Reported Nov 13, 4:18 AM ESTBuoy 44072

York Spit, VA

Name: York Spit, VA buoy 44072 wave observations
Creator: NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC); station operated by Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS)
License: https://www.usa.gov/government-works

Virginia, United States

Last wave reading: Nov 13, 4:18 AM EST

Now at the buoy

Significant wave height at the buoy

2.0 ft

0.6 m

Dominant period: 17 s
Direction: no direction

This station does not send a swell and wind-wave split, so the numbers are for the whole sea.

Long-period groundswell: 2.0 ft at 17 s. Building over the last 6 hours, up 0.8 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)

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

Over the last 5 days, the model ran 19% high against the buoy.

Model peak each day at the buoy
Day	Height	Peak period	From
Fri, Nov 13	3.0 ft	3.6 s	NW
Sat, Nov 14	3.2 ft	3.8 s	NW
Sun, Nov 15	2.5 ft	3.4 s	NW
Mon, Nov 16	2.5 ft	3.4 s	NNW
Tue, Nov 17	1.0 ft	2.4 s	NNW
Wed, Nov 18	0.5 ft	1.8 s	WNW
Thu, Nov 19	0.4 ft	1.5 s	SW

ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (37.250°N, 76.250°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.

North End41 km
Quiver forecast now: 0-1ft
71st Street North End42 km
Quiver forecast now: 0-1ft
42nd–46th Street North End45 km
Quiver forecast now: 0-1ft
Virginia Beach Oceanfront47 km
Quiver forecast now: 0-1ft
Virginia Beach Pier48 km
Quiver forecast now: 0-1ft
1st Street Jetty (Virginia Beach)49 km
Quiver forecast now: 0-1ft
Croatan Jetty49 km
Quiver forecast now: 0-1ft

Beach numbers are each beach's own Quiver forecast, not a conversion of this buoy reading.

Nearby buoys

Thimble Shoal, VA2.3 ft · 3 sLive · 21 km
Stingray Point, VA3.0 ft · 17 sLive · 41 km
Cape Henry, VA3.0 ftLive · 58 km
Potomac, MD2.6 ft · 4 sLive · 93 km
Duck FRF 26m, NC3.6 ft · 4 sLive · 121 km
Duck FRF, NC2.0 ft · 3 sLive · 122 km

Nearest tide station: Tue Marshes Light 11 km for today’s highs and lows.

How to read this buoy

York Spit, VA sits in open water, 41 km from the closest beach listed here. It sees swell before the coast bends, blocks or shrinks it, so expect beach surf to differ from this reading.

Biggest hourly reading in that record: 4.5 ft at 14 s on Nov 8.

Station id: 44072
Operator: Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS)
Program: IOOS Partners
Position: 37.201°N, 76.266°W
Type: Moored buoy
Local time zone: America/New_York
Swell split: No, whole-sea numbers only

Source: NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC); station operated by Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS). 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.