NE Bahamas - 350 NM ENE of Nassau, Bahamas
Bahamas
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
3.9 ft
1.2 m
- Dominant period
- —
- Direction
- from SSW 213°
Swell
3.6 ft1.1 m
6.2 sfrom SSW 203°
Wind waves
2.0 ft0.6 m
4.8 sfrom WSW 248°
Short-period wind chop leads: 3.6 ft at 6.2 s from the SSW, with 2.0 ft of wind waves at 4.8 s from the WSW on top. Building over the last 6 hours, up 1.1 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 | 7.7 ft | 6.2 s | SW |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 7.3 ft | 7.3 s | WNW |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 7.2 ft | 8.2 s | NW |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 6.3 ft | 9.3 s | N |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 8.5 ft | 7.2 s | NE |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 8.3 ft | 7.2 s | ENE |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 10.6 ft | 8.8 s | ENE |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (27.500°N, 71.500°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Nearby buoys
- West Bermuda - 240 NM West of Bermuda7.5 ftLive · 510 km
- East Bahamas - 335 NM East of San Salvador Is, Bahamas3.9 ft · 5 sLive · 519 km
- South Hatteras - 225 NM South of Cape HatterasOffline · 574 km
How to read this buoy
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the NE and N.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 19.5 ft at 13 s on Oct 25.
- Station id
- 41047
- Operator
- NDBC
- Program
- NDBC Meteorological/Ocean
- Position
- 27.557°N, 71.480°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.
