BUOY OBSERVATIONS

There are 10 regional buoy maps worldwide, each displaying locations of five to 20 local buoys, along with real-time and forecast information pulled from that buoy. (More about the "Regional Maps" and buoys below.)

REGIONAL MAPS

Click on any of the 40 regional maps to zoom into a wealth of forecasting data about that zone. On the West Coast of the United States, the map telescopes down to detailed 10-mile stretches with specific beach towns and surf spots labeled along the coast. This is one of LOLA's coolest features. To go there, click on the "Local" box in the bottom left-hand corner of Southern California, Central California and Northern California. Other areas such as Hawaii, the U.S. East Coast and more areas are coming soon.

Our buoy information is designed to help you see beyond the greatly simplified buoy reports provided by the National Weather Service. Most publicized buoy observations provide only the combined wave height, the dominant period and the dominant swell direction -- despite the fact that most of the buoys provide much more detailed raw information. A weak local wind swell, 6 feet at eight seconds, for instance, can cause the buoy reports to hide a sweet long-distance ground swell, say, 4 feet at 20 seconds, from an entirely different direction. Even though the short period wind swell may be the biggest swell at the buoy, the longer period swell will almost always create larger surf on the beach.

There are 10 regional buoy maps worldwide, each displaying locations of and links to five to 20 local buoys, along with real-time information pulled from that buoy. This is the most reliable wave data available, since it's pulled from actual measurements from the buoys. We show current data and observations over the past three days so we can establish a clear timeline and history of the swells.

The typical buoy reports you hear on the NOAA radio will be the "black line" combined wave heights and the single dominant wave period that represents most of the energy. LOLA has filtered the wave energy to show us where the primary, secondary and tertiary energy is within wave periods and directions. As the waves increase or decrease over time, different waves and swells will become primary, secondary, etc. Each primary, secondary and tertiary swell is given its own color-coded line on the three-day graph (H), with the combined wave height indicated in black. The dominant wave period for each individual swell is indicated in the corresponding color (T) below the graph.

The wave period for each individual swell is indicated in the corresponding color (T) below the graph. The swell direction (if available), again color coded to correspond with each swell, appears on the bottom graph. Not all buoys are capable of measuring swell angle so the directional information may be left blank on those buoys.

You can get to each buoy via the map on the left or the list just to the right of it.

This section is recommended as the most practical for surfers to monitor. It's very similar to the FIVE-DAY FORECAST: SWELL ONLY section under the REGIONAL MAPS except it uses real time measurements from the buoys instead of calculations from the wave model. (The ALL WAVES section is different in that it labels the swells as Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary. As individual swells build and drop the colors may jump from one swell to another.)

Usually, there is more than one swell in the water in any given area, which can complicate forecasting efforts. Here, each swell has its own color-coded line on the graphs, which will remain the same during the life of the swell. The red line on the height chart (H) will have a corresponding red number on the wave-period area (T) below the chart and a corresponding red line on the direction chart (D). This helps you detect serious surf-producing long-period swells amid the clutter of localized wind swells. Keep your eye out for swells that score low on the height chart (H) but have big numbers attached on the wave-period chart (T) and are coming from a favorable direction for your spot on the directional chart (D). Longer period swells greater than 16 seconds can often result in surf two to three times greater than the actual deep-water height of the swell.

You can get to each buoy via the map on the left or from the buoy list just to the right of it.

This page has real-time information -- taken directly from an individual buoy -- showing the many different wave periods, and their sizes, out on the water right now and over the past three days. Each swell period is denoted by a colored line (blue for six seconds, orange for 13 seconds, purple for 20 seconds, etc.) on the wave-height chart, allowing you to measure whether there are any swells in the water with a particular wave period.

NOTE: Every surf spot has a special swell direction, size, and swell period to really produce good waves. Swell direction and size is fairly obvious, but surfers almost always overlook the importance of the swell period. Many spots like long period swells with long lines that wrap in, many other spots prefer shorter period swells like local wind swells that are more broken up, and some spots like open beach breaks prefer a combination of both which produce peaky conditions. The obvious lesson here is, "know your spot". When your spot gets good, make observations from the beach and use LOLA to note the swell direction, size, and the swell period. Then you can look for the same situation again to be on it when it's pumping!

You can get to each buoy via the map on the left or from the buoy list just to the right of it. The five rows of colored numbers below the graph show the dominant periods, based on size from top to bottom, over the last few days.

This is a fairly self-explanatory page that shows forecast wind speed, wind direction and barometric pressure over the next five days.
U = wind speed (in knots)
D = wind direction (in degrees)
P = barometric pressure level (in millibars)

On the directional graph, 360 is the same as 0, so sudden top-to-bottom spikes on that graph simply mean that the wind is shifting between north-northwest and north-northeast.