Ocean Conditions Today
- Data updated
- Source data dated
- Editorially updated
| Station | Observed | Water | Significant wave | Mean period | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georges Bank 44011 North Atlantic | 19.1 °C | — | — | 4.0 m/s | |
| Long Island 44025 Mid-Atlantic | 23.9 °C | 0.9 m | 6.1 s | — | |
| Canaveral East 41010 Western Atlantic | 29.3 °C | — | — | 5.0 m/s | |
| Western Gulf 42002 Gulf of Mexico | 30.8 °C | — | — | 5.0 m/s | |
| Cape Elizabeth 46041 Northeast Pacific | 15.9 °C | — | — | 7.0 m/s | |
| West of San Francisco 46059 North Pacific | 18.6 °C | — | — | 8.0 m/s | |
| Northwestern Hawaii 51001 Central Pacific | 26.4 °C | — | — | — |
Not a marine forecast. Conditions can differ sharply between stations and change quickly. Use official coastal and marine forecasts before making safety decisions.
The open ocean is too large and variable to describe with one number. This page provides a compact cross-section of recent offshore observations from seven NOAA National Data Buoy Center stations in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Pacific. It is an overview, not a map of every buoy and not a marine forecast.
What the measurements mean
Sea surface temperature is the water temperature reported by the station’s sensor. Sensor depth and installation can differ by platform, so a buoy observation should not be treated as identical to a satellite skin-temperature estimate.
Significant wave height is approximately the average height of the highest one-third of waves during the sampling interval. Individual waves can be substantially higher. Mean wave period is the average time between wave crests and helps distinguish short, choppy wind waves from longer swell.
Wind speed is the station’s reported observation in metres per second. Missing values are shown as a dash rather than replaced with estimates. A station may report waves while one of its other sensors is offline.
Why these stations were selected
The table uses a fixed, geographically distributed group of long-running offshore stations: Georges Bank, Long Island, Canaveral East, the western Gulf of Mexico, Cape Elizabeth, waters west of San Francisco and northwestern Hawaii. A fixed selection makes the page understandable and prevents a global maximum from being mistaken for a complete survey.
The summary cards compare only the stations listed at that moment. “Warmest” or “highest” therefore means the largest available value in this small selection, not the warmest water or largest wave anywhere on Earth.
How conditions change
Wind can build steep local seas within hours. Distant storms can send swell across an ocean basin long after local wind has weakened. Currents, fronts, upwelling and seasonal heating influence water temperature. Nearby stations can therefore report very different conditions at the same time.
Observation times may differ because platforms transmit on different schedules. Always check the time in each row. A missing or older value is not evidence of calm conditions.
Safety and limitations
- This selection is not dense enough for navigation or local trip planning.
- Buoys can drift, be serviced, lose communications or experience individual sensor failures.
- Significant wave height does not describe the largest possible individual wave.
- Conditions between a buoy and the coast may differ because of bathymetry, currents and shelter.
- Official warnings, forecasts and local authorities take precedence over this summary.
Methodology and source
ARGO.net retrieves the latest row for each selected station through the U.S. IOOS Environmental Research Division’s Data Access Program (ERDDAP), which republishes NOAA NDBC observations in a consistent machine-readable format. The station links in the table open the corresponding official dataset.
Each refresh validates the station identifier, time, coordinates and plausible numerical ranges. At least four stations must pass validation before a new snapshot replaces the previous one. Missing sensor fields remain missing. No interpolation is performed.
Update log
- August 2026: Page launched with seven representative offshore stations and frequently refreshed temperature, wave and wind observations.
