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K5 wave buoy daily means for Nov 2016

Daily means from the K5 wave buoy for Nov 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

719 wave-buoy observations covered all 30 days. Typical wave height was 10.8 ft (10th–90th percentile 7.4–17.4 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 7.3 seconds (10th–90th percentile 6–9 seconds). Typical wind was 21.9 mph (10th–90th percentile 11.4–30 mph) and mean water temperature was 10.9°C (10th–90th percentile 10.4–11.5°C). 3 of 3,595 checked values (0.1%) were excluded by quality control. Across 6 comparable years, mean wave height was below the same-month mean of 14.1 ft and mean wave period was below the same-month mean of 7.7 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

10.8ft
Mean: 12.1 ft
P10–P90: 7.4 — 17.4 ft
Recorded extremes

4.6 — 33.5 ft

Available for 716 of 719 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

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

5 — 12secs

Mean Water Temperature

10.9°C
P10–P90: 10.4 — 11.5°C
Recorded extremes

10.3 — 11.6°C

Typical Wind

W, 21.9mph
Mean: 21.5 mph
P10–P90: 11.4 — 30 mph
Recorded extremes

2.2 — 40.3 mph

Circular concentration: 44%

Compared With Previous Novembers

Historical baseline from 4,272 observations across 6 years.

Wave Height
12.1ft
2ft below mean
Historical mean 14.1ft
Wave Period
7.3s
0.4s below mean
Historical mean 7.7s
Water Temperature
10.9°C
0.4°C above mean
Historical mean 10.5°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 Nov 2016Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)109101210981214141316141419282017128119610987111315
Mean observed period(s)7Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported7Reported6Reported7Reported9Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported10Reported10Reported8Reported7Reported6Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)------------------------------
Mean wind directionNWconcentration 97%WSWconcentration 63%WNWconcentration 92%NNEconcentration 90%Nconcentration 98%Nconcentration 83%SSWconcentration 98%WSWconcentration 60%WSWconcentration 83%WNWconcentration 80%Sconcentration 86%Wconcentration 93%SSWconcentration 96%SWconcentration 76%WSWconcentration 95%Wconcentration 99%Wconcentration 91%Nconcentration 98%NNWconcentration 95%Nconcentration 97%Nconcentration 98%NNEconcentration 51%SWconcentration 96%SWconcentration 100%WSWconcentration 96%Variableconcentration 25%SEconcentration 96%Sconcentration 92%Wconcentration 99%Wconcentration 99%
Mean wind speed (mph)201419242313192315182924262231341926191926151326221115212628
Mean water temperature(°C)11.611.511.511.411.311.111.211.111.111.011.010.911.011.110.910.810.810.710.710.610.510.510.410.510.410.510.610.410.410.4

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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