Avila Beach Nearshore, CA
California, United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
4.6 ft
1.4 m
- Dominant period
- 15 s
- Direction
- from SSW 213°
Swell
3.0 ft0.9 m
15 sfrom SSW 203°
Wind waves
3.6 ft1.1 m
5.3 sfrom SSW 203°
Wind waves lead: 3.6 ft at 5.3 s from the SSW, over 3.0 ft of long-period groundswell at 15 s from the SSW. Holding steady over the last 6 hours.
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)
- Swell
- Wind waves
Period
- Swell period
- Wind-wave 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 156% high against the buoy.
| Day | Height | Peak period | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 13 | 11.0 ft | 15 s | WNW |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 18.6 ft | 18 s | WNW |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 13.8 ft | 17 s | WNW |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 13.5 ft | 16 s | WNW |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 12.1 ft | 15 s | WNW |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 8.9 ft | 13 s | WNW |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 8.0 ft | 11 s | WNW |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (35.000°N, 120.750°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Beaches whose Quiver forecast uses this buoy
- Avila Beach1.6 km
Quiver forecast now: 1-2ft
- Pismo Pier8.8 km
Quiver forecast now: 5-6ft
Quiver forecast now: 9-10ft
Beach numbers are each beach's own Quiver forecast, not a conversion of this buoy reading.
Nearby buoys
- Diablo Canyon, CA8.2 ftLive · 12 km
- Santa Maria - 21NM NW of Point Arguello, CA9.2 ft · 16 sLive · 35 km
- Harvest, CA14.8 ft · 14 sLive · 79 km
- Santa Lucia Escarpment, CA13.1 ft · 17 sStale · 81 km
- West Santa Barbara 38 NM West of Santa Barbara, CA12.8 ft · 16 sLive · 102 km
- Cape San Martin - 55NM West NW of Morro Bay, CA9.5 ftLive · 125 km
Nearest tide station: Port San Luis 2 km for today’s highs and lows.
Other readings
- Water temperature
- 68°F (20.0°C)
Reported Nov 13, 2:56 AM PST.
How to read this buoy
Avila Beach Nearshore, CA sits close to shore, 1.6 km from the closest beach listed here. Its readings already include some of the local shadowing, so they track nearby beaches more closely than an offshore buoy.
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the S and SW.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 5.1 ft at 14 s on Nov 13.
- Station id
- 46286
- CDIP id
- 285
- Operator
- National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR)
- Program
- IOOS Partners
- Position
- 35.164°N, 120.737°W
- Type
- Moored buoy
- Local time zone
- America/Los_Angeles
- Swell split
- Yes, swell and wind waves reported
Source: NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC); station operated by National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR). 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.
