Extreme High Swell Events on the Moroccan Atlantic Coast

4.0 Case Study 1 » 4.4 Step 3: Forecasting the Marine Situation » 4.4.2 ECMWF WAM Significant Wave Height

The ECMWF WAM significant wave height field animation from 6 January at 0000 UTC to 7 January at 1800 UTC shows a maximum zone located in the center of the North Atlantic Ocean extending from north of the Azores Islands to Great Britain. The maximum value is around 18 m on 6 January at 0000 UTC, and moves northeasterly towards the West European coast.

The heavy swell is expected to reach the Moroccan coasts by the night of 6 to 7 January, with the significant wave height exceeding 6 m.