Masonboro Inlet, ILM2, NC
North Carolina, United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
2.0 ft
0.6 m
- Dominant period
- 7 s
- Direction
- from S 176°
Swell
0.3 ft0.1 m
10 sfrom SE 135°
Wind waves
1.6 ft0.5 m
6.9 sfrom S 180°
Wind waves lead: 1.6 ft at 6.9 s from the S, over 0.3 ft of mid-period swell at 10 s from the SE. Fading over the last 6 hours, down 1.0 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.
Beaches whose Quiver forecast uses this buoy
- Wrightsville Beach10 km
Quiver forecast now: 0-1ft
- Carolina Beach20 km
Quiver forecast now: 0-1ft
Beach numbers are each beach's own Quiver forecast, not a conversion of this buoy reading.
Nearby buoys
- Wilmington Harbor, NC3.9 ft · 6 sLive · 55 km
- Onslow Bay Outer, NC6.2 ft · 5 sLive · 71 km
- Sunset Beach Nearshore Waves (SUN2WAVE)2.6 ft · 6 sStale · 79 km
- Frying Pan Shoals, NC5.6 ft · 5 sLive · 79 km
- Edisto - 41 NM Southeast of Charleston, SC3.9 ft · 5 sLive · 223 km
- Capers Nearshore Waves (CAP2WAVE)2.0 ft · 6 sLive · 231 km
Nearest tide station: Wrightsville Beach 10 km for today’s highs and lows.
Other readings
- Water temperature
- 67°F (19.7°C)
- Air temperature
- 56°F (13.3°C)
Reported Nov 13, 5:00 AM EST.
How to read this buoy
Masonboro Inlet, ILM2, NC sits close to shore, 10 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 SE and E.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 7.1 ft at 7 s on Oct 25.
- Station id
- 41110
- CDIP id
- 150
- Operator
- CORMP
- Program
- IOOS Partners
- Position
- 34.144°N, 77.715°W
- Type
- Moored buoy
- Local time zone
- America/New_York
- Swell split
- Yes, swell and wind waves reported
Source: NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC); station operated by CORMP. 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.
