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 163
Newest spectrum
28 min ago
Systems named
304
Swell · wind sea
196 · 108
Seas crossing
3 buoys
Storms, last month
180 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
Western Caribbean 42057 · Caribbean and tropical Atlantic · 38 min agoSwell 7 s 20° long crests
Central Caribbean 42058 · Caribbean and tropical Atlantic · 38 min agoWind sea 6 s 32° moderate crests
NE Puerto Rico 41043 · Caribbean and tropical Atlantic · 38 min agoWind sea 4 s 35° moderate crests
Caribbean Valley 42060 · Caribbean and tropical Atlantic · 38 min agoWind sea 5 s 37° moderate crests
North Equatorial Two 41041 · Caribbean and tropical Atlantic · 38 min agoSwell 11 s 42° short, confused crests
Arecibo, PR 41121 · Caribbean and tropical Atlantic · 1 h agoWind sea 10 s 43° short, confused crests
North Equatorial One 41040 · Caribbean and tropical Atlantic · 38 min agoSwell 11 s 47° short, confused crests
NE St Martin 41044 · Caribbean and tropical Atlantic · 38 min agoSwell 9 s 51° short, confused crests
East Bahamas 41046 · Caribbean and tropical Atlantic · 38 min agoSwell 10 s 54° short, confused crests