how tall is can rogue waves be
Though the wave may not qualify as a ârogue wave,â it could have been created by the same forces. To officially be rogue, the waveâs height must be more than double the âsignificant wave heightâ of the area, which is calculated by averaging the height of the tallest third of all the nearby waves. The wave measured 26 feet tall and shattered plate-glass windows at the bow of the vessel.
The highest wave ever recorded was 112 feet tall, spotted in the Pacific by a U.S. Navy tanker in the 1920s. Now, whenever large ships get lost at sea and never return, many are quick to speculate they were victims of rogue waves. Rogue waves occur in the open ocean in a number of ways. One common cause is when two smaller waves coalesce to produce a very large wave for a short time. âYou get waves that add up â smaller waves that constructively interfere and for a short time produce a very large wave,â Washburn said.