San Nicolas Island, CA
California, United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
11.5 ft
3.5 m
- Dominant period
- 14 s
- Direction
- from WNW 293°
Swell
10.5 ft3.2 m
14 sfrom WNW 293°
Wind waves
3.9 ft1.2 m
9.9 sfrom WNW 293°
Long-period groundswell leads: 10.5 ft at 14 s from the WNW, with 3.9 ft of wind waves at 9.9 s from the WNW on top. Building over the last 6 hours, up 3.0 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 | 10.8 ft | 13 s | W |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 20.8 ft | 18 s | WNW |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 17.7 ft | 17 s | WNW |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 16.9 ft | 16 s | WNW |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 16.3 ft | 16 s | WNW |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 12.1 ft | 14 s | NW |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 9.1 ft | 12 s | WNW |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (33.250°N, 120.000°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Nearby buoys
- South Santa Rosa - 14 NM SW of Santa Rosa Island, CA11.2 ftLive · 57 km
- Santa Cruz Basin, CA5.9 ft · 15 sLive · 68 km
- Tanner Bank - 121 NM West of San Diego, CA12.5 ftLive · 96 km
- Santa Monica Basin - 33NM WSW of Santa Monica, CA4.9 ftLive · 96 km
- East Santa Barbara - 12NM Southwest of Santa Barbara, CA8.5 ftLive · 114 km
- West Santa Barbara 38 NM West of Santa Barbara, CA12.1 ft · 15 sLive · 128 km
Nearest tide station: San Nicolas Island 37 km for today’s highs and lows.
Other readings
- Water temperature
- 67°F (19.4°C)
- Air temperature
- 65°F (18.1°C)
Reported Nov 13, 1:26 AM GMT-8.
How to read this buoy
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the NW.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 15.3 ft at 15 s on Nov 9.
- Station id
- 46219
- CDIP id
- 067
- Operator
- SCRIPPS
- Program
- IOOS Partners
- Position
- 33.226°N, 119.891°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); station operated by SCRIPPS. 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.
