La Jolla, CA
California, United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
3.3 ft
1.0 m
- Dominant period
- 12 s
- Direction
- no direction
Swell
3.0 ft0.9 m
6.7 sno direction
Wind waves
0.0 ft0.0 m
no periodno direction
Short-period wind chop leads: 3.0 ft at 6.7 s, with little wind wave on top. Building over the last 6 hours, up 0.5 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 ran 44% high against the buoy.
| 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
- Hotel Del Coronado22 km
Quiver forecast now: 4-5ft
- Coronado North Jetty22 km
Quiver forecast now: 3-4ft
- Shipwrecks23 km
Quiver forecast now: 4-5ft
Beach numbers are each beach's own Quiver forecast, not a conversion of this buoy reading.
Nearby buoys
- Scripps Nearshore, CA3.0 ft · 11 sLive · 0.9 km
- Del Mar Nearshore, CA3.9 ft · 14 sLive · 10 km
- Torrey Pines Outer, CA3.9 ft · 13 sLive · 15 km
- Leucadia Nearshore, CA4.9 ft · 13 sLive · 22 km
- Mission Bay West, CA4.9 ft · 14 sLive · 26 km
- Oceanside Offshore, CA3.6 ft · 14 sLive · 40 km
Nearest tide station: La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) 0 km for today’s highs and lows.
Other readings
- Wind
- 7 kt from the ESE, gusts 13 kt
Reported Nov 13, 1:20 AM PST.
How to read this buoy
La Jolla, CA is a fixed station on a pier, platform or shore, not a floating buoy. Its waves are shaped by the nearby coast and seabed.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 5.2 ft at 6 s on Nov 1.
- Station id
- LJPC1
- CDIP id
- 073
- Operator
- SCRIPPS
- Program
- IOOS Partners
- Position
- 32.867°N, 117.257°W
- Type
- Fixed station
- Local time zone
- America/Los_Angeles
- Swell split
- Yes, swell and wind waves reported
Source: NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC); station operated by SCRIPPS. 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.
