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Saturday, January 21, 2017

Up to 26 feet

An impressive storm today, with the offshore buoy recording wave heights up to ~26 feet:



Here's one shot with a few gulls for scale:



And another showing the amazing amount of foam that was pushed onshore:


I hope to show a few more pictures soon!

5 comments:

VFM said...

Yikes...

Dan Gurney said...

I was out there yesterday on Doran. The waves were actually scary.

Jackie Sones said...

Hi, Vicki and Dan,

Yes, when the waves get that big, their power is overwhelming. Sometimes I look at them and just shake my head. It's hard to understand that much energy...and to see it being released against the shore is scary. I also marvel at how any of the marine invertebrates in the rocky intertidal zone can withstand that sort of impact.

Aside from a January 2008 storm, I think the waves on Friday night/Saturday morning were the largest I've seen on Bodega Head.

Jackie

VFM said...

This is impressive. Wonder what Mavericks looked like??? Be safe Wonder Woman!!!

Jackie Sones said...

Hi, Vicki,

Yeah, I heard they set a wave record in Monterey Bay this weekend:

"According to the National Weather Service, monster surf on Saturday set a new wave height record for the Monterey Bay: 34.12 feet. The previous record was 32.8 feet, set in 2008."

And yes, I'm very conservative when it comes to watching big waves...always being careful to choose safe spots for viewing. My dad always taught me to have the utmost respect for the ocean.

Jackie