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L4 wave buoy observations on Wed, Aug 12, 2026

Hourly readings from the L4 wave buoy for Wed, Aug 12, 2026, including available wave height, period, direction, wind and sea temperature data.

Last observation shown

Oldest observation available

Daily means for

Latest

Period Summary

Programmatically generated summary. Hog Says

144 wave-buoy observations were recorded during the day. Typical wave height was 1.9 ft (10th–90th percentile 1.6–2.1 ft), while mean peak wave period was 4.3 seconds (10th–90th percentile 3.6–5.5 seconds). All 432 checked values passed quality control.

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

Line chart showing wave height, wave period and sea temperature for L4. Use the detailed observations table below for the same data in text form.

About L4 wave buoy

L4 (WMO 62030) is the Western Channel Observatory's coastal site about six nautical miles south of Plymouth. Weekly sampling at L4 resumed in 1988 and its autonomous buoy has supplemented that ship-based time series since 2008, making the site an unusually rich long-term record of the western English Channel.

Its current data sources report wave height, wave period, wave direction, directional spread, wind conditions, sea temperature, separate swell and wind-sea components and wave spectra.

Metrics are rows; hours run left to right. Times use your device time zone.
L4 wave buoy hourly observations Wed, Aug 12, 2026Last observation shown
Metric
Significant wave height (ft)222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222
Average wave height (ft)222212122111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111211111111111111111211121112111111111111111111111111111111111111111
Maximum wave height (ft)333333333333333333332323222322222222233332322332232333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333323333333333333322233332322222222232222
Maximum crest height (ft)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum trough height (ft)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peak period (s)444444444443344433444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444433443443434333444444433444444344444445545566566565666666656566666665566656566565
Average period (s)444333333333333333333333333333333433433334334343433433333333333333333333333333333333333333333333433444444444444444445455544444444444444444454444
Mean period Tm02 (s)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zero-crossing period (s)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum wave period (s)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peak wave directionSESSESSSWSWWSWWSWWWNWWNWNWNNNEENEWNWESESESSESSSWSWWSWWWNWWNWNWNWNNWNWNWNWNWNNEENENEESESESSESSWWSWWNWNNWNNENEENESENWSWESEESEESEESENEENEEWNWESEESEESESESEESEESESESESESSSSSWSWSSWSSWSSWSSWSSWSSWSSWSSWSSSSWSWSWSWWSWWSWWSWWSWSWSWWSWWSWWSWWSWWSWWSWWSWWWNWNWWNWWNWNWNNWNNEENEWNWESESESESSESSESSSWSSWSWWSWWWNWWNWNWNWNNWNNNENNENENEENEENENWESESSESSWWSWWNWNNW
Mean wave direction------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Directional spread (°)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wind direction------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wind speed (mph)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Water temperature(°C)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Swipe sideways to see more hours.

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.

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 Met Office Marine observations.
The observation data displayed on this page is from the Western Channel Observatory.

Learn how SurfHog combines, checks and summarizes observations in the data and methodology notes.

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