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K5 wave buoy daily means for Feb 2018

Daily means from the K5 wave buoy for Feb 2018, 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

651 wave-buoy observations covered all 28 days. Typical wave height was 17.4 ft (10th–90th percentile 10.2–25.6 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 8.7 seconds (10th–90th percentile 7–11 seconds). Typical wind was 24.2 mph (10th–90th percentile 13.9–34.4 mph) and mean water temperature was 9°C (10th–90th percentile 9–9.2°C). 40 of 3,255 checked values (1.2%) were excluded by quality control. Across 7 comparable years, mean wave height was above the same-month mean of 15.9 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

17.4ft
Mean: 17.7 ft
P10–P90: 10.2 — 25.6 ft
Recorded extremes

6.9 — 37.1 ft

Available for 628 of 651 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

8.7secs
P10–P90: 7 — 11secs
Recorded extremes

5 — 13secs

Available for 635 of 651 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

9°C
P10–P90: 9 — 9.2°C
Recorded extremes

8.9 — 9.3°C

Typical Wind

SW, 24.2mph
Mean: 24.4 mph
P10–P90: 13.9 — 34.4 mph
Recorded extremes

0 — 48.3 mph

Circular concentration: 50%

Available for 650 of 651 hourly samples

Compared With Previous Februarys

Historical baseline from 4,654 observations across 7 years.

Wave Height
17.7ft
1.8ft above mean
Historical mean 15.9ft
Wave Period
8.7s
0.5s above mean
Historical mean 8.2s
Water Temperature
9°C
0.4°C below mean
Historical mean 9.4°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 Feb 2018Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)2011171317241823212423211926311811111220151819241413910
Mean observed period(s)9Reported7Reported9Reported9Reported8Reported11Reported9Reported11Reported10Reported9Reported9Reported9Reported9Reported9Reported11Reported9Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported10Reported9Reported8Reported8Reported10Reported8Reported8Reported7Reported6Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)----------------------------
Mean wind directionNNWconcentration 99%SWconcentration 61%WNWconcentration 90%SWconcentration 76%WSWconcentration 83%WNWconcentration 95%WSWconcentration 89%Wconcentration 98%WSWconcentration 80%Wconcentration 97%Wconcentration 98%SWconcentration 62%WSWconcentration 84%Sconcentration 95%WSWconcentration 87%SWconcentration 79%WSWconcentration 92%SSEconcentration 87%SWconcentration 91%Wconcentration 97%Sconcentration 90%SSWconcentration 72%SSEconcentration 92%SSEconcentration 99%SSEconcentration 99%SSEconcentration 98%Econcentration 69%ENEconcentration 96%
Mean wind speed (mph)28201919292525212831292624363622181820172524313123211424
Mean water temperature(°C)9.29.29.29.29.29.19.19.19.19.19.19.09.09.09.09.09.09.09.09.09.09.08.99.09.09.09.09.0

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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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