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K5 wave buoy daily means for Dec 2016

Daily means from the K5 wave buoy for Dec 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

743 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 17.7 ft (10th–90th percentile 7.8–29.5 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 8.6 seconds (10th–90th percentile 6–11 seconds). Typical wind was 25.3 mph (10th–90th percentile 2.2–39.1 mph) and mean water temperature was 10.4°C (10th–90th percentile 10–10.7°C). 5 of 3,715 checked values (0.1%) were excluded by quality control. Across 6 comparable years, mean wave height was above the same-month mean of 16.5 ft and mean wave period was above the same-month mean of 8.2 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

17.7ft
Mean: 18.4 ft
P10–P90: 7.8 — 29.5 ft
Recorded extremes

5.9 — 50.5 ft

Available for 738 of 743 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

8.6secs
P10–P90: 6 — 11secs
Recorded extremes

5 — 14secs

Mean Water Temperature

10.4°C
P10–P90: 10 — 10.7°C
Recorded extremes

9.9 — 10.8°C

Typical Wind

SW, 25.3mph
Mean: 23.5 mph
P10–P90: 2.2 — 39.1 mph
Recorded extremes

2.2 — 56.4 mph

Circular concentration: 48%

Compared With Previous Decembers

Historical baseline from 4,434 observations across 6 years.

Wave Height
18.4ft
1.9ft above mean
Historical mean 16.5ft
Wave Period
8.6s
0.4s above mean
Historical mean 8.2s
Water Temperature
10.4°C
0.5°C above mean
Historical mean 9.9°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 2016Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)11887710101418QC rejected131513182121181519292825313027292320222317
Mean observed period(s)8Reported8Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported10Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported9Reported10Reported9Reported8Reported9Reported10Reported11Reported10Reported11Reported11Reported10Reported10Reported9Reported9Reported10Reported10Reported9Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionWconcentration 100%SSWconcentration 89%Sconcentration 98%Sconcentration 95%SEconcentration 95%SSEconcentration 92%SSWconcentration 87%SWconcentration 95%Sconcentration 91%WSWconcentration 95%SWconcentration 82%WSWconcentration 82%SEconcentration 94%Sconcentration 85%SSEconcentration 97%SWconcentration 94%SWconcentration 94%SSWconcentration 98%SWconcentration 91%SWconcentration 88%WSWconcentration 96%WSWconcentration 97%SWconcentration 74%Wconcentration 77%WSWconcentration 90%Wconcentration 92%Nconcentration 86%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%
Mean wind speed (mph)191017151824172531352222243135272828274232334234393842222
Mean water temperature(°C)10.310.410.410.310.310.610.610.710.810.710.710.710.610.610.610.510.410.310.310.210.110.110.210.110.210.210.110.010.010.110.0

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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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