Time Zones and Units
All of the data collected by CDIP is archived by the UTC time. While some of our web products are available for other time zones, many of CDIP’s files and products are tagged only with the UTC time.
What is Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)?
UTC is the time at 0 degrees longitude, a.k.a. GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).
UTC = US Eastern Standard Time (EST) + 5 hours or UTC = US Pacific Standard Time (PST) + 8 hours
For US Daylight Savings Time the difference is 1 hour less, e.g.,
UTC = EDT + 4 hours UTC = PDT + 7 hours
For the state of Hawaii
UTC = Hawaiian Standard Time + 10 hours
World UTC Table
UTC time difference for various locations through out the world.
Local Time |
Geographic Zone |
UTC-12 |
Eniwetok |
UTC-11 |
Samoa |
UTC-10 |
Hawaii |
UTC-9 |
Alaska |
UTC-8 |
PST, Pacific US |
UTC-7 |
MST, PDT |
UTC-6 |
CST, MDT |
UTC-5 |
EST, CDT |
UTC-4 |
Atlantic, Canada |
UTC-3 |
Brazil, Buenos Aries |
UTC-2 |
Mid-Atlantic |
UTC-1 |
Cape Verdes |
UTC |
Greenwich Mean Time, Dublin |
UTC+1 |
Berlin, Rome |
UTC+2 |
Israel, Cairo |
UTC+3 |
Moscow, Kuwait |
UTC+4 |
Abu Dhabi, Muscat |
UTC+5 |
Islamabad, Karachi |
UTC+6 |
Almaty, Dhaka |
UTC+7 |
Bangkok, Jakarta |
UTC+8 |
Hong Kong, Beijing |
UTC+9 |
Tokyo, Osaka |
UTC+10 |
Sydney, Melbourne, Guam |
UTC+11 |
Magadan, Soloman Is. |
UTC+12 |
Fiji, Wellington, Auckland |
PST,PDT |
Pacific Standard/Daylight Time |
MST,MDT |
Mountain Standard/Daylight Time |
CST,CDT |
Central Standard/Daylight Time |
EST,EDT |
Eastern Standard/Daylight Time |
Unit Conversions
CDIP archives its data in metric units. In the website’s Recent-Observed section - which displays the latest data from currently active stations - a number of products can be viewed using either English or metric units. On the nowcast swell models and forecast models English units are used, with wave heights measured in feet. Everywhere else on the site, metric units are used. Below is some conversion information that may help in interpreting data.
Length conversions
- The primary unit of length used by CDIP is meters(m). To convert from
meters to feet, the formula is as follows: (feet) = 3.28 * (meters)
Meters to Feet Conversion Table
m |
ft |
1 |
3.3 |
2 |
6.6 |
3 |
9.8 |
4 |
13.1 |
5 |
16.4 |
6 |
19.7 |
7 |
23.0 |
8 |
26.2 |
9 |
29.5 |
10 |
32.8 |
11 |
36.1 |
12 |
39.4 |
When describing station locations and on maps, distances may given in miles(mi), nautical miles(nm), or kilometers(km). The conversions between these units are as follows: 1 mi = 1.61 km = 0.87 nm
Temperature conversions
The temperature unit used by CDIP is degrees Celsius(C). To convert from Celsius to Farenheit(F), the formula is as follows: (F) = (9/5)*(C) + 32
Celcius to Farenheit Conversion Table
C |
F |
0 |
32 |
5 |
41 |
10 |
50 |
15 |
59 |
20 |
68 |
25 |
77 |
30 |
86 |
35 |
95 |
40 |
104 |
45 |
113 |
50 |
122 |
55 |
131 |
Other conversions
Wind speed is archived in meters per second (m/s). 1 m/s = 1.94 knots = 2.24 miles per hour
Pressure is archived in millibars (mB). 1 mB = 0.0295 inches of Hg