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(Previous) 09/15/2006 (Next)
LOLA vs. NOAA Buoys.
A great way to track incoming Southern Hemisphere swells is the Christmas Island buoy (shown here), which is roughly 2 days time from Hawaii and 4 1/2 to 5 days from California.
Continued below...
One advantage of using the LOLA buoys over the NOAA site is that you'll get a breakdown of height, direction and period of all swells, versus seeing/hearing just the overall height and dominant period (which is often short period windswell at Christmas Island- the generic 8' at 8 seconds).

By monitoring the LOLA buoys, you'll be able to determine the size and period of any underlying groundswells and how long they'll take to reach your local break.

-Kevin Wallis

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WHAT IS LOLA?

LOLA is the world's only automated global surf forecasting tool. LOLA can forecast waves right down the street, or it can predict surf conditions at the top spots around the globe - breaks like Tavarua, Tahiti and Jeffrey's Bay.

LOLA uses the NOAA Wavewatch III engine (running on our own computers) with Surfline-modified data from various wind models (AVN, GFS, MRF). Then LOLA combines this information with empirical data we've programmed into her gained from over 30 years of surf and weather analysis here at Surfline.

LOLA also gathers real-time data from offshore buoys to measure wave pulses from storms around the world every hour. She taps into orbiting satellites to measure hurricane-force winds and tremendous wave heights in the heart of raging storms when huge ships are running for cover. She computes near-shore wave animations measuring detailed wave heights along the coast, taking into account how swells are distorted by offshore islands and the continental shelf.

When you add it all up, LOLA is the ultimate forecasting tool for surfers looking for timely, accurate and comprehensive information about waves.

Initially, we created LOLA as a proprietary tool for Surfline forecasters. But we decided to share the knowledge and give Surfline's Premium Members the chance to use LOLA themselves, to give them the best chance to score more good surf more often.

Not a Premium Member? Then CLICK HERE for a free LOLA demo.

If you are already a Premium Member, please proceed straight to the LOLA home page.