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K5 wave buoy daily means for Aug 2018

Daily means from the K5 wave buoy for Aug 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

733 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 6.9 ft (10th–90th percentile 4.6–10.5 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 6.2 seconds (10th–90th percentile 5–7 seconds). Typical wind was 16.1 mph (10th–90th percentile 8.1–23 mph) and mean water temperature was 13.2°C (10th–90th percentile 13–13.5°C). 4 of 3,665 checked values (0.1%) were excluded by quality control. Across 8 comparable years, mean wave height was above the same-month mean of 7.3 ft and mean wave period was above the same-month mean of 6 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

6.9ft
Mean: 7.5 ft
P10–P90: 4.6 — 10.5 ft
Recorded extremes

2.6 — 21.3 ft

Available for 731 of 733 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

6.2secs
P10–P90: 5 — 7secs
Recorded extremes

4 — 9secs

Available for 732 of 733 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

13.2°C
P10–P90: 13 — 13.5°C
Recorded extremes

12.6 — 13.9°C

Typical Wind

WSW, 16.1mph
Mean: 15.6 mph
P10–P90: 8.1 — 23 mph
Recorded extremes

0 — 34.4 mph

Circular concentration: 56%

Available for 732 of 733 hourly samples

Compared With Previous Augusts

Historical baseline from 5,874 observations across 8 years.

Wave Height
7.5ft
0.2ft above mean
Historical mean 7.3ft
Wave Period
6.2s
0.2s above mean
Historical mean 6s
Water Temperature
13.2°C
In line with the historical mean
Historical mean 13.2°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 Aug 2018Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)84466797654675810101576571087810111379
Mean observed period(s)6Reported6Reported5Reported5Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported5Reported6Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported5Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionSSWconcentration 94%SSWconcentration 88%SWconcentration 96%WSWconcentration 97%SSWconcentration 86%WSWconcentration 98%SWconcentration 86%Wconcentration 98%Wconcentration 76%WNWconcentration 91%SSEconcentration 64%Econcentration 100%SSEconcentration 62%SWconcentration 95%SWconcentration 97%Wconcentration 97%SWconcentration 88%Wconcentration 93%Wconcentration 99%Wconcentration 84%Variableconcentration 22%WSWconcentration 93%Wconcentration 95%NWconcentration 96%Wconcentration 73%Econcentration 86%ESEconcentration 39%SSWconcentration 94%Wconcentration 98%SWconcentration 78%Sconcentration 69%
Mean wind speed (mph)14513161518161210913181015201922211181520181710221624231223
Mean water temperature(°C)12.813.213.213.013.113.013.013.213.213.113.313.113.313.513.513.513.313.313.213.213.213.213.313.313.313.213.213.113.013.113.0

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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