37 ft Wave height Gulf of Mexico

[flyingfin]

Observation from Data Buoy just east of Hurricane Laura eye this morning
Scary how fast the waves and wind built

[pianopraze]

Prayers for all those in the way of this storm.

This is going to be devastating.

[barnakiel]

Quite a wave, eh?


You will notice the offset between the highest wind / lowest pressure AND the worst wave!


Much discussed in sailing folklore.


b.

[rslifkin]

All I know is that if I ever see 37 feet at 14 seconds in my boat, I'm 99% sure that means I'm dead.

[barnakiel]

I have seen them once, but not in a hurricane only in a South Pacific storm. Those were way way less dangerous as they followed a pseude regular pattern.


The ones in Mexico Gulf are hell as there are many 'trains' of waves that criss cross each other and it is next to impossible to find an angle that is, eh, safe?


Or rather "safe".



b

[jimbunyard]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Quite a wave, eh?


You will notice the offset between the highest wind / lowest pressure AND the worst wave!


Much discussed in sailing folklore.


b.

Not the same buoy, but you get the point...

[barnakiel]

Amazing.


b

[dannc]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Amazing.


b

Very.

On first chart with the wave height, not only did the big drop in pressure lead to bigger waves but also a shift in wind direction.

Interesting.

Later,
Dan

[mikedefieslife]

Wonder how fast I would surf down that. 16.7knts is my record so far in just 3-4m waves. Already when in the trough the waves are spreader height. Over 10m is unimaginable.

[barnakiel]

Yep. A stationary buoy and a fast paced small diameter system.


When a bad one passed over Barbuda I watched live wind data from the sensor there. One moment it was like 50 gusting 80 from N, 30 minutes later it was 60 gusting 90 from S. (Then it got blown off at about 110 knots, together with the webcam and the rest of the toys).



These bad systems can be very packed, very dense. Huge damage here, but only small to the neighbour island or town!


b.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Yep. A stationary buoy and a fast paced small diameter system.


When a bad one passed over Barbuda I watched live wind data from the sensor there. One moment it was like 50 gusting 80 from N, 30 minutes later it was 60 gusting 90 from S. (Then it got blown off at about 110 knots, together with the webcam and the rest of the toys).



These bad systems can be very packed, very dense. Huge damage here, but only small to the neighbour island or town!


b.

the eye itself is 25 miles across... not small.


levi cowan had a good explanation and discussion of htis one in hi stropical tidbits.. he didnot seem to think it is a small insignificant no one gonna feel it storm.
when it was only cat 2 it was 220 miles diameter, since then has only grown larger and more intense with a larger diameter core.

https://youtu.be/v-p1OTM-Zck

might want to make popcorn for this one..


https://weather.msfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bi...mVNNaIp8RrG-5o

[acem]

Looking at marine traffic I notice all the boats are away from the storm!

[MicHughV]

I've heard that some of the area off shore oil rigs have reported 42' wave heights...

That would be hard to grasp.....I've seen 15-18' waves, and that was pretty impressive and very scary, but this is twice as big....I'm not sure what I'd do if caught in this type of stuff....not sure there is anything anyone can do.....

It's gonna be a doozy....I'm reading that some folks are planning to ride this out, rather than be close to other people due to C-19...not sure if " riding it out" is the smart thing to do here....C-19 has a 95% recovery rate....this hurricane likely a 0% recovery rate...

[zeehag]

oh and from another mets person....


The Weather Dork
1tdSfpon5somuomred ·
Hurricane Laura is a category 4 hurricane heading right for the Gulf Coast. It'll probably make landfall in western Louisiana around midnight or 1:00 a.m. local time. The Hurricane Hunters recently flew into the storm and found that the winds continue to increase. Sustained winds are up to 145 mph with gusts to 175 mph. Some models are depicting gusts to 200mph at landfall.

I can write these numbers all day but it is impossible for me to convey how devastating and horrific those wind speeds really are. Consider a severe thunderstorm with 8-second 60mph wind gusts and multiple that by 3. Now imagine that wind blowing for 6-10 hours straight.

In order to reach category 5 status it will need to have sustained winds of 157 mph or more. There is still some time for strengthening before landfall. Whether it's a strong category 4 or a category 5, I can promise you that it does not matter very much.

This is a catastrophic and historic hurricane that is going to be devastating for the Louisiana region.

right now the winds are only 155 kts.....damn no cat 5, but they have until 0100 when landfall is spozedto magically occur.. but this is such a tiny 220 mile plus raqdius storm no one should be impacted by it....
hahahahaha tell that to those who endure the monster.


"wherever it lands will be forever changed"
and its hexagonal eyewall connotes intensification.

[MicHughV]

someone asked me what is the difference between a Cat 4 and a Cat 5 hurricane.

I told him ...not much....falling off a 100' tall building and falling of a 120' tall building is going to get you the same results...