A “smart buoy” off the coast of Northern California has recorded a 22.7-metre monster wave during a severe storm. This is one of the highest waves ever measured.
Whether it is the highest wave is not entirely clear, because there is no central database of it. The freak wave was registered by a buoy at Cape Mendocino of the Coastal Data Information Program. This program provides real-time information on wave heights for the benefit of shipping, fishing and contractors, among others.
The most important parameter is the so-called significant wave height, the half-hour average of one third of the highest waves, measured from valley to crest. At the time of the measurement, this was thirteen metres. This corresponds to a value of eight in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) sea state code, which goes up to nine.
In 2016, a buoy in the North Atlantic recorded the highest known significant wave height of nineteen metres. It is unknown whether waves occurred at that time that were higher than the 22.7-metre wave measured now.
This article first appeared (in Dutch) on Nieuwsblad Transport, a sister publication of SWZ|Maritime.
Picture by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
