West Gulf - 207 NM East of Brownsville, TX
Texas, United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
3.3 ft
1.0 m
- Dominant period
- —
- Direction
- from N 8°
Swell
0.0 ft0.0 m
no periodno direction
Wind waves
3.3 ft1.0 m
5.3 sfrom N 0°
Wind waves lead: 3.3 ft at 5.3 s from the N, over 0.0 ft of swell. Building over the last 6 hours, up 0.5 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)
- 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 tracked the buoy within 10%.
| Day | Height | Peak period | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 13 | 4.4 ft | 5.5 s | NNE |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 5.8 ft | 6.1 s | ESE |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 7.0 ft | 6.6 s | SE |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 6.7 ft | 6.8 s | SE |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 6.8 ft | 8 s | ENE |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 6.3 ft | 8.7 s | ENE |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 5.2 ft | 8.3 s | ENE |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (26.000°N, 93.750°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Nearby buoys
- FGBNMS Sofar Spotter3.9 ftStale · 214 km
- UTMSI_BUOY_1 - Environmental List 1415.02 (SPOT-33114C)2.0 ftStale · 342 km
- Galveston,TX - 22 NM East of Galveston, TX0.7 ftLive · 371 km
- Aransas Pass Channel Entrance S, TX2.3 ft · 5 sStale · 372 km
- UTMSI_BUOY_2 - Environmental List 1415 (SPOT-33112C)1.3 ft · 5 sLive · 382 km
- UTMSI_BUOY_3 - Hydro List 1415.01 (SPOT-33553C)1.3 ft · 5 sLive · 382 km
How to read this buoy
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the E.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 13.9 ft at 9.5 s on Oct 17.
- Station id
- 42002
- Operator
- NDBC
- Program
- NDBC Meteorological/Ocean
- Position
- 25.950°N, 93.780°W
- Type
- Moored buoy
- Local time zone
- GMT-6 (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.
