West Orca Bay - 8NM NW of Hinchinbrook Is., AK
Alaska, United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
1.6 ft
0.5 m
- Dominant period
- —
- Direction
- from S 178°
Swell
1.6 ft0.5 m
10 sfrom S 180°
Wind waves
0.7 ft0.2 m
3.3 sfrom WNW 293°
Mid-period swell leads: 1.6 ft at 10 s from the S, with little wind wave on top. Building over the last 6 hours, up 0.7 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 | 2.3 ft | 12 s | S |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 2.3 ft | 12 s | S |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 2.7 ft | 5 s | ESE |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 3.2 ft | 3.7 s | ESE |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 3.7 ft | 4.6 s | SE |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 3.9 ft | 4.7 s | E |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 4.3 ft | 9.8 s | S |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (60.500°N, 146.750°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Nearby buoys
- Seal Rocks - Between Montague and Hinchinbrook Islands, AK4.6 ft · 9 sLive · 38 km
- Western Prince William Sound0.0 ftLive · 85 km
- Cape Suckling - 35 NM SE of Kayak Is, AK32.2 ft · 13 sStale · 130 km
- Cape Cleare - 17 NM South of Montague Is, AK4.6 ft · 9 sLive · 136 km
- Lower Cook Inlet1.0 ft · 4 sLive · 299 km
Nearest tide station: Johnstone Point 14 km for today’s highs and lows.
Other readings
- Water temperature
- 47°F (8.4°C)
- Wind
- 2 kt from the NE, gusts 2 kt
- Air temperature
- 41°F (5.1°C)
- Pressure
- 998.4 hPa
Reported Nov 13, 12:50 AM AKST.
How to read this buoy
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the S.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 9.5 ft at 6.5 s on Oct 30.
- Station id
- 46060
- Operator
- NDBC
- Program
- NDBC Meteorological/Ocean
- Position
- 60.571°N, 146.795°W
- Type
- Moored buoy
- Local time zone
- America/Anchorage
- 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.
