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Highest wave sets 'remarkable record' at taller than a six-storey building Wave taller than a six-storey building sets 'remarkable' world record
(about 3 hours later)
The UN’s weather agency has announced the measurement of the highest wave on record – a behemoth that towered 19 metres (62.3 feet) above the North Atlantic. A towering 19-meter (62.3ft) wave in the North Atlantic has set a world record as the highest ever measured by a buoy, according to the UN’s weather agency.
Scrutiny of data sent back by an automated buoy showed a monster wave rose at 6.00 GMT on 4 February 2013 at a remote spot between Britain and Iceland, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said. An automated buoy measured the wave at a remote spot between Great Britain and Iceland on 4 February 2013 at 6.00 GMT, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday.
“This is the first time we have ever measured a wave of 19 meters. It is a remarkable record,” the WMO deputy chief, Wenjian Zhang, said in a statement. Taller than a six-storey building, the huge wave occurred after a “very strong cold front” passed through the area, with winds of up to 43.8 knots (50.4mph).
Taller than a six-storey building, the mighty wave occurred after a “very strong” cold front had barrelled through the area, producing winds up of 43.8 knots (81kph/ 50.4mph). “This is the first time we have ever measured a wave of 19 meters. It is a remarkable record,” the WMO assistant secretary general, Wenjian Zhang, said in the statement.
The previous record height for a wave was 18.3m, notched up in December 2007, also in the North Atlantic. Classified as “the highest significant wave height as measured by a buoy” by the WMO Commission for Climatology’s Extremes Evaluation Committee, the wave crushed the previous record of 18.275 meters (59.96ft), measured in December 2007 in the North Atlantic.
Wave height is defined as the distance from the crest of one wave to the trough of the next; significant wave height means the average of the highest one-third of waves measured by an instrument.
The North Atlantic, between the Grand Banks underwater plateau off Canada, the south of Iceland and the west of Great Britain, is often the setting for gigantic waves, thanks to wind patterns which lead to “intense extra-tropical storms” sometimes called “bombs”, the WMO said.
The new wave height has been added to the WMO’s Global Weather & Climate Extremes Archive, which tracks such milestones. The highest significant wave height measured by a ship observation occurred in the North Atlantic in February of 2000, and measured 18.5 meters (60.7 ft), according to the archive.
In the release, Dr Zhang emphasized that, though there have been strides in satellite technology, “the sustained observations and data records from moored and drifting buoys and ships still play a major role” in helping to understand the interaction between weather and ocean.
Automated buoys are vital tools for oceanographers, sending back data on sea currents, temperatures and swells for seafarers, climate researchers and others.Automated buoys are vital tools for oceanographers, sending back data on sea currents, temperatures and swells for seafarers, climate researchers and others.
“We need high-quality and extensive ocean records to help in our understanding of weather/ocean interactions,” said Zhang.“We need high-quality and extensive ocean records to help in our understanding of weather/ocean interactions,” said Zhang.
“Despite the huge strides in satellite technology, the sustained observations and data records from moored and drifting buoys and ships still play a major role in this respect.”“Despite the huge strides in satellite technology, the sustained observations and data records from moored and drifting buoys and ships still play a major role in this respect.”
The North Atlantic, from the Grand Banks underwater plateau off Canada to south of Iceland and the west of Britain, is the world’s biggest breeding ground for giant waves.
In wintertime, wind circulation and atmospheric pressure cause intense extratropical storms, often dubbed “bombs”, the WMO said.
The height of a wave is defined as the distance from the crest of one wave to the trough of the next.
The UN agency occasionally reveals quirky weather-related milestones, like its September finding that an August 2012 lightning flash in France was the longest-lasting bolt ever recorded.