNWconcentration 98%WNWconcentration 87%NWconcentration 85%WSWconcentration 51%WNWconcentration 90%NNEconcentration 59%Nconcentration 90%Variableconcentration 25%WSWconcentration 86%Variableconcentration 28%NNEconcentration 50%NWconcentration 93%NEconcentration 61%NNWconcentration 78%NWconcentration 92%Wconcentration 55%Wconcentration 74%Wconcentration 65%SSWconcentration 74%SWconcentration 93%Wconcentration 98%WSWconcentration 91%WSWconcentration 88%Wconcentration 85%SSWconcentration 45%WNWconcentration 53%WNWconcentration 95%SWconcentration 71%SWconcentration 91%
Mean wind speed (mph)19323421231525291420212420211016181525182633323834242534312228
Mean water temperature(°C)10.410.310.310.210.210.210.110.210.310.410.310.210.110.210.110.210.210.110.110.110.110.110.010.010.010.010.010.09.910.010.1

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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