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K7 wave buoy daily means for Dec 2020

Daily means from the K7 wave buoy for Dec 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

742 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 11.8 ft (10th–90th percentile 8.2–19.2 ft), while mean reported wave period; measurement type unavailable was 8.6 seconds (10th–90th percentile 7–11 seconds). Typical wind was 23 mph (10th–90th percentile 11.4–30 mph). 5 of 2,968 checked values (0.2%) were excluded by quality control. Across 9 comparable years, mean wave height was below the same-month mean of 13.3 ft and mean wave period was above the same-month mean of 8.5 seconds.

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

Typical Wave Height

11.8ft
Mean: 12.8 ft
P10–P90: 8.2 — 19.2 ft
Recorded extremes

6.2 — 31.5 ft

Available for 737 of 742 hourly samples

Mean Wave Period

8.6secs
P10–P90: 7 — 11secs
Recorded extremes

6 — 13secs

Mean Water Temperature

-°C
P10–P90: - — -°C

Available for 0 of 742 hourly samples

Typical Wind

Variable, 23mph
Mean: 22 mph
P10–P90: 11.4 — 30 mph
Recorded extremes

3.4 — 39.1 mph

Circular concentration: 19%

Compared With Previous Decembers

Historical baseline from 6,626 observations across 9 years.

Wave Height
12.8ft
0.5ft below mean
Historical mean 13.3ft
Wave Period
8.6s
0.1s above mean
Historical mean 8.5s
Water Temperature
–
Not enough comparable data
Historical mean 9.6°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 Dec 2020Last observation shown
Metric
Mean wave height (ft)919191414119131013QC rejected14131311109913131111910132420191398
Mean observed period(s)7Reported10Reported12Reported11Reported9Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported7Reported7Reported8Reported9Reported8Reported9Reported9Reported8Reported7Reported8Reported10Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported8Reported11Reported12Reported11Reported9Reported8Reported7Reported
Mean wave power(kW/m)-------------------------------
Mean wind directionSWconcentration 77%WSWconcentration 96%SSWconcentration 51%NEconcentration 93%NEconcentration 98%NEconcentration 98%NEconcentration 88%ENEconcentration 85%SEconcentration 96%SSEconcentration 100%SEconcentration 99%SEconcentration 99%SEconcentration 98%SSEconcentration 87%Sconcentration 95%SEconcentration 90%SSWconcentration 87%Sconcentration 86%Sconcentration 95%SSWconcentration 98%SWconcentration 85%NWconcentration 95%Nconcentration 98%NNWconcentration 84%WSWconcentration 95%SWconcentration 90%Variableconcentration 16%Econcentration 45%NNWconcentration 83%NEconcentration 65%Nconcentration 100%
Mean wind speed (mph)21241018212324252732322530201620232016282123202227261313231125
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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