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K5 wave buoy daily means for Jan 2019

Daily means from the K5 wave buoy for Jan 2019, 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

738 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 13.5 ft (10th–90th percentile 8.9–20.3 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 8.1 seconds (10th–90th percentile 7–10 seconds). Typical wind was 21.9 mph (10th–90th percentile 12.2–32.2 mph) and mean water temperature was 9.7°C (10th–90th percentile 9.5–9.9°C). 10 of 3,690 checked values (0.3%) were excluded by quality control. Across 8 comparable years, mean wave height was below the same-month mean of 16.5 ft and mean wave period was below the same-month mean of 8.4 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

13.5ft
Mean: 14.2 ft
P10–P90: 8.9 — 20.3 ft
Recorded extremes

6.2 — 31.8 ft

Available for 731 of 738 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

8.1secs
P10–P90: 7 — 10secs
Recorded extremes

5 — 13secs

Available for 736 of 738 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

9.7°C
P10–P90: 9.5 — 9.9°C
Recorded extremes

9.3 — 10.1°C

Typical Wind

W, 21.9mph
Mean: 21.7 mph
P10–P90: 12.2 — 32.2 mph
Recorded extremes

3.4 — 47.2 mph

Circular concentration: 36%

Available for 737 of 738 hourly samples

Compared With Previous Januarys

Historical baseline from 5,896 observations across 8 years.

Wave Height
14.2ft
2.3ft below mean
Historical mean 16.5ft
Wave Period
8.1s
0.3s below mean
Historical mean 8.4s
Water Temperature
9.7°C
In line with the historical mean
Historical mean 9.7°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 Jan 2019Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)161010131312QC rejected117911182114151713151217222313913151512191610
Mean observed period(s)9Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported9Reported8Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported8Reported9Reported8Reported9Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported9Reported9Reported11Reported9Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported8Reported10Reported9Reported7Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionVariableconcentration 21%Sconcentration 100%Sconcentration 99%SSWconcentration 98%SWconcentration 61%SWconcentration 47%WNWconcentration 83%WNWconcentration 56%WSWconcentration 85%Wconcentration 98%WSWconcentration 91%Wconcentration 100%WNWconcentration 93%WSWconcentration 79%Wconcentration 60%NNWconcentration 78%ESEconcentration 47%ESEconcentration 93%ESEconcentration 64%Wconcentration 91%SWconcentration 85%WNWconcentration 89%NWconcentration 96%WSWconcentration 62%WNWconcentration 84%NNEconcentration 89%Nconcentration 87%Wconcentration 65%WNWconcentration 92%Nconcentration 84%NEconcentration 97%
Mean wind speed (mph)13192221231636111621233030201826172620243119171621321719232223
Mean water temperature(°C)9.89.89.89.910.09.99.89.79.89.89.89.99.89.910.09.99.99.99.99.89.79.79.69.59.59.59.59.59.59.59.4

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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