South Michigan Spotter
United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
6.6 ft
2.0 m
- Dominant period
- 6 s
- Direction
- from N 358°
This reading came without the swell and wind-wave split, so the numbers are for the whole sea.
Short-period wind chop: 6.6 ft at 6 s from the N. Fading over the last 6 hours, down 2.8 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)
Period
- Dominant 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 | 7.4 ft | 6.9 s | N |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 6.6 ft | 6.9 s | N |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 3.1 ft | 5.4 s | N |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 2.1 ft | 3.5 s | SW |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 2.5 ft | 3.9 s | SSW |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 3.1 ft | 4.3 s | SSW |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 3.2 ft | 4.5 s | SSW |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (42.750°N, 87.000°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Nearby buoys
- Salmon Unlimited WisconsinOffline · 51 km
- South Haven Buoy, MI0.7 ftStale · 65 km
- Winthrop Harbor Buoy, IL1.0 ft · 3 sStale · 65 km
- Holland Buoy, MI1.3 ft · 3 sStale · 66 km
- Waukegan Buoy, IL1.3 ftStale · 72 km
- Muskegon Buoy, MI2.0 ft · 4 sLive · 79 km
Other readings
- Water temperature
- 56°F (13.6°C)
Reported Nov 13, 4:30 AM EST.
How to read this buoy
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the N.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 13.1 ft on Oct 16.
- Station id
- 45214
- Operator
- Michigan Technological University
- Program
- IOOS Partners
- Position
- 42.674°N, 87.026°W
- Type
- other
- Local time zone
- America/Detroit
- Swell split
- Yes, swell and wind waves reported
Source: NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC); station operated by Michigan Technological University. 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.
