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
56 min ago
Systems named
302
Swell · wind sea
193 · 109
Seas crossing
6 buoys
Storms, last month
209 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
Virginia Beach Offshore, VA 44088 · Eastern Seaboard North · 1 h agoWind sea 10 s 14° long crests
Angeles Point, WA (248) 46267 · Pacific Northwest · 1 h agoSwell 10 s 15° long crests
Diablo Canyon, CA 46215 · California · 1 h agoSwell 10 s 18° long crests
Monterey Canyon Outer, CA (156) 46236 · California · 1 h agoSwell 10 s 18° long crests
Canaveral, FL 41009 · Eastern Seaboard South · 56 min agoWind sea 4 s 19° long crests
Rawley Point East, WI 45210 · Great Lakes · 1 h agoWind sea 6 s 20° long crests
Yucatan Basin, MX 42056 · Gulf of Mexico · 56 min agoSwell 7 s 20° long crests
Central Aleutians, AK 46072 · Alaska · 56 min agoSwell 7 s 20° long crests
Harvest, CA (071) 46218 · California · 1 h agoSwell 10 s 21° long crests
Del Mar Nearshore, CA 46266 · California · 1 h agoWind sea 9 s 22° long crests
Green Beach Offshore 46277 · California · 1 h agoSwell 11 s 22° long crests
San Nicolas Island, CA 46219 · California · 1 h agoGroundswell 13 s 22° long crests
Santa Lucia Escarpment, CA 46259 · California · 1 h agoSwell 10 s 22° long crests
Point Loma South, CA 46232 · California · 1 h agoSwell 11 s 23° long crests
Torrey Pines Outer, CA 46225 · California · 1 h agoSwell 12 s 23° long crests
Clatsop Spit, OR 46243 · Pacific Northwest · 1 h agoSwell 11 s 23° long crests
Grays Harbor, WA 46211 · Pacific Northwest · 1 h agoSwell 11 s 23° long crests
Tillamook Bay South Jetty, OR 46278 · Pacific Northwest · 1 h agoSwell 12 s 24° long crests
Duck FRF 26 m, NC 44100 · Eastern Seaboard South · 1 h agoSwell 12 s 25° moderate crests
San Pedro South, CA 46253 · California · 1 h agoSwell 12 s 25° moderate crests