The biggest wave ever recorded!

Of Dr. Nikos Mazarakis, professor of naval meteorology.

On the occasion of the recent publication of World Meteorological Organization, for the 19-meter wave measurement in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean on February 4, 2013, we present the analysis for that day of Ocean Prediction Center her NOAA (to read the English article from the WMO website click here and for its rendering in Greek here).

As shown in the surface analysis map with Valid Time 4FEB2013 – 06UTC, in the area 59N/11W where the recording was made, very strong westerly winds prevailed due to the combination of a low centered at 952 mb east of Greenland with the anticyclone 1038 mb in the Azores region. In fact, for that day the US Meteorological Service had given the warning “HURCN FORCE” which means wind speeds of over 64 Knots. Also notice with the orange arrows that the wind blew for a huge distance into the ocean, with constant intensity and direction. This resulted in the creation of the largest significant wave height recorded by certified measuring equipment. Also interesting is the analysis of the significant wave height which for this specific area gave 15 – 16 meters. We emphasize that the recording of a significant wave height of 19 meters means that a percentage of 10% of the waves had an average height 19×1.27=24.13m and the 1% of the waves had an average height 19×1.67=31.73mIn our seminar entitled Modern Marine Meteorology We learn how to read these maps and how to calculate the actual height of the waves based on the significant height. These specific maps are the ones we receive on the ship via facsimile.