Monterey Canyon Outer, CA
California, United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
8.2 ft
2.5 m
- Dominant period
- 15 s
- Direction
- from WNW 283°
Swell
6.6 ft2.0 m
15 sfrom WNW 293°
Wind waves
4.9 ft1.5 m
9.5 sfrom W 270°
Long-period groundswell leads: 6.6 ft at 15 s from the WNW, with 4.9 ft of wind waves at 9.5 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 ran 23% high against the buoy.
| Day | Height | Peak period | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 13 | 16.2 ft | 17 s | WNW |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 22.0 ft | 18 s | WNW |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 14.4 ft | 16 s | WNW |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 16.3 ft | 16 s | WNW |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 14.1 ft | 15 s | WNW |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 9.0 ft | 13 s | WNW |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 8.6 ft | 12 s | WNW |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (36.750°N, 122.000°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
- Marina State Beach14 km
Quiver forecast now: 9-10ft
- Lovers Point15 km
Quiver forecast now: 10-11ft
- Moss Landing15 km
Quiver forecast now: 9-10ft
Quiver forecast now: 9-10ft
- Asilomar State Beach16 km
Quiver forecast now: 9-10ft
- Del Monte Beach19 km
Quiver forecast now: 10-11ft
- Pleasure Point22 km
Quiver forecast now: 7-8ft
- Ghost Tree22 km
Quiver forecast now: 6-7ft
Quiver forecast now: 6-7ft
- Steamer Lane22 km
Quiver forecast now: 6-7ft
- Mitchell's Cove23 km
Quiver forecast now: 7-8ft
- Carmel Beach23 km
Quiver forecast now: 8-9ft
Beach numbers are each beach's own Quiver forecast, not a conversion of this buoy reading.
Nearby buoys
- Monterey - 27NM WNW of Monterey, CA11.2 ftLive · 41 km
- Point Sur, CA6.6 ft · 10 sStale · 49 km
- Half Moon Bay - 24NM SSW of San Francisco, CA8.5 ft · 11 sLive · 106 km
- Cape San Martin - 55NM West NW of Morro Bay, CA10.8 ftLive · 111 km
- San Francisco Bar, CA9.5 ft · 15 sLive · 129 km
- San Francisco - 18NM West of San Francisco, CA12.5 ftLive · 135 km
Nearest tide station: Moss Landing, Ocean Pier 15 km for today’s highs and lows.
Other readings
- Water temperature
- 66°F (19.1°C)
- Air temperature
- 65°F (18.5°C)
Reported Nov 13, 12:30 AM PST.
How to read this buoy
Monterey Canyon Outer, CA sits close to shore, 14 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 NW and W.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 11.3 ft at 14 s on Nov 9.
- Station id
- 46236
- CDIP id
- 156
- Operator
- SCRIPPS
- Program
- IOOS Partners
- Position
- 36.759°N, 121.950°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 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.
