Consecutive 10-min reports by National Data Buoy Center buoys are analyzed so as to show the behavior of the anemometer for light and variable low wind speeds and for the mesoscale effects that remain in the 10-min averages for higher wind speeds. It is shown that the major contribution to the scatter in the comparison of NASA Scatterometer winds to data buoy winds is the result of the properties of the data buoy measurements. Calms, light winds and winds over 20 m s-1 still need additional study and further efforts at validation. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union