The EarthNC National Buoy Data Center (NDBC) Buoy Weather Google Earth file displays hourly weather observations for U.S. and international lakes, coastlines, and oceans based on available feeds from the NDBC. This KML file is refreshed at approximately 30 minutes after the hour each hour. It will automatically refresh in Google Earth.
Click HERE to View in Google Earth
Finding Buoys and Observations:
Active weather locations are marked with yellow buoy icons (
). These icons are rotated to point into the prevailing wind. A circular background color, if present, indicates wave states greater than 4 feet. Similarly, the presence of red wind flags indicates elevated wind speeds above 18 knots. Hover the mouse over any buoy to see its full name and official tracking number.
Specific wind and wave ranges are indicated by the Buoy Legend show below and also available in the Google Earth Place Menu.
Detailed Observations, Historical Plots, and Buoy Notes:
Click on a buoy to see detailed information. Each buoy description includes:
- The Individual Buoy Homepage at the NBDC
- The latest text observation for the buoy (rendered in real-time from the NDBC Buoy RSS feed)
- Any NBDC provided station notes
- Links to historical observation plots if available – such as wind, wave, and temperature trends
Disclaimer
This map is not an official source of weather data and should be used for planning only.
