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K5 wave buoy daily means for May 2016

Daily means from the K5 wave buoy for May 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 7.2 ft (10th–90th percentile 3.6–13.8 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 6.6 seconds (10th–90th percentile 6–8 seconds). Typical wind was 6.9 mph (10th–90th percentile 0–20.8 mph) and mean water temperature was 10°C (10th–90th percentile 9.4–10.9°C). All 3,715 checked values passed quality control. Across 6 comparable years, mean wave height was below the same-month mean of 9 ft and mean wave period was the same as the same-month mean of 6.6 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

7.2ft
Mean: 8.1 ft
P10–P90: 3.6 — 13.8 ft
Recorded extremes

1 — 21.3 ft

Mean Wave Period

6.6secs
P10–P90: 6 — 8secs
Recorded extremes

4 — 10secs

Mean Water Temperature

10°C
P10–P90: 9.4 — 10.9°C
Recorded extremes

8.8 — 12.4°C

Typical Wind

NNE, 6.9mph
Mean: 8.4 mph
P10–P90: 0 — 20.8 mph
Recorded extremes

0 — 36.9 mph

Circular concentration: 46%

Compared With Previous Mays

Historical baseline from 4,272 observations across 6 years.

Wave Height
8.1ft
0.9ft below mean
Historical mean 9ft
Wave Period
6.6s
In line with the historical mean
Historical mean 6.6s
Water Temperature
10°C
0.1°C below mean
Historical mean 10.1°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 May 2016Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)1115161517107111010548875711101177557544433
Mean observed period(s)7Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported9Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionNconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%Nconcentration 100%NNEconcentration 88%NEconcentration 96%NWconcentration 87%Wconcentration 99%WSWconcentration 89%SEconcentration 72%NEconcentration 94%ESEconcentration 59%SWconcentration 99%SSWconcentration 96%WNWconcentration 71%NNWconcentration 81%Econcentration 99%Econcentration 95%ENEconcentration 93%Econcentration 97%ENEconcentration 69%Sconcentration 49%NNWconcentration 53%NNEconcentration 86%
Mean wind speed (mph)-----------101611161319272323151591313875567
Mean water temperature(°C)9.49.59.39.49.59.59.69.59.79.49.410.010.09.79.79.79.69.59.59.79.910.010.310.410.510.610.710.911.211.712.0

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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