West Santa Barbara 38 NM West of Santa Barbara, CA
California, United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
12.1 ft
3.7 m
- Dominant period
- —
- Direction
- from WNW 288°
Swell
11.8 ft3.6 m
16 sfrom WNW 293°
Wind waves
3.3 ft1.0 m
4.8 sfrom SW 225°
Long-period groundswell leads: 11.8 ft at 16 s from the WNW, with 3.3 ft of wind waves at 4.8 s from the SW on top. Building over the last 6 hours, up 1.8 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 | 11.5 ft | 14 s | WNW |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 20.9 ft | 17 s | WNW |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 16.4 ft | 17 s | WNW |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 15.9 ft | 16 s | WNW |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 15.0 ft | 15 s | WNW |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 11.0 ft | 13 s | WNW |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 9.6 ft | 11 s | WNW |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (34.250°N, 120.500°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Nearby beaches
Listed by distance only. Their Quiver forecasts are not linked to this buoy.
- Jalama Beach27 km
Quiver forecast now: 6-7ft
- Refugio State Beach42 km
Quiver forecast now: 6-7ft
- El Capitan46 km
Quiver forecast now: 8-9ft
Beach numbers are each beach's own Quiver forecast, not a conversion of this buoy reading.
Nearby buoys
- Harvest, CA13.8 ft · 14 sLive · 35 km
- East Santa Barbara - 12NM Southwest of Santa Barbara, CA7.2 ft · 14 sLive · 58 km
- South Santa Rosa - 14 NM SW of Santa Rosa Island, CA10.8 ftLive · 72 km
- Santa Maria - 21NM NW of Point Arguello, CA9.2 ft · 15 sLive · 88 km
- Santa Cruz Basin, CA6.2 ft · 13 sLive · 100 km
- Avila Beach Nearshore, CA4.6 ft · 13 sLive · 102 km
Nearest tide station: Cuyler Harbor, San Miguel Island 26 km for today’s highs and lows.
Other readings
- Wind
- 14 kt from the S, gusts 17 kt
- Pressure
- 1007.0 hPa
Reported Nov 12, 11:20 PM PST.
How to read this buoy
West Santa Barbara 38 NM West of Santa Barbara, CA sits 27 km from the closest beach listed here: near enough to show what is arriving, far enough that islands, points and the seabed still change it before it breaks.
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the NW and W.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 16.1 ft at 16 s on Nov 9.
- Station id
- 46054
- Operator
- NDBC
- Program
- NDBC Meteorological/Ocean
- Position
- 34.274°N, 120.468°W
- Type
- Moored buoy
- Local time zone
- America/Los_Angeles
- 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.
