Reported Nov 13, 3:10 AM ESTBuoy 44020

Nantucket Sound

Name: Nantucket Sound buoy 44020 wave observations
Creator: NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC)
License: https://www.usa.gov/government-works

United States

Last wave reading: Nov 13, 3:10 AM EST

Now at the buoy

Significant wave height at the buoy

4.6 ft

1.4 m

Dominant period: —
Direction: from ENE 61°

Swell

1.0 ft0.3 m

7.7 sfrom ESE 113°

Wind waves

4.3 ft1.3 m

4.3 sfrom ENE 68°

Wind waves lead: 4.3 ft at 4.3 s from the ENE, over 1.0 ft of short-period swell at 7.7 s from the ESE. Building over the last 6 hours, up 0.7 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 40% high against the buoy.

Model peak each day at the buoy
Day	Height	Peak period	From
Fri, Nov 13	5.6 ft	6.9 s	ENE
Sat, Nov 14	3.0 ft	7.8 s	ENE
Sun, Nov 15	2.6 ft	3.5 s	WNW
Mon, Nov 16	2.0 ft	3.2 s	NW
Tue, Nov 17	1.4 ft	2.6 s	NW
Wed, Nov 18	1.3 ft	2.5 s	WSW
Thu, Nov 19	1.2 ft	2.7 s	W

ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (41.500°N, 70.250°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

Nauset Beach43 km
Quiver forecast now: 0-1ft

Beach numbers are each beach's own Quiver forecast, not a conversion of this buoy reading.

Nearby buoys

Cape Cod Bay, MA3.9 ft · 4 sLive · 38 km
Buzzards Bay, MA4.9 ft · 4 sLive · 64 km
Block Island, RI9.8 ft · 8 sLive · 92 km
Boston 16 NM East of Boston, MA8.5 ft · 8 sLive · 99 km
Nantucket 54 NM Southeast of Nantucket10.5 ft · 8 sLive · 141 km
Jeffrey's Ledge, NH8.2 ft · 8 sLive · 145 km

Nearest tide station: Hyannis Port 15 km for today’s highs and lows.

How to read this buoy

Nantucket Sound sits in open water, 43 km from the closest beach listed here. It sees swell before the coast bends, blocks or shrinks it, so expect beach surf to differ from this reading.

Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the E and SE.

Biggest hourly reading in that record: 5.9 ft at 5 s on Nov 13.

Station id: 44020
Operator: NDBC
Program: NDBC Meteorological/Ocean
Position: 41.497°N, 70.283°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). 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.