Del Mar Nearshore, CA
California, United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
3.9 ft
1.2 m
- Dominant period
- 14 s
- Direction
- from W 268°
Swell
3.6 ft1.1 m
14 sfrom W 270°
Wind waves
2.0 ft0.6 m
9.9 sfrom W 270°
Long-period groundswell leads: 3.6 ft at 14 s from the W, with 2.0 ft of wind waves at 9.9 s from the W on top. 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 tracked the buoy within 10%.
| Day | Height | Peak period | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 13 | 6.0 ft | 14 s | W |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 8.3 ft | 17 s | W |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 8.0 ft | 17 s | W |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 7.7 ft | 15 s | W |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 9.6 ft | 9.5 s | W |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 6.2 ft | 9.4 s | W |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 4.3 ft | 6.3 s | W |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (32.750°N, 117.250°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
- Del Mar1.0 km
Quiver forecast now: 4-5ft
- Del Mar Rivermouth1.1 km
Quiver forecast now: 5-6ft
- Solana Beach3.9 km
Quiver forecast now: 3-4ft
- Torrey Pines State Beach3.9 km
Quiver forecast now: 6-7ft
- Seaside Reef4.6 km
Quiver forecast now: 5-6ft
- George's5.2 km
Quiver forecast now: 4-5ft
- Cardiff Reef7.0 km
Quiver forecast now: 5-6ft
- San Elijo State Beach7.5 km
Quiver forecast now: 3-4ft
- Pipes7.7 km
Quiver forecast now: 4-5ft
- Swami's8.8 km
Quiver forecast now: 4-5ft
- D Street10 km
Quiver forecast now: 4-5ft
Quiver forecast now: 4-5ft
+3 more beaches use this buoy, further away.
Beach numbers are each beach's own Quiver forecast, not a conversion of this buoy reading.
Nearby buoys
- Scripps Nearshore, CA2.6 ft · 13 sLive · 10.0 km
- La Jolla, CA3.3 ft · 12 sLive · 10 km
- Torrey Pines Outer, CA3.9 ft · 13 sLive · 11 km
- Leucadia Nearshore, CA4.6 ft · 14 sLive · 12 km
- Oceanside Offshore, CA4.3 ft · 13 sLive · 30 km
- Mission Bay West, CA4.3 ft · 13 sLive · 31 km
Nearest tide station: La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) 10 km for today’s highs and lows.
Other readings
- Water temperature
- 75°F (23.9°C)
Reported Nov 13, 1:56 AM PST.
How to read this buoy
Del Mar Nearshore, CA sits close to shore, 1.0 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 W.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 5.9 ft at 6.5 s on Nov 1.
- Station id
- 46266
- CDIP id
- 153
- Operator
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Program
- IOOS Partners
- Position
- 32.957°N, 117.279°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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 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.
