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K7 wave buoy daily means for May 2011

Daily means from the K7 wave buoy for May 2011, 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

736 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 7.9 ft (10th–90th percentile 4.6–13.8 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 6.4 seconds (10th–90th percentile 5–8 seconds). Typical wind was 17.2 mph (10th–90th percentile 9.2–27.8 mph) and mean water temperature was 9.8°C (10th–90th percentile 9.4–10.1°C). All 3,680 checked values passed quality control. Across 1 comparable year, mean wave height was above the same-month mean of 5.4 ft and mean wave period was the same as the same-month mean of 6.4 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

7.9ft
Mean: 8.4 ft
P10–P90: 4.6 — 13.8 ft
Recorded extremes

2.3 — 19 ft

Mean Wave Period

6.4secs
P10–P90: 5 — 8secs
Recorded extremes

4 — 9secs

Mean Water Temperature

9.8°C
P10–P90: 9.4 — 10.1°C
Recorded extremes

9.1 — 10.6°C

Typical Wind

Variable, 17.2mph
Mean: 18.1 mph
P10–P90: 9.2 — 27.8 mph
Recorded extremes

2.2 — 40.3 mph

Circular concentration: 24%

Compared With Previous Mays

Historical baseline from 341 observations across 1 year.

Wave Height
8.4ft
3ft above mean
Historical mean 5.4ft
Wave Period
6.4s
In line with the historical mean
Historical mean 6.4s
Water Temperature
9.8°C
Not enough comparable data

Chart showing grouped wave observations for K7. 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 K7 wave buoy

K7 (WMO 64046) is a UK Met Office buoy west of Shetland in the North Atlantic. Its position monitors ocean weather and sea conditions approaching the Northern Isles. The international feed can include wind, pressure, air and sea temperature, and wave observations when the relevant sensors are reporting.

Metrics are rows; days run left to right.
K7 wave buoy daily means May 2011Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)553368610987667867111512149101511871213108
Mean observed period(s)6Reported5Reported4Reported5Reported5Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported6Reported7Reported6Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported7Reported6Reported6Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionEconcentration 98%Econcentration 98%Econcentration 99%Econcentration 97%ESEconcentration 98%Econcentration 98%ESEconcentration 94%ESEconcentration 95%SEconcentration 98%SEconcentration 95%Sconcentration 98%SSEconcentration 69%WSWconcentration 76%WNWconcentration 96%Wconcentration 95%NNEconcentration 32%WSWconcentration 54%SWconcentration 92%WSWconcentration 87%SWconcentration 97%SSWconcentration 69%SSWconcentration 61%Variableconcentration 23%Wconcentration 98%Variableconcentration 27%NNEconcentration 95%Variableconcentration 28%WSWconcentration 94%WSWconcentration 99%WSWconcentration 97%WSWconcentration 55%
Mean wind speed (mph)13161382122162318191778151515182126242222203015211723222012
Mean water temperature(°C)9.79.69.89.99.69.29.710.09.79.69.610.010.210.09.99.810.110.110.29.89.69.69.59.59.79.79.69.79.89.910.2

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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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