Waimea Bay, HI
Hawaii, United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
8.9 ft
2.7 m
- Dominant period
- 13 s
- Direction
- from NW 321°
Swell
5.9 ft1.8 m
13 sfrom NW 315°
Wind waves
6.6 ft2.0 m
7.7 sfrom NNE 23°
Wind waves lead: 6.6 ft at 7.7 s from the NNE, over 5.9 ft of long-period groundswell at 13 s from the NW. 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 15% high against the buoy.
| Day | Height | Peak period | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 13 | 10.5 ft | 11 s | NNE |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 8.9 ft | 7.5 s | NE |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 10.4 ft | 15 s | NE |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 10.1 ft | 12 s | NE |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 8.8 ft | 10 s | NE |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 8.4 ft | 9 s | ENE |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 6.8 ft | 9.4 s | ENE |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (21.750°N, 158.000°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Beaches whose Quiver forecast uses this buoy
- Waimea Bay6.6 km
Quiver forecast now: 6-7ft
- Laniakea6.8 km
Quiver forecast now: 6-7ft
- Rocky Point6.8 km
Quiver forecast now: 8-9ft
- Pipeline6.9 km
Quiver forecast now: 7-8ft
- Chun’s Reef6.9 km
Quiver forecast now: 6-7ft
- Off the Wall7.0 km
Quiver forecast now: 8-9ft
- Sunset Beach7.2 km
Quiver forecast now: 7-8ft
- Puaʻena Point7.7 km
Quiver forecast now: 6-7ft
- Backyards8.1 km
Quiver forecast now: 6-7ft
- Haleʻiwa Aliʻi Beach9.0 km
Quiver forecast now: 6-7ft
- Velzyland13 km
Quiver forecast now: 7-8ft
- Makaha24 km
Quiver forecast now: 4-5ft
Beach numbers are each beach's own Quiver forecast, not a conversion of this buoy reading.
Nearby buoys
- Barbers Point, Kalaeloa, HI5.2 ft · 15 sStale · 39 km
- Pearl Harbor Entrance, HI3.6 ft · 9 sLive · 45 km
- Mokapu Point, HI9.8 ft · 8 sLive · 53 km
- Pauwela, Maui, HIOffline · 190 km
Nearest tide station: Haleiwa, Waialua Bay 8 km for today’s highs and lows.
Other readings
- Water temperature
- 78°F (25.7°C)
Reported Nov 13, 12:26 AM HST.
How to read this buoy
Waimea Bay, HI sits close to shore, 6.6 km from the closest beach listed here. Its readings already include some of the local shadowing, so they track nearby beaches more closely than an offshore buoy.
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the NW and N.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 13.6 ft at 15 s on Nov 2.
- Station id
- 51201
- CDIP id
- 106
- Operator
- Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System
- Program
- IOOS Partners
- Position
- 21.671°N, 158.118°W
- Type
- Moored buoy
- Local time zone
- Pacific/Honolulu
- Swell split
- Yes, swell and wind waves reported
Source: NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC); station operated by Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System. 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.
