In a striking revelation, a rogue wave, which was measured 58 feet (17.6 meters) tall, was recorded off the coast of Vancouver Island.
The wave has set new record as it was three times the size of the surrounding waves.
Johannes Gemmrich, one of the lead researchers on rogue waves at the University of Victoria, said, “Only a few rogue waves in high sea states have been observed directly, and nothing of this magnitude. The probability of such an event occurring is one in 1,300 years.”
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It seems to have taken the scientific community by storm as it is proportionally the most extreme rogue wave ever recorded in the world.
The wave occurred in November 2020. But the study confirming it was released on February 2 this year.
“They look like a large four-storey lump sticking out of the water with a large peak and big troughs before it,” Scott Beatty, CEO, MarineLabs, the company operating the buoy, which measured the wave, told CNN.
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“Rogues, called ‘extreme storm waves’ by scientists, are those waves which are greater than twice the size of surrounding waves, are very unpredictable, and often come unexpectedly from directions other than prevailing wind and waves,” The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) explained.
In simple terms, “A rogue wave is actually just a wave that is large compared to the surrounding wave field,” Gemmrich clarified.
(With inputs from agencies)
