record wave in north atlantic

[erice 732]

A mighty wave towering 62.3ft (19 metres) at a remote spot between Britain and Iceland has become the highest ever recorded.

Data from an automated buoy showed that it rose on Feb 4, 2013 in the North Atlantic, the World Meteorological Organization said.

"This is the first time we have ever measured a wave of 19 metres. It is a remarkable record," WMO's deputy chief Wenjian Zhang said.

Taller than a six-storey building, the wave occurred after a "very strong" cold front had barrelled through the area, producing winds up of 43.8 knots (50.4 miles an hour).

The previous record for the tallest wave was 18.3m, also in the North Atlantic in December 2007.

 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11767554

[Kevin McCready 83]

cut and paste from various sources:

 

Rogue waves (freak waves, monster waves, episodic waves, killer waves, extreme waves, and abnormal waves) can be eight times bigger than surrounding seas and come against the prevailing current and dominant wave direction. They can happen in clear weather and be an almost vertical wall of water preceded by a trough so deep that it was referred to as a "hole in the sea". 2005 report said a 12-metre (39 ft) wave in the usual "linear" model would have a breaking force of 6 metric tons per square metre [t/m2] (8.5 psi). Although modern ships are designed to tolerate a breaking wave of 15 t/m2 (21 psi), a rogue wave can dwarf both of these figures with a breaking force of 100 t/m2 (140 psi). Can be predicted by measuring every smaller wave but needs enormous computer power and is slow. MIT 2016 has new algorithm that gives two or three minutes warning if ship has monitoring gear on board. defined as waves whose height is more than twice the significant wave height (Hs or SWH), which is itself defined as the mean of the largest third of waves in a wave record.  MS München in 1978 provided some of the first physical evidence of the existence of rogue waves. The MS München was a state-of-the-art cargo ship with multiple water-tight compartments, an expert crew and was considered unsinkable. It was lost with all crew. The key evidence found was the starboard lifeboat which was recovered from the wreckage. The lifeboat hangs from forward and aft blocks 20 metres above the waterline. The pins had been bent back from forward to aft, indicating the lifeboat hanging below it had been struck by a wave that had run from fore to aft of the ship which had torn the lifeboat from the ship. To exert such force the wave must have been considerably higher than 20m. At that time, the existence of rogue waves was considered so statistically unlikely as to be near impossible. Oceanographers, meteorologists and ship designers in 1978 used a mathematical system commonly called the Gaussian Sea (or standard linear model) to predict wave height.[53] This model assumes that waves vary in a regular way around the average (so-called 'significant') wave height. breaking waves can cause short-lived impulse pressure spikes called Gifle peaks. These can reach pressures of 200 kN/m2 (or more) for milliseconds which is sufficient pressure to lead to brittle fracture of mild steel. Evidence of failure by this mechanism was also found on the Derbyshire.[10] Smith has documented scenarios where hydrodynamic pressure of up to 5,650 kN/m2 or over 500 metric tonnes per square metre could occur. A hydrostatic pressure of 5,650 kN/m2 is the same as 576,100 kgf/m2 or 576.1 Mt/m2 (metric tonnes per square metre). there was sufficient evidence to conclude that 66-foot high waves can be experienced in the 25-year lifetime of oceangoing vessels, and that 98-foot high waves are less likely, but not out of the question.
/
In 1826 the famous French scientist and naval officer, Captain Jules Dumont d'Urville reported waves as high as '33 metres' in the Indian Ocean with three colleagues as witnesses, yet he was publicly ridiculed by François Arago, the 25th Prime Minister of France

[idlerboat 116]

Not by a long shot !!!

 

1998 This year is infamous in both sailing and weather forecasting history. A small scale low formed over Eastern Bass Strait late on Boxing Day and produced extreme weather that was underplayed by the leading computer models. A paper writtern by Peter Joubert (a retired Professor of Fluid Dynamics from Melbourne University), covered some of the extreme aspects of this low, including the measurement of a 42.7m wave by rescue helicopters and also mean wind-speeds in excess of 68kts (125km/h+). The maximum wind gust recorded at Wilsons Promontory was an incredible 92kts (170km/h). The wave height reading of 42.5m (120ft) is the highest on record and was taken from a rescue helicopter using a radio altimeter. This severe weather event took place during the Sydney to Hobart Yacht race, where 6 people tragically lost their lives.

 

This has all been very well verified..

[erice 732]

pip-squeaks!

 

The wave then continued down the entire length of Lituya Bay, over La Chaussee Spit and into the Gulf of Alaska. The force of the wave removed all trees and vegetation from elevations as high as 1720 feet

(524 meters) above sea level.

 

[wheels 543]

Yeah I read that wave report a week back and thought, nah I have heard of reports of waves much bigger than that. Not Tsunamis, but Freak Waves.
I also remember discussion from the Insurers Lloyds, because Ships are built to withstand deck pressures as written in the post above, due to Naval designers meeting Insurance company requirements. When a Satellite was put up to study freak waves some 10 or probably more years ago, everyone got one heck of a fright. It had once been thought that these freak waves may have been a 1 in several years event. But what they in fact found was that up to 60 of these massive things were being detected each year. So Lloydes freaked and made words suggesting Vessels may need to be built much stronger.
I really don't know, but I have wondered if this is just one of the reasons why we are now seeing these Mega Vessels being created now. You can't just take a 200ft Ship and double the thickness of the Steel Plate. But you can if you build a 400ft Ship.

[erice 732]

60 page pdf on rogue waves here

 

some good pics, lots of science, math etc

 

rogue waves - DNV GL

 

..much better name than freak waves

 

hope the media take note of the name change

[rigger 47]

Hi Wheels - 400ft long ship - try 1138ft long - that is the longest vessel type currently calling in NZ waters.

 

The longest container ship is around 400m - 1312ft.

[Clipper 343]

The wave mentioned is the largest ever recorded by a wave buoy. Nowhere does it say it is the biggest wave ever.

[Island Time 1,239]

Biggest wave ive ever seen from the yacht is about 15m. I REALY would not like tp see these 30+m waves! scary sh*t....

[Kiwifish 30]

You are all wrong.

 

This is actually the highest wave ever recoderd on this planet, not only a scientifically proven fact but it was also photographed.

 

No yacht could ride over this wave. Over 200 people have died in this area. I strongly advise all vessels to avoid This area at all costs.

 

 

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTIhajMfgN9j82S_OQxczkxCFlF8lPO9_BM-xbuzHRhcqljYLH8dNRgW2tLnw

[marinheiro 352]

Excellent doco , BBC Freak Wave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COoMupCVAnc

 

there was a story from the 98 Syd Hobart of a helicopter making a pick up, when the pilot glanced in front of him and saw a wave looming above him, I bet the collective pitch lever had never been yanked so forcefully!