Storm Gloria caused a series of record-breaking waves recently in the western Mediterranean Sea. Indeed, a buoy off the Balearic Islands recorded a new record wave height of 46.58 feet, while buoys off Valencia, Spain, registered a significant wave height of 27.69 feet, the largest ever recorded in the Med.
Significant wave height is the equivalent of the mean wave height of the highest third of the waves at a given time. It is what an experienced observer would estimate at sea at that time.
The tide gauge in the Port of Valencia also recorded a historical maximum of 6.9 feet during the storm. Here’s a very good account of the record-breaking wave heights from Surfer Today:
On January 20, 2020, Spain’s Ports of the State announced the largest significant wave height in recorded history in the Mediterranean Sea.
According to the Spanish meteorologists and oceanographers, Storm Gloria generated a record-breaking significant wave height of 8.44 meters (27.69 feet) off the port city of Valencia, in Spain.
The previous significant wave height record in the Mediterranean Sea had been set at 8.15 meters (26.73 feet) and was recorded in 2003 in Mahón, Menorca.
The authorities estimate that this time, Storm Gloria produced waves of 13.5 meters (44.29 feet).
Storm Gloria, which continues to affect much of the western Mediterranean, including France and Portugal, has already smashed several significant wave height records according to the network of deep-sea buoys.
This historical maximum, the highest data measured in the western Mediterranean, has been obtained by an ocean buoy located near Valencia.
Significant Wave Height
The significant wave height parameter is equivalent to the mean wave height of the highest third of the waves and coincides with the height of the waves that an experienced observer would estimate at any given moment in the sea.
On the other hand, the significant wave height measured by ocean buoys is a critical statistical parameter transmitted in real-time via satellite to describe the swell position in relation to the coastline.
However, the height of a wave by itself is not as representative as significant wave height, i.e., measuring a large individual wave in the open ocean does not mean that it will arrive at the coastline with the same size.
Gloria’s effects have also been noticeably felt inside the ports.
In the Port of Valencia, the tide gauge reached a significant wave height of 2.11 meters (6.9 feet) and a maximum wave height of 3.28 meters (10.76 feet).
This is also the maximum record ever recorded by this station since the installation of the sea level sensor in 2006. Read more:
