Station 46060 - West Orca Bay 36NM South Southwest of Valdez, AK

Owned and maintained by National Data Buoy Center
Funding to support water measurements of the velocity profile, temperature, and salinity is provided by the Prince William Sound Science Center.
3-meter discus buoy
ARES 4.4 payload
60.599 N 146.838 W (60°35'56" N 146°50'17" W)

Site elevation: sea level
Air temp height: 4 m above site elevation
Anemometer height: 5 m above site elevation
Barometer elevation: sea level
Sea temp depth: 0.6 m below site elevation
Water depth: 465.2 m
Watch circle radius: 460 yards

The position above is effective from when the station was serviced on August 6, 2007. It is 0.7 nautical mile northwest of the previous location.

Latest NWS Marine Forecast

Important Notice to Mariners

Search And Rescue (SAR) Data

Meteorological Observations from Nearby Stations and Ships

Latest Satellite Wind Map for this Area

Conditions at 46060 as of
(11:50 am AKDT)
1950 GMT on 09/17/2008:
Unit of Measure: Time Zone: Click on the graph icon in the table below to see a time series plot of the last five days of that observation.
	Wind Direction (WDIR):	SW ( 230 deg true )
	Wind Speed (WSPD):	1.9 kts
	Wind Gust (GST):	3.9 kts
	Wave Height (WVHT):	1.6 ft
	Dominant Wave Period (DPD):	10 sec
	Average Period (APD):	4.8 sec
	Mean Wave Direction (MWD):	S ( 183 deg true )
	Atmospheric Pressure (PRES):	29.67 in
	Pressure Tendency (PTDY):	+0.08 in ( Rising )
	Air Temperature (ATMP):	49.8 °F
	Water Temperature (WTMP):	52.2 °F
	Combined plot of Wind Speed, Gust, and Air Pressure

Continuous Winds
TIME (AKDT)	WDIR	WSPD
11:50 am	SW ( 230 deg )	2.5 kts
11:40 am	WSW ( 242 deg )	2.7 kts
11:30 am	W ( 268 deg )	2.1 kts
11:20 am	W ( 269 deg )	4.7 kts
11:10 am	W ( 262 deg )	6.6 kts
11:00 am	W ( 265 deg )	7.2 kts

Previous observations
MM	DD	TIME (AKDT)	WDIR	WSPD kts	GST kts	WVHT ft	DPD sec	APD sec	MWD	PRES in	PTDY in	ATMP °F	WTMP °F	DEWP °F	SAL psu	VIS mi	TIDE ft
09	17	10:50 am	W	7.8	7.8	1.6	10	5.0	S	29.64	+0.08	49.1	52.2	-	-	-	-
09	17	9:50 am	W	7.8	9.7	1.6	10	4.1	SSW	29.61	+0.07	49.3	52.2	-	-	-	-
09	17	8:50 am	SSE	9.7	11.7	1.6	8	3.7	S	29.58	+0.07	51.1	52.2	-	-	-	-
09	17	7:50 am	SE	7.8	11.7	2.0	9	3.6	S	29.56	+0.07	50.9	52.0	-	-	-	-
09	17	6:50 am	S	7.8	9.7	2.3	3	3.7	SSE	29.54	+0.08	51.1	52.0	-	-	-	-
09	17	5:50 am	ESE	11.7	13.6	2.3	3	3.6	SE	29.51	+0.06	50.9	52.0	-	-	-	-
09	17	4:50 am	ESE	13.6	17.5	3.0	4	3.9	SE	29.49	+0.03	51.1	52.0	-	-	-	-
09	17	3:50 am	E	19.4	21.4	3.3	4	3.9	ESE	29.47	+0.01	51.3	52.0	-	-	-	-
09	17	2:50 am	E	19.4	23.3	3.6	4	4.1	ESE	29.46	+0.00	52.2	52.0	-	-	-	-
09	17	1:50 am	E	19.4	25.3	4.9	5	4.3	ESE	29.46	-0.01	52.2	52.0	-	-	-	-
09	17	12:50 am	E	23.3	27.2	4.6	4	4.3	SE	29.46	-0.02	51.6	52.0	-	-	-	-
09	16	11:50 pm	E	21.4	29.1	4.9	5	4.4	SE	29.46	-0.03	52.5	52.2	-	-	-	-
09	16	10:50 pm	E	23.3	27.2	4.9	5	4.5	ESE	29.47	-0.03	52.3	52.2	-	-	-	-
09	16	9:50 pm	ESE	25.3	31.1	4.9	5	4.1	ESE	29.48	-0.04	52.3	52.2	-	-	-	-
09	16	8:50 pm	ESE	21.4	27.2	3.0	4	3.9	ESE	29.49	-0.03	52.5	52.2	-	-	-	-
09	16	7:50 pm	ESE	19.4	21.4	2.6	4	3.8	ESE	29.50	-0.03	52.9	52.2	-	-	-	-
09	16	6:50 pm	ESE	15.5	19.4	3.0	4	3.6	ESE	29.52	+0.00	53.1	52.2	-	-	-	-
09	16	5:50 pm	ESE	17.5	19.4	2.6	4	3.5	ESE	29.52	-0.01	53.8	52.2	-	-	-	-
09	16	4:50 pm	E	11.7	17.5	2.3	4	3.4	ESE	29.53	-0.02	53.1	52.2	-	-	-	-
09	16	3:50 pm	ESE	19.4	23.3	3.3	4	3.6	SE	29.52	-0.03	53.6	52.2	-	-	-	-
09	16	2:50 pm	ESE	15.5	21.4	3.0	4	3.6	ESE	29.53	-0.04	54.3	52.2	-	-	-	-
09	16	1:50 pm	E	11.7	15.5	3.0	4	3.7	SE	29.54	-0.05	53.4	52.2	-	-	-	-
09	16	12:50 pm	E	13.6	15.5	2.3	8	3.8	S	29.55	-0.06	53.2	52.2	-	-	-	-
09	16	11:50 am	ENE	13.6	17.5	2.0	8	4.2	SSW	29.57	-0.07	52.5	52.2	-	-	-	-

Detailed Wave Summary
for 46060 as of (12:00 pm AKDT)
2000 GMT on 09/17/2008:
These wave data are displayed in rounded times. Unit of Measure: Time Zone: Click on the graph icon in the table below to see a time series plot of the last five days of that observation.
	Significant Wave Height (WVHT):	1.6 ft
	Swell Height (SwH):	1.6 ft
	Swell Period (SwP):	10.0 sec
	Swell Direction (SwD):	S
	Wind Wave Height (WWH):	1.0 ft
	Wind Wave Period (WWP):	3.2 sec
	Wind Wave Direction (WWD):	WSW
	Average Wave Period (APD):	4.8 sec

Previous observations
MM	DD	TIME (AKDT)	WVHT ft	SwH ft	SwP sec	SwD	WWH ft	WWP sec	WWD	STEEPNESS	APD sec
09	17	11:00 am	1.6	1.6	10.0	S	0.7	3.2	WSW	N/A	5.0
09	17	10:00 am	1.6	1.3	10.0	SSW	1.0	2.6	SE	N/A	4.1
09	17	9:00 am	1.6	1.3	7.7	S	1.3	2.7	SSE	N/A	3.7
09	17	8:00 am	2.0	1.3	9.1	S	1.3	3.1	S	N/A	3.6
09	17	7:00 am	2.3	1.3	8.3	S	1.6	3.2	SSE	N/A	3.7
09	17	6:00 am	2.3	1.3	10.0	SSW	2.0	3.3	SE	N/A	3.6
09	17	5:00 am	3.0	1.3	10.0	S	2.6	4.0	SE	VERY_STEEP	3.9
09	17	4:00 am	3.3	1.3	8.3	S	3.3	4.2	ESE	VERY_STEEP	3.9
09	17	3:00 am	3.6	1.6	9.1	SSW	3.3	4.3	ESE	VERY_STEEP	4.1
09	17	2:00 am	4.9	2.3	8.3	SSE	4.3	5.0	ESE	VERY_STEEP	4.3
09	17	1:00 am	4.6	2.0	10.0	SSE	3.9	4.3	SE	VERY_STEEP	4.3
09	17	12:00 am	4.9	2.0	8.3	SSE	4.6	4.8	SE	VERY_STEEP	4.4
09	16	11:00 pm	4.9	1.6	9.1	S	4.6	5.0	ESE	VERY_STEEP	4.5
09	16	10:00 pm	4.9	1.6	7.7	S	4.6	4.5	ESE	VERY_STEEP	4.1
09	16	9:00 pm	3.0	1.6	8.3	S	2.6	3.8	ESE	VERY_STEEP	3.9
09	16	8:00 pm	2.6	1.3	8.3	S	2.3	3.7	ESE	VERY_STEEP	3.8
09	16	7:00 pm	3.0	1.3	8.3	SSE	2.6	3.8	ESE	VERY_STEEP	3.6
09	16	6:00 pm	2.6	1.0	7.7	SSW	2.3	3.6	ESE	N/A	3.5
09	16	5:00 pm	2.3	0.7	7.1	SSE	2.3	3.8	ESE	N/A	3.4
09	16	4:00 pm	3.3	0.7	8.3	S	3.3	3.8	SE	VERY_STEEP	3.6
09	16	3:00 pm	3.0	1.0	8.3	S	3.0	4.0	ESE	VERY_STEEP	3.6
09	16	2:00 pm	3.0	1.0	7.7	S	3.0	4.0	SE	VERY_STEEP	3.7
09	16	1:00 pm	2.3	1.0	7.7	S	2.0	3.8	ENE	N/A	3.8
09	16	12:00 pm	2.0	1.0	8.3	SSW	1.6	4.0	N	N/A	4.2

Plot of wave energy versus frequency (and period)

Ocean Current Data for 46060

These ocean current data are displayed in rounded times.

	12:00 pm AKDT		11:00 am AKDT		10:00 am AKDT		9:00 am AKDT
Depth ft	Dir °	Speed kts	Dir °	Speed kts	Dir °	Speed kts	Dir °	Speed kts
85	349	0.25	320	0.40	290	0.48	256	0.50
138	11	0.21	328	0.25	292	0.43	250	0.45
190	18	0.23	356	0.18	291	0.28	264	0.32
243	86	0.12	21	0.08	248	0.21	210	0.18
295	244	0.24	230	0.30	218	0.39	171	0.37
348	313	0.26	254	0.23	214	0.23	157	0.30
400	324	0.27	263	0.22	216	0.13	160	0.24
453	293	0.05	241	0.15	195	0.05	165	0.22
505	88	0.05	261	0.11	173	0.04	159	0.17
558	93	0.07	267	0.08	275	0.07	189	0.14
610	106	0.11	260	0.04	292	0.07	196	0.14
663	128	0.07	242	0.09	311	0.10	216	0.10
715	154	0.10	205	0.08	288	0.06	189	0.13
768	156	0.09	227	0.10	149	0.01	206	0.15
820	169	0.05	247	0.09	243	0.09	191	0.16
873	147	0.08	227	0.07	242	0.11	182	0.21
925	184	0.03	238	0.10	194	0.10	178	0.23
978	326	0.07	262	0.10	190	0.15	173	0.27
1030	13	0.07	268	0.09	188	0.12	174	0.34
1083	12	0.07	266	0.09	186	0.09	175	0.29
1135	25	0.08	251	0.10	207	0.07	168	0.35
1188	55	0.05	236	0.09	196	0.18	174	0.35

Previous 24 hours of ocean current data for 46060

Ocean Current Stick Plots are available in metric units only:
1-day plot - ocean current 1-day plot 3-day plot - ocean current 3-day plot 5-day plot - ocean current 5-day plot

Description of Measurements

Links which are specific to this station are listed below:

Real Time Data in tabular form for the last forty-five days.

Historical Data & Climatic Summaries for quality controlled data for the current month, previous months, and previous years.

The weekly status report and the weekly maintenance report also provide valuable station information.

Note that the payload types and the station locations occasionally change.
Please refer to the NDBC data inventory for the data history of each station.

U.S. Dept. of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Weather Service
National Data Buoy Center
1007 Balch Blvd.
Stennis Space Center, MS 39529
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Page last modified: September 5, 2008

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