What causes a rogue wave?

Asked by: Shawn Castano

When waves formed by a storm develop in a water current against the normal wave direction, an interaction can take place which results in a shortening of the wave frequency. This can cause the waves to dynamically join together, forming very big ‘rogue’ waves.

What is the largest rogue wave ever recorded?

58-foot-tall

Rogue waves were once thought to be a myth. Now, scientists say they observed one that was almost 60 feet tall. An enormous, 58-foot-tall swell that crashed in the waters off British Columbia, Canada, in November 2020 has been confirmed as the largest “rogue” wave ever recorded, according to new research.

Has a cruise ship ever hit a rogue wave?

Cruise-ship sinkings are much rarer, but in recent years some cruise liners have been hit by rogue waves, including: The Explorer, on a “semester-at-sea” sailing in the North Pacific, was damaged in January when the ship, carrying almost 700 American college students, was struck by a wave estimated at 55 feet tall.

Can a cruise ship survive a rogue wave?

It is highly unlikely that a wave could flip a cruise ship. They are built to be wide and have a heavy enough ballast on lower decks that they will survive rogue waves.

What was the worst rogue wave?

However, what caught the attention of the scientific community was the digital measurement of a rogue wave at the Draupner platform in the North Sea on January 1, 1995; called the “Draupner wave”, it had a recorded maximum wave height of 25.6 metres (84 ft) and peak elevation of 18.5 metres (61 ft).

What ocean has the most rogue waves?

North Pacific Ocean

The November 2020 “killer wave” was so extreme, such an event is believed to only happen once every 1,300 years. The most extreme “rogue wave” on record has just been confirmed in the North Pacific Ocean.

What to do if you see a rogue wave?

If you recognize the rogue ahead of time, avoid cresting the backside; back off and let it roll away and dissipate. If caught unawares and you do crest the wave, avoid the tendency to reduce the throttle as you stare down the precipice at the gaping hole below.

How common is a rogue wave?

It’s estimated that one in 10,000 waves is a rogue wave – but while they’ve been the subject of marine folklore for centuries, they were first officially recorded in the 1990s.

Where do rogue waves most frequently appear?

South Africa

One of the places rogue waves appear to happen most frequently is off the southeast coast of South Africa. A professor of applied mathematics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Dr. Bengt Fornberg, studied this phenomenon with Marius Gerber of the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.