Strong waves out of season: CA and NH

As we approach the official start of summer, wave heights recorded at a few CDIP buoy stations were surprisingly intense in recent days, relative to climatological expectations.

Northerly winds along the West Coast set up waves of Hs = 7 m (23’) at Tp ~ 11 sec, with individual peaks reaching Hmax = 14 m (46’) at CDIP 094 Cape Mendocino, CA.  This is the largest station event on record for May-September.  Similar conditions were measured at CDIP 168 Humboldt Bay North Spit, CA.  Buoy data exceed wave models for the event at both stations.

On May 23, over on the East Coast, CDIP 160 Jeffreys Ledge, NH, reported a similarly localized high wave event, with Hs = 5.6 m (18.4’) and Hmax = 9.7 m (31.8’) exceeding any previous wave data from May - September at that station.