Bluegraph
SIMarineUS

Wave intelligence

The systems in the sea

A buoy's significant wave height sums everything in the sea: long groundswell from a storm a thousand miles off, a closer swell, the chop of the local wind. Each buoy's measured directional spectrum is partitioned into those systems, which are followed through time, used to place the storms the swells came from, and checked for seas that cross.

Stations analysed
162 of 164
Newest spectrum
29 min ago
Systems named
312
Swell · wind sea
210 · 102
Seas crossing
8 buoys
Storms, last month
216 placed →
Window
The last 4 days
Method
Reference

Every buoy by how orderly its largest system is: a narrow directional spread means long crests, as in groundswell; a wide one, short, confused seas.

Each petal is a system, pointing to where it comes from, north up. Its length grows with height (the ring is 4 m); its width is the directional spread. Swell Wind sea Storm placed

StationLargest systemDirectional spread
W Gulf of Alaska 46001 · Alaska · 1 h agoWind sea 8 s 32° moderate crests
Northwestern Hawaii Two 51101 · Hawaii · 39 min agoWind sea 8 s 32° moderate crests
Duck FRF, NC 44056 · Eastern Seaboard South · 1 h agoWind sea 9 s 33° moderate crests
Fort Pierce, FL (134) 41114 · Eastern Seaboard South · 29 min agoWind sea 5 s 33° moderate crests
Hollywood Beach, FL (265) 41122 · Eastern Seaboard South · 29 min agoWind sea 5 s 33° moderate crests
Orange Beach, AL 42012 · Gulf of Mexico · 1 h agoWind sea 5 s 33° moderate crests
Southeast Papa 46006 · California · 1 h agoSwell 10 s 33° moderate crests
Topanga Nearshore 46268 · California · 1 h agoGroundswell 14 s 33° moderate crests
West Santa Barbara, CA 46054 · California · 39 min agoSwell 10 s 33° moderate crests
Cape Cleare, AK 46076 · Alaska · 39 min agoWind sea 7 s 33° moderate crests
Northern Hawaii One 51000 · Hawaii · 39 min agoSwell 9 s 33° moderate crests
Yucatan Basin, MX 42056 · Gulf of Mexico · 39 min agoWind sea 7 s 34° moderate crests
Caribbean Valley 42060 · Caribbean and tropical Atlantic · 39 min agoWind sea 5 s 34° moderate crests
Columbia River Bar, OR 46029 · Pacific Northwest · 1 h agoSwell 10 s 34° moderate crests
Neah Bay, WA 46087 · Pacific Northwest · 39 min agoSwell 11 s 34° moderate crests
Hilo, HI 51206 · Hawaii · 29 min agoWind sea 9 s 34° moderate crests
Pearl Harbor Entrance, HI (233) 51211 · Hawaii · 1 h agoWind sea 6 s 34° moderate crests
SW Hawaii - 200 NM SW of Kona 51002 · Hawaii · 1 h agoGroundswell 13 s 34° moderate crests
Bethany Beach, DE 44084 · Eastern Seaboard North · 29 min agoSwell 9 s 35° moderate crests
East Lake Ontario 45012 · Great Lakes · 39 min agoWind sea 4 s 35° moderate crests