Tanner Bank - 121 NM West of San Diego, CA
California, United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
11.2 ft
3.4 m
- Dominant period
- —
- Direction
- from WNW 299°
Swell
11.2 ft3.4 m
15 sfrom WNW 293°
Wind waves
1.6 ft0.5 m
3.6 sfrom W 270°
Long-period groundswell leads: 11.2 ft at 15 s from the WNW, with 1.6 ft of wind waves at 3.6 s from the W on top. Holding steady over the last 6 hours.
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 ran 11% low against the buoy.
| Day | Height | Peak period | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 13 | 10.7 ft | 14 s | W |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 19.4 ft | 18 s | WNW |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 17.7 ft | 17 s | WNW |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 16.7 ft | 16 s | WNW |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 16.5 ft | 16 s | WNW |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 11.9 ft | 14 s | NW |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 8.5 ft | 12 s | WNW |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (32.500°N, 119.500°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Nearby buoys
- San Nicolas Island, CA9.8 ft · 13 sLive · 96 km
- San Clemente Basin - 27NM SE of San Clemente Is, CA7.5 ft · 15 sStale · 142 km
- Santa Cruz Basin, CA6.2 ft · 13 sLive · 150 km
- South Santa Rosa - 14 NM SW of Santa Rosa Island, CA10.5 ft · 16 sLive · 152 km
- Santa Monica Basin - 33NM WSW of Santa Monica, CA3.6 ft · 13 sLive · 156 km
- San Pedro, CA3.6 ft · 13 sLive · 175 km
Nearest tide station: San Nicolas Island 94 km for today’s highs and lows.
Other readings
- Wind
- 2 kt from the N, gusts 6 kt
- Air temperature
- 61°F (16.0°C)
- Pressure
- 1009.8 hPa
Reported Nov 12, 11:20 PM 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: 16.1 ft at 16 s on Nov 9.
- Station id
- 46047
- Operator
- NDBC
- Program
- NDBC Meteorological/Ocean
- Position
- 32.418°N, 119.535°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.
