Waukegan Buoy, IL
Illinois, United States
Last wave reading:
Last reading
This reading is more than 3 hours old. The buoy may have stopped sending waves for now.
Significant wave height at the buoy
1.3 ft
0.4 m
- Dominant period
- —
- Direction
- from NNE 23°
This reading came without the swell and wind-wave split, so the numbers are for the whole sea.
Waves: 1.3 ft from the NNE.
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
| Day | Height | Peak period | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 13 | 6.1 ft | 7.9 s | NNE |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 4.8 ft | 7.1 s | NNE |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 1.8 ft | 5.8 s | NNE |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 0.7 ft | 4.4 s | NNE |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 0.8 ft | 2.8 s | SSE |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 1.4 ft | 3.7 s | SSE |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 1.4 ft | 3.8 s | SSE |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (42.250°N, 87.750°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Nearby buoys
- Winthrop Harbor Buoy, IL1.0 ft · 3 sStale · 14 km
- Wilmette Buoy, IL0.7 ftStale · 28 km
- Salmon Unlimited WisconsinOffline · 39 km
- Chicago Buoy0.7 ftStale · 56 km
- South Michigan Spotter6.6 ft · 6 sLive · 72 km
- ATW20 - Atwater Park, WI6.2 ft · 8 sStale · 81 km
Other readings
- Water temperature
- 57°F (14.1°C)
- Wind
- 8 kt from the N, gusts 12 kt
- Air temperature
- 54°F (12.3°C)
- Pressure
- 1026.7 hPa
Reported Oct 30, 1:50 PM CDT.
How to read this buoy
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the NE and SE.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 6.0 ft on Oct 16.
- Station id
- 45186
- Operator
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Program
- IOOS Partners
- Position
- 42.368°N, 87.795°W
- Type
- Moored buoy
- Local time zone
- America/Chicago
- Swell split
- Yes, swell and wind waves reported
Source: NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC); station operated by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 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.
