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K5 wave buoy daily means for Mar 2020

Daily means from the K5 wave buoy for Mar 2020, 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 14.1 ft (10th–90th percentile 8.9–22.3 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 8.2 seconds (10th–90th percentile 7–10 seconds). Typical wind was 20.8 mph (10th–90th percentile 11.4–33.3 mph) and mean water temperature was 9.2°C (10th–90th percentile 9–9.5°C). 10 of 3,690 checked values (0.3%) were excluded by quality control. Across 10 comparable years, mean wave height was above the same-month mean of 13.5 ft and mean wave period was above the same-month mean of 7.8 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

14.1ft
Mean: 14.7 ft
P10–P90: 8.9 — 22.3 ft
Recorded extremes

5.9 — 35.8 ft

Available for 729 of 738 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

8.2secs
P10–P90: 7 — 10secs
Recorded extremes

5 — 12secs

Mean Water Temperature

9.2°C
P10–P90: 9 — 9.5°C
Recorded extremes

8.6 — 9.6°C

Typical Wind

W, 20.8mph
Mean: 21.9 mph
P10–P90: 11.4 — 33.3 mph
Recorded extremes

3.4 — 46.1 mph

Circular concentration: 46%

Available for 737 of 738 hourly samples

Compared With Previous Marchs

Historical baseline from 6,916 observations across 10 years.

Wave Height
14.7ft
1.2ft above mean
Historical mean 13.5ft
Wave Period
8.2s
0.4s above mean
Historical mean 7.8s
Water Temperature
9.2°C
0.2°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 Mar 2020Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)1720171412912161719181914913182822158141226191311998109
Mean observed period(s)9Reported9Reported9Reported8Reported9Reported8Reported7Reported9Reported9Reported9Reported9Reported10Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported10Reported10Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported10Reported10Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionEconcentration 63%NEconcentration 97%Wconcentration 86%WSWconcentration 94%WSWconcentration 72%Wconcentration 67%SWconcentration 68%WSWconcentration 84%Econcentration 39%WSWconcentration 94%WSWconcentration 91%Nconcentration 56%SSEconcentration 80%NNEconcentration 79%NNEconcentration 55%SWconcentration 87%WSWconcentration 99%Wconcentration 91%NWconcentration 82%Sconcentration 78%SSWconcentration 85%SSWconcentration 83%SWconcentration 97%WSWconcentration 88%WSWconcentration 95%WSWconcentration 98%WNWconcentration 87%Nconcentration 97%NWconcentration 97%NWconcentration 98%WNWconcentration 98%
Mean wind speed (mph)17281922131523232132261919192134333223112525321619171714182223
Mean water temperature(°C)9.39.39.39.39.59.49.49.59.59.59.29.09.18.99.09.19.29.19.19.39.29.19.19.08.99.09.19.19.19.19.1

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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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