Chicago Buoy
United States
Last wave reading:
Last reading
This reading is more than 3 hours old. The buoy may have stopped sending waves for now.
Significant wave height at the buoy
0.7 ft
0.2 m
- Dominant period
- —
- Direction
- from W 276°
This reading came without the swell and wind-wave split, so the numbers are for the whole sea.
Close to flat at the buoy: 0.7 ft of total wave height.
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
| Day | Height | Peak period | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 13 | 8.7 ft | 8 s | N |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 6.8 ft | 7.1 s | N |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 2.6 ft | 5.9 s | N |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 0.9 ft | 4.5 s | N |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 1.0 ft | 2.4 s | SSW |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 1.7 ft | 3.1 s | S |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 1.8 ft | 3.2 s | S |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (42.000°N, 87.500°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Nearby buoys
- Wilmette Buoy, IL0.7 ftStale · 28 km
- Michigan City Buoy, IN0.3 ftStale · 52 km
- Waukegan Buoy, IL1.3 ftStale · 56 km
- Winthrop Harbor Buoy, IL1.0 ft · 3 sStale · 69 km
- Cook Nuclear Plant Buoy, Stevensville, MI1.0 ftStale · 79 km
- Salmon Unlimited WisconsinOffline · 90 km
Other readings
- Water temperature
- 57°F (13.7°C)
- Wind
- 4 kt from the SW, gusts 8 kt
- Air temperature
- 58°F (14.3°C)
- Pressure
- 1028.5 hPa
Reported Oct 19, 10:30 AM CDT.
How to read this buoy
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the NE and N.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 7.0 ft on Oct 16.
- Station id
- 45198
- Operator
- Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and Purdue Civil Engineering
- Program
- IOOS Partners
- Position
- 41.892°N, 87.563°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 Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and Purdue Civil Engineering. 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.
