TiggerToo
Well-Known Member
this morning someone here was reporting predictions of phenomenal wave heights: is it possible to find out what the ACTUAL wave heights were?
wave heights
- Thread starter TiggerToo
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VicS
Well-Known Member
At selected locations for the past 24 hours http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/maps/United_Kingdom.shtml
(Phenomenal = >14m)
(Phenomenal = >14m)
capnsensible
Well-Known Member
Top site, thanks.
bluedragon
Well-Known Member
Just looked at Seven Stones buoy nr. Scillies for last 24 hrs. Interesting...
0000 Mon, wind 43 knts, wave ht. 5.6 ft
2000 Mon, wind 23 kts, wave ht. 22 ft
I know it takes time for swell to build, but these figures do seem a bit odd?
0000 Mon, wind 43 knts, wave ht. 5.6 ft
2000 Mon, wind 23 kts, wave ht. 22 ft
I know it takes time for swell to build, but these figures do seem a bit odd?
TradewindSailor
Well-Known Member
Not really. The wave trains will be built up over a long fetch, and will come to any particular location from several directions creating a cross sea ...... particularly when the waves pass around an island. Often the cross seas to leeward of an island are much worse than those in an open ocean.
So any given wave height measured at a particular point in the sea will be a combination of several wave trains from a range of directions. The resultant wave height at any given point will be a simple addition of the amplitude of each wave train at a given point at that time.
The existence of swell at in a particular location may be a good indication of the weather to come .... especially long period swells that would have travelled many hundreds of miles.
So wind speed and wave height records for a given location do not give much useful information, and certainly have no direct correlation.
Just to make things a little more complicated, the wave heights and steepnesses are greatly effected by the geography of the sea bottom and coastline, and any current running.
So any given wave height measured at a particular point in the sea will be a combination of several wave trains from a range of directions. The resultant wave height at any given point will be a simple addition of the amplitude of each wave train at a given point at that time.
The existence of swell at in a particular location may be a good indication of the weather to come .... especially long period swells that would have travelled many hundreds of miles.
So wind speed and wave height records for a given location do not give much useful information, and certainly have no direct correlation.
Just to make things a little more complicated, the wave heights and steepnesses are greatly effected by the geography of the sea bottom and coastline, and any current running.
Tremlett 15
Well-Known Member
Last edited:
KellysEye
Well-Known Member
Phenomenal is 14 metres. Bear in mind what NOAA says about wave forecasts which are the signicant height of the wave. SINGIFICANT HEIGHT IS THE AVERAGE HEIGHT OF THE HIGHEST 1/3 OF THE WAVES. INDIVIDUAL WAVES MAY BE MORE THAN TWICE THE SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT.
Thus Phenomenal could be 28 metres. Good surfing weatther ;-))
Thus Phenomenal could be 28 metres. Good surfing weatther ;-))