Portland - 12 NM Southeast of Portland,ME
Maine, United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
4.6 ft
1.4 m
- Dominant period
- —
- Direction
- from SE 128°
Swell
2.0 ft0.6 m
11 sfrom SSE 158°
Wind waves
4.3 ft1.3 m
6.2 sfrom SE 135°
Wind waves lead: 4.3 ft at 6.2 s from the SE, over 2.0 ft of mid-period swell at 11 s from the SSE. Building over the last 6 hours, up 1.3 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 | 4.3 ft | 5.8 s | E |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 3.3 ft | 7.7 s | ESE |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 2.1 ft | 3.2 s | NNW |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 1.2 ft | 9.1 s | SE |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 1.1 ft | 8.3 s | SSW |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 1.1 ft | 7 s | SSW |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 0.7 ft | 7.8 s | S |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (43.500°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
- Higgins Beach12 km
Quiver forecast now: 1-2ft
- Old Orchard Beach19 km
Quiver forecast now: 1-2ft
Beach numbers are each beach's own Quiver forecast, not a conversion of this buoy reading.
Nearby buoys
- Jeffrey's Ledge, NH8.5 ft · 8 sLive · 81 km
- Boston 16 NM East of Boston, MA8.5 ft · 8 sLive · 138 km
- Cape Cod Bay, MA4.3 ft · 4 sLive · 188 km
- Nantucket Sound4.3 ft · 4 sLive · 226 km
- Jonesport, ME - 20 NM SE of Jonesport, ME2.6 ft · 4 sLive · 243 km
- Buzzards Bay, MA4.3 ft · 4 sLive · 249 km
Nearest tide station: Portland Head Light 12 km for today’s highs and lows.
Other readings
- Water temperature
- 52°F (11.1°C)
- Wind
- 19 kt from the N, gusts 23 kt
- Air temperature
- 42°F (5.4°C)
- Pressure
- 1001.2 hPa
Reported Nov 13, 4:50 AM EST.
How to read this buoy
Portland - 12 NM Southeast of Portland,ME sits close to shore, 12 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 SE.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 7.2 ft at 9 s on Oct 21.
- Station id
- 44007
- Operator
- NDBC
- Program
- NDBC Meteorological/Ocean
- Position
- 43.525°N, 70.140°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.
