North Michigan - Halfway between North Manitou and Washington Islands.
United States
Last wave reading:
Last reading
This reading is more than 3 hours old. The buoy may have stopped sending waves for now.
Significant wave height at the buoy
1.0 ft
0.3 m
- Dominant period
- —
- Direction
- from NNE 25°
Swell
0.0 ft0.0 m
5.6 sfrom SSE 158°
Wind waves
1.0 ft0.3 m
2.2 sfrom NNE 23°
Wind waves lead: 1.0 ft at 2.2 s from the NNE, over 0.0 ft of short-period wind chop at 5.6 s from the SSE.
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 4 days, the model tracked the buoy within 10%.
| Day | Height | Peak period | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 13 | 5.3 ft | 5.3 s | NNE |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 5.1 ft | 5.3 s | NNE |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 2.4 ft | 4 s | N |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 4.5 ft | 5.1 s | SSW |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 4.7 ft | 5.2 s | SSW |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 6.1 ft | 6.2 s | SSW |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 6.3 ft | 6.2 s | SSW |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (45.250°N, 86.500°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Nearby buoys
- Sleeping Bear Dunes0.0 ftStale · 61 km
- Little Traverse Bay Buoy, MIOffline · 104 km
- GB17 - South Green Bay, WI2.6 ft · 4 sStale · 122 km
- McGulpin Point North, MI0.7 ftStale · 136 km
- Mackinac Straits West, Mackinaw City, MI0.7 ftStale · 138 km
- Rawley Point East, WI7.2 ft · 7 sLive · 152 km
Other readings
- Water temperature
- 54°F (12.0°C)
- Wind
- 12 kt from the N, gusts 14 kt
- Air temperature
- 49°F (9.2°C)
- Pressure
- 1011.1 hPa
Reported Nov 11, 5:20 PM EST.
How to read this buoy
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the S.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 12.1 ft at 8.5 s on Oct 18.
- Station id
- 45002
- Operator
- NDBC
- Program
- NDBC Meteorological/Ocean
- Position
- 45.344°N, 86.411°W
- Type
- Moored buoy
- Local time zone
- America/Detroit
- 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.
