Ireland's biggest ever wave recorded off Donegal coast

FNMOC wave watch : situation for the 13/12/2011 -Animation-

NOAA sea state analysis (updated)

From TheGuardian

A 20.4-metre wave is recorded by a buoy 60 miles off Ireland's coast as a force ten storm rages

The biggest wave ever to hit Irish shores – 20.4 metres (67ft) high – has been recorded, meteorologists have revealed.
The wave was measured at a special buoy off the Donegal coast on Tuesday as a force ten storm raged.

Off the Donegal coast approximately 45 nautical miles (83 km)

west northwest of Rossan Point

Meteorologists at Met Eireann said the data, sent from about 60 miles from the Irish coast, provided evidence of the most severe weather conditions it has encountered that distance offshore. "
At 14.00 (Tuesday 13th December 2011) the M4 weather buoy off the Donegal coast recorded a maximum wave height of 20.4 metres which is the highest maximum wave recorded in Irish waters," Met Eireann reported.

'M4 Buoy' (WMO ID: station 62093) provided by 'The Marine Institute',
located at 54°42'N, 9°6'W
(Realtime Wave Buoy Data from CEFAS WaveNet mapping)

At Malin Head, the most northerly tip of Ireland, wind gusting to 87mph (140km/h) was recorded.
Elsewhere, the Irish coastguard has urged people to stay off exposed coasts, cliffs, piers, harbour walls, beaches and promenades during this week's forecast stormy weather.

UKMO Bracknell MetOffice weatherfax for 13/12/2011 (from Wetterzentrale archives)

Winds and stormy conditions will ease on Tuesday night before freezing conditions hit Ireland on Thursday and there is a risk of a second storm hitting the south and midlands.
Forecasters, however, said there was a chance the storm might miss Ireland to the south.
The Weather Buoy project is a collaborative initiative between the Department of Transport, Marine Institute, Met Eireann and the UK Met Office.
The manager of the Irish coastguard, Declan Geoghegan, said:
"The combination of tides, forecasted gale warnings for the next day or so, high sea conditions and swollen rivers may result in very dangerous conditions."

Thermal IR image, 12/12/2011 at 2035 GMT

Much of the UK also faces several days of battering winds and localised blizzards as a pair of particularly lively weather systems pass over the country in quick succession.

Jayce Robinson, from St Ives, can just be seen inside the huge rolling wave.

This is the incredible moment an English surfer rode a massive wave in Donegal Bay.

The wave was on the same afternoon a 67-ft wave was recorded off Donegal

(source : DonegalDaily)

Later on Tuesday gales were expected to batter the north of Northern Ireland and the west of Scotland, peaking at 80mph in coastal areas, where ferry services in the west of Scotland have been badly affected.
This will be combined with driving rain and, on higher ground, reasonably heavy snowfalls, mainly in the Borders and in Dumfries and Galloway.
Conditions should ease during Wednesday and early Thursday, but only before another stormy weather system arrives, currently massing over the Atlantic.