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Perranporth wave buoy monthly means for 2023

Monthly means from the Perranporth wave buoy for 2023, including available wave height, period, direction, wind and sea temperature data.

Last observation shown

Data available:  to 

Latest

Period Summary

Programmatically generated summary. Hog Says

17,112 wave-buoy observations covered 360 of 365 days (99%). Typical wave height was 4.8 ft (10th–90th percentile 1.7–10 ft), while mean average of more than one wave period type was 10.4 seconds (10th–90th percentile 6.2–13.9 seconds). Typical wind was 0 mph and mean water temperature was 13.6°C (10th–90th percentile 9.8–17.4°C). 198 of 69,519 checked values (0.3%) were excluded by quality control.

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

Typical Significant Wave Height

4.8ft
Mean: 5.4 ft
P10–P90: 1.7 — 10 ft
Recorded extremes

0.4 — 22.7 ft

Available for 8,581 of 8,584 hourly samples

Mean Observed Wave Period

10.4secs
P10–P90: 6.2 — 13.9secs
Recorded extremes

1.7 — 22.2secs

Available for 8,564 of 8,584 hourly samples

Observed Wave Direction

W

Circular concentration: 96%

Mean Water Temperature

13.6°C
P10–P90: 9.8 — 17.4°C
Recorded extremes

9.1 — 19.7°C

Chart showing grouped wave observations for Perranporth. Use the table on this page for a text version of the same measurements. To open daily observations, use a linked month name in the table.

About Perranporth wave buoy

Perranporth is a National Network Datawell Directional WaveRider in about 14 metres of water off Cornwall's exposed north coast. First deployed on 18 December 2006, it records Atlantic swell approaching Perranporth and neighbouring beaches; a separate shore station supplies the local weather context.

Its current data source reports wave height, wave period, wave direction, directional spread, wave power and sea temperature.

Metrics are rows; months run left to right.
Perranporth wave buoy monthly means 2023Last observation shown
Metric
Mean significant wave height (ft)85753QC rejected5455QC rejectedQC rejected
Mean maximum wave height (ft)1281075377771213
Mean peak period (s)121313111088811101111
Mean zero-crossing period (s)676655556666
Mean energy period (s)------------
Mean reported period (s)67-655556666
Mean wave power, kilowatts per metre------------
Mean peak wave directionWconcentration 99%WNWconcentration 98%Wconcentration 99%Wconcentration 97%WNWconcentration 92%WNWconcentration 87%Wconcentration 98%Wconcentration 98%Wconcentration 97%Wconcentration 91%WNWconcentration 97%Wconcentration 97%
Mean directional spread (°)28.630.327.030.934.836.630.431.031.630.529.729.6
Mean reported wave directionWconcentration 98%Wconcentration 98%-Wconcentration 95%WNWconcentration 92%WNWconcentration 87%Wconcentration 98%Wconcentration 98%Wconcentration 97%Wconcentration 91%WNWconcentration 96%Wconcentration 97%
Mean water temperature(°C)10.49.910.011.213.216.017.417.617.016.112.911.5

Swipe sideways to see more months.

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 Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme.

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

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