ATW20 - Atwater Park, WI
Wisconsin, United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
6.2 ft
1.9 m
- Dominant period
- 8 s
- Direction
- from NE 48°
This reading came without the swell and wind-wave split, so the numbers are for the whole sea.
Short-period swell: 6.2 ft at 8 s from the NE. Fading over the last 6 hours, down 1.3 ft.
Significant wave height is the average of the biggest third of waves at the buoy. It is not surf height at a beach.
Trend at the buoy
Height at the buoy
- Total (significant height)
Period
- Dominant period
Hourly means of the buoy's readings. Arrows point the way the waves travel.
Model vs the buoy
- Buoy, hourly
- Model, past days
- Model forecast
Over the last 5 days, the model ran 15% high against the buoy.
| Day | Height | Peak period | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 13 | 6.8 ft | 7 s | NNE |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 5.6 ft | 6.8 s | NNE |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 2.0 ft | 5.6 s | NNE |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 1.0 ft | 3 s | S |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 1.6 ft | 3.8 s | SSE |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 2.6 ft | 4.3 s | SSE |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 2.3 ft | 4.6 s | SSE |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (43.000°N, 87.750°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Nearby buoys
- Salmon Unlimited WisconsinOffline · 47 km
- Winthrop Harbor Buoy, IL1.0 ft · 3 sStale · 68 km
- Waukegan Buoy, IL1.3 ftStale · 81 km
- South Michigan Spotter6.6 ft · 6 sLive · 82 km
- Wilmette Buoy, IL0.7 ftStale · 108 km
- Muskegon Buoy, MI2.0 ft · 4 sLive · 121 km
Other readings
- Water temperature
- 49°F (9.6°C)
- Wind
- 23 kt from the NE, gusts 29 kt
- Air temperature
- 39°F (3.9°C)
- Pressure
- 1017.8 hPa
Reported Nov 13, 2:00 AM CST.
How to read this buoy
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the NE and SE.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 8.4 ft at 8.5 s on Nov 12.
- Station id
- 45013
- Operator
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Program
- IOOS Partners
- Position
- 43.098°N, 87.850°W
- Type
- Moored buoy
- Local time zone
- America/Chicago
- Swell split
- Yes, swell and wind waves reported
Source: NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC); station operated by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Licence: Public domain (US government work). Station page at the source.
Not for navigation. Readings can be late, missing or wrong; check official marine forecasts before going to sea.
Buoy terms
- Significant height
- The average of the biggest third of waves the buoy measured. Sets in the surf zone can be bigger or smaller.
- Dominant period
- Seconds between the waves carrying the most energy. Longer period means more power and more bend around points.
- Swell vs wind waves
- Swell was made by distant wind; wind waves were made nearby. The buoy splits its spectrum at a cutoff period to report each.
- Direction
- Where waves come from, in degrees true. 270° is from the west.
