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K7 wave buoy daily means for Jan 2020

Daily means from the K7 wave buoy for Jan 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

728 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 16.4 ft (10th–90th percentile 10.5–24.3 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 9.4 seconds (10th–90th percentile 8–11 seconds). Typical wind was 30 mph (10th–90th percentile 12.8–39.1 mph). 12 of 2,912 checked values (0.4%) were excluded by quality control. Across 8 comparable years, mean wave height was above the same-month mean of 12.3 ft and mean wave period was above the same-month mean of 8.7 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

16.4ft
Mean: 17.4 ft
P10–P90: 10.5 — 24.3 ft
Recorded extremes

6.2 — 40.7 ft

Available for 717 of 728 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

9.4secs
P10–P90: 8 — 11secs
Recorded extremes

7 — 14secs

Available for 727 of 728 hourly samples

Mean Water Temperature

-°C
P10–P90: - — -°C

Available for 0 of 728 hourly samples

Typical Wind

WSW, 30mph
Mean: 27.8 mph
P10–P90: 12.8 — 39.1 mph
Recorded extremes

3.4 — 48.3 mph

Circular concentration: 73%

Compared With Previous Januarys

Historical baseline from 5,519 observations across 8 years.

Wave Height
17.4ft
5.1ft above mean
Historical mean 12.3ft
Wave Period
9.4s
0.7s above mean
Historical mean 8.7s
Water Temperature
–
Not enough comparable data
Historical mean 9.1°C

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 Jan 2020Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)16202117161922QC rejected21QC rejected222321272011191813201710171816151512131010
Mean observed period(s)8Reported9Reported10Reported10Reported9Reported9Reported10Reported12Reported12Reported10Reported10Reported10Reported9Reported10Reported9Reported8Reported9Reported9Reported8Reported10Reported11Reported9Reported9Reported10Reported9Reported9Reported10Reported10Reported11Reported8Reported8Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionSWconcentration 98%WSWconcentration 88%WNWconcentration 96%SWconcentration 31%SWconcentration 97%SWconcentration 89%SSWconcentration 94%Wconcentration 100%WSWconcentration 97%SWconcentration 82%WSWconcentration 91%WSWconcentration 98%SSWconcentration 85%SWconcentration 98%SWconcentration 92%SSWconcentration 65%SWconcentration 82%WNWconcentration 97%WSWconcentration 96%WSWconcentration 94%Wconcentration 98%WSWconcentration 76%Wconcentration 98%Wconcentration 92%SWconcentration 100%SWconcentration 93%Sconcentration 57%SSWconcentration 86%SEconcentration 33%SSWconcentration 61%Wconcentration 37%
Mean wind speed (mph)3536342026333637182633333638352637323132211930263028181372020
Mean water temperature(°C)-------------------------------

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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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