San Clemente Basin - 27NM SE of San Clemente Is, CA
California, 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
7.5 ft
2.3 m
- Dominant period
- —
- Direction
- from WNW 282°
Swell
7.5 ft2.3 m
15 sfrom WNW 293°
Wind waves
1.0 ft0.3 m
2.9 sno direction
Long-period groundswell leads: 7.5 ft at 15 s from the WNW, with 1.0 ft of wind waves at 2.9 s on top.
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 2 days, the model ran 10% high against the buoy.
| Day | Height | Peak period | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 13 | 9.2 ft | 14 s | W |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 14.0 ft | 18 s | WNW |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 13.3 ft | 17 s | WNW |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 12.8 ft | 15 s | WNW |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 13.5 ft | 14 s | WNW |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 9.3 ft | 13 s | WNW |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 6.4 ft | 9.6 s | WNW |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (32.500°N, 118.000°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Nearby buoys
- Mission Bay West, CA4.9 ft · 12 sLive · 56 km
- Point Loma South, CA5.9 ft · 12 sLive · 57 km
- Torrey Pines Outer, CA4.3 ft · 13 sLive · 76 km
- Scripps Nearshore, CA3.0 ft · 13 sLive · 82 km
- La Jolla, CA3.3 ft · 12 sLive · 83 km
- Del Mar Nearshore, CA4.3 ft · 13 sLive · 86 km
Nearest tide station: Wilson Cove, San Clemente Island 74 km for today’s highs and lows.
Other readings
- Wind
- 8 kt from the NW, gusts 10 kt
- Air temperature
- 71°F (21.9°C)
- Pressure
- 1015.3 hPa
Reported Nov 9, 5:50 PM GMT-8.
How to read this buoy
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the S and W.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 8.2 ft at 16 s on Nov 9.
- Station id
- 46086
- Operator
- NDBC
- Program
- NDBC Meteorological/Ocean
- Position
- 32.504°N, 118.029°W
- Type
- Moored buoy
- Local time zone
- GMT-8 (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.
