Nantucket 54 NM Southeast of Nantucket
United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
10.8 ft
3.3 m
- Dominant period
- —
- Direction
- from ENE 68°
Swell
6.2 ft1.9 m
9.1 sfrom ENE 68°
Wind waves
9.2 ft2.8 m
6.7 sfrom NE 45°
Wind waves lead: 9.2 ft at 6.7 s from the NE, over 6.2 ft of short-period swell at 9.1 s from the ENE. Building over the last 6 hours, up 1.8 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%.
| Day | Height | Peak period | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 13 | 9.2 ft | 7.7 s | NE |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 7.6 ft | 8.1 s | ENE |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 6.8 ft | 6.5 s | WNW |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 6.4 ft | 6.4 s | NW |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 3.8 ft | 5.5 s | NNW |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 3.0 ft | 4.7 s | W |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 2.8 ft | 4.7 s | W |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (40.500°N, 69.250°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Nearby buoys
- Nantucket Sound4.6 ftLive · 141 km
- Block Island, RI9.8 ft · 8 sLive · 166 km
- Cape Cod Bay, MA3.9 ft · 4 sLive · 174 km
- Buzzards Bay, MA4.9 ft · 4 sLive · 179 km
- Boston 16 NM East of Boston, MA8.9 ftLive · 236 km
- Georges Bank 170 NM East of Hyannis, MA8.9 ftLive · 237 km
How to read this buoy
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the E and NE.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 19.8 ft at 9.5 s on Oct 22.
- Station id
- 44008
- Operator
- NDBC
- Program
- NDBC Meteorological/Ocean
- Position
- 40.500°N, 69.254°W
- Type
- Moored buoy
- Local time zone
- GMT-5 (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.
