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(Previous) 10/06/2004 (Next)
SEPARATED SWELL PERIODS.
A new NW swell is moving into Northern/Central California and is just starting to hit the SE PAPA Buoy (#46006).
Continued below...
The free buoy data you can find on the internet, or even on the weather radio, would be broadcasting that this long-range buoy is showing 14.1-feet @ 14-second periods...which tells you that the combined wave heights are 14.1-feet and the dominant swell-period is 14-seconds. Unfortunately you can't see how much of it is windswell slop or, better yet, how much of that energy is long-period ground swell. Using LOLA you can actually isolate the individual swell periods and the corresponding wave heights (seen in the image above...the height vs. period tab). Looking at LOLA you can see that there is almost 5-feet of swell at 17-second periods, which could translate into a 8-10-foot breaking wave under the right conditions. Hmmm...that would probably be a good thing to know before heading to the beach.

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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.

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