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Sandown Bay wave buoy daily means for Jan 2021

Daily means from the Sandown Bay wave buoy for Jan 2021, 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

1,486 wave-buoy observations covered all 31 days. Typical wave height was 1.6 ft (10th–90th percentile 0.5–4 ft), while mean average of more than one wave period type was 6.7 seconds (10th–90th percentile 4.1–11.5 seconds). Mean water temperature was 7.8°C (10th–90th percentile 7.4–8.5°C). 16 of 5,923 checked values (0.3%) were excluded by quality control. Across 11 comparable years, mean wave height was below the same-month mean of 2.1 ft and mean wave period was the same as the same-month mean of 6.7 seconds.

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

Typical Significant Wave Height

1.6ft
Mean: 1.9 ft
P10–P90: 0.5 — 4 ft
Recorded extremes

0.3 — 8.4 ft

Mean Observed Wave Period

6.7secs
P10–P90: 4.1 — 11.5secs
Recorded extremes

1.7 — 20secs

Available for 742 of 744 hourly samples

Observed Wave Direction

SSE

Circular concentration: 88%

Mean Water Temperature

7.8°C
P10–P90: 7.4 — 8.5°C
Recorded extremes

7 — 9.3°C

Compared With Previous Januarys

Historical baseline from 16,338 observations across 11 years.

Wave Height
1.9ft
0.2ft below mean
Historical mean 2.133ft
Wave Period
6.7s
In line with the historical mean
Historical mean 6.7s
Water Temperature
7.8°C
0.7°C below mean
Historical mean 8.5°C

Chart showing grouped wave observations for Sandown Bay. 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 Sandown Bay wave buoy

Sandown Bay is a Channel Coastal Observatory National Network wave station off the east coast of the Isle of Wight. Its nearshore record represents conditions entering the bay between Culver Down and Dunnose, helping monitor a developed and erosion-sensitive frontage exposed to English Channel seas.

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

Metrics are rows; days run left to right.
Sandown Bay wave buoy daily means Jan 2021Last observation shown
Metric
Mean significant wave height (ft)1123221110122223124QC rejected31121322243
Mean maximum wave height (ft)1134321121232335226942231533465
Mean peak period (s)7545555444587766667761212715699869
Mean zero-crossing period (s)4334434343344444444544555443444
Mean energy period (s)-------------------------------
Mean wave power, kilowatts per metre-------------------------------
Mean peak wave directionSconcentration 96%SEconcentration 89%ESEconcentration 99%ESEconcentration 99%ESEconcentration 99%ESEconcentration 98%SEconcentration 97%SEconcentration 93%ESEconcentration 99%SSEconcentration 98%Sconcentration 97%Sconcentration 100%Sconcentration 100%Sconcentration 100%SEconcentration 97%SSEconcentration 98%Sconcentration 99%Sconcentration 100%Sconcentration 100%Sconcentration 99%Sconcentration 98%Sconcentration 99%Sconcentration 99%Sconcentration 99%SSEconcentration 98%Sconcentration 99%Sconcentration 98%Sconcentration 99%Sconcentration 100%SEconcentration 86%SEconcentration 89%
Mean directional spread (°)31.133.124.418.718.723.029.830.524.632.823.623.523.323.027.221.323.123.219.619.122.827.925.422.435.520.529.125.723.722.925.7
Mean water temperature(°C)9.18.98.78.37.97.77.67.67.57.47.57.87.97.87.47.37.47.57.88.18.18.17.97.77.67.57.77.88.07.97.5

Swipe sideways to see more days.

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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