Reported Nov 13, 1:10 AM GMT-8Buoy 46029

Columbia River Bar - 20NM West of Columbia River Mouth

Name: Columbia River Bar - 20NM West of Columbia River Mouth buoy 46029 wave observations
Creator: NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC)
License: https://www.usa.gov/government-works

United States

Last wave reading: Nov 13, 1:10 AM GMT-8

Now at the buoy

Significant wave height at the buoy

16.4 ft

5.0 m

Dominant period: —
Direction: from W 259°

Swell

14.4 ft4.4 m

11 sfrom W 270°

Wind waves

7.9 ft2.4 m

5.9 sfrom SSW 203°

Mid-period swell leads: 14.4 ft at 11 s from the W, with 7.9 ft of wind waves at 5.9 s from the SSW on top. Building over the last 6 hours, up 3.3 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)
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 tracked the buoy within 10%.

Model peak each day at the buoy
Day	Height	Peak period	From
Fri, Nov 13	24.8 ft	18 s	WSW
Sat, Nov 14	24.0 ft	18 s	WSW
Sun, Nov 15	21.7 ft	16 s	WSW
Mon, Nov 16	19.2 ft	16 s	W
Tue, Nov 17	13.6 ft	11 s	SW
Wed, Nov 18	14.6 ft	12 s	WNW
Thu, Nov 19	12.3 ft	13 s	WNW

ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (46.250°N, 124.500°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.

Nearby beaches

Listed by distance only. Their Quiver forecasts are not linked to this buoy.

Long Beach (Boardwalk)41 km
Quiver forecast now: 8-9ft
Seaside Cove (Oregon)48 km
Quiver forecast now: 9-10ft
Seaside Cove48 km
Quiver forecast now: 9-10ft

Beach numbers are each beach's own Quiver forecast, not a conversion of this buoy reading.

Nearby buoys

Astoria Canyon, OR17.1 ft · 12 sLive · 10 km
Clatsop Spit, OR13.1 ft · 13 sLive · 30 km
Tillamook Bay South Jetty, OR13.1 ft · 13 sStale · 77 km
Grays Harbor, WA12.8 ft · 13 sLive · 81 km
OOI Westport Shelf13.1 ftLive · 94 km
Tillamook, OR - 85 NM WNW of Tillamook, OR14.8 ftLive · 104 km

Nearest tide station: Columbia River entrance (N. Jetty) 36 km for today’s highs and lows.

How to read this buoy

Columbia River Bar - 20NM West of Columbia River Mouth sits in open water, 41 km from the closest beach listed here. It sees swell before the coast bends, blocks or shrinks it, so expect beach surf to differ from this reading.

Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the W and NW.

Biggest hourly reading in that record: 24.4 ft at 16 s on Nov 8.

Station id: 46029
Operator: NDBC
Program: NDBC Meteorological/Ocean
Position: 46.148°N, 124.508°W
Type: Moored buoy
Local time zone: GMT-8 (open ocean)
Swell split: Yes, swell and wind waves reported

Source: NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). 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.