Virginia Beach 64 NM East of Virginia Beach, VA
Virginia, United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
6.2 ft
1.9 m
- Dominant period
- 6 s
- Direction
- from W 274°
This reading came without the swell and wind-wave split, so the numbers are for the whole sea.
Short-period wind chop: 6.2 ft at 6 s from the W. Building over the last 6 hours, up 1.5 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 | 7.5 ft | 6.2 s | WNW |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 9.5 ft | 7.3 s | N |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 7.5 ft | 6.5 s | NNW |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 6.0 ft | 6.2 s | N |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 3.5 ft | 6.2 s | NNE |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 2.4 ft | 6.2 s | NE |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 1.6 ft | 7.6 s | ENE |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (36.500°N, 74.750°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Nearby buoys
- Virginia Beach Offshore, VA5.9 ft · 5 sLive · 1.0 km
- OOI Pioneer - Mid-Atlantic Bight Northern Surface Mooring6.2 ftLive · 48 km
- Duck FRF 26m, NC3.6 ft · 4 sLive · 78 km
- Nags Head, NC3.9 ft · 4 sLive · 85 km
- Cape Henry, VA3.0 ft · 4 sLive · 86 km
- Duck FRF, NC2.0 ft · 3 sLive · 90 km
Nearest tide station: Duck Pier 94 km for today’s highs and lows.
Other readings
- Water temperature
- 64°F (17.9°C)
Reported Nov 13, 3:30 AM GMT-5.
How to read this buoy
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the E and NE.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 16.6 ft at 13 s on Oct 19.
- Station id
- 44014
- Operator
- NDBC
- Program
- NDBC Meteorological/Ocean
- Position
- 36.603°N, 74.837°W
- Type
- Moored buoy
- Local time zone
- GMT-5 (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.
