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
36 min ago
Systems named
311
Swell · wind sea
207 · 104
Seas crossing
10 buoys
Storms, last month
223 placed →
Window
The last 4 days
Method
Reference

Buoys where the two largest systems now meet at 40° or more with comparable energy, in seas of 1.5 m or more: steeper, less regular waves than the height alone suggests.

Each petal is a system, pointing to where it comes from, north up. Its length grows with height (the ring is 13 ft); its width is the directional spread. Swell Wind sea Storm placed

StationCrossingSystems
West Washington 46005 · Pacific Northwest · 46 min ago 90° apartthe smaller holds 51% of the larger's energy
  • Wind sea4.0 ft6 sSW ↓ fading
  • Swell2.9 ft9 sNW new
  • Groundswell1.3 ft15 sSSE ↓ fading