West Superior - 30NM NE of Outer Island, WI
Wisconsin, United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
3.9 ft
1.2 m
- Dominant period
- —
- Direction
- from ENE 72°
Swell
1.0 ft0.3 m
11 sfrom NNE 23°
Wind waves
3.6 ft1.1 m
5.9 sfrom ENE 68°
Wind waves lead: 3.6 ft at 5.9 s from the ENE, over 1.0 ft of mid-period swell at 11 s from the NNE. 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 11% high against the buoy.
| Day | Height | Peak period | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 13 | 4.3 ft | 5.6 s | NE |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 2.1 ft | 5.5 s | NE |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 2.3 ft | 3.4 s | SW |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 4.2 ft | 4.8 s | WSW |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 4.4 ft | 5 s | SW |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 3.2 ft | 4.3 s | SW |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 2.2 ft | 3.5 s | SSW |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (47.250°N, 89.750°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Nearby buoys
- Ontonagon, MI0.3 ftStale · 58 km
- North Entry Buoy, North Keweenaw Peninsula, MI0.7 ftStale · 90 km
- South Entry Buoy, South Keweenaw Peninsula, MI0.3 ftStale · 113 km
- Western Lake SuperiorOffline · 165 km
- Mid Superior - 60 NM North Northeast Hancock, MI5.2 ft · 6 sLive · 170 km
- McQuade Harbor Nearshore, MNOffline · 170 km
Other readings
- Water temperature
- 45°F (7.3°C)
- Wind
- 12 kt from the NNE, gusts 16 kt
- Air temperature
- 32°F (0.2°C)
- Pressure
- 1023.4 hPa
Reported Nov 13, 2:20 AM EST.
How to read this buoy
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the E and NE.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 8.0 ft at 6.5 s on Nov 5.
- Station id
- 45006
- Operator
- NDBC
- Program
- NDBC Meteorological/Ocean
- Position
- 47.335°N, 89.793°W
- Type
- other
- Local time zone
- America/Detroit
- 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.
