Extreme High Swell Events on the Moroccan Atlantic Coast

1.0 Introduction » 1.1 Heavy Swells and Forecast Challenges

Huge waves may delight surfers, but they can take a large toll on human life, infrastructure, and socio-economic activities, such as fishing, port operations, and recreation management, in coastal areas.

photo showing surfers in big waves with small boats beside

High swell events can develop far from the coast under cyclonic conditions, and take several days to travel to land. During this period, weather conditions in coastal areas often are quite benign, with people going about their activities with little awareness of what’s developing. If early warnings are not issued, heavy swells can take an area by surprise and have a devastating impact. The photographs below show damage from a heavy swell event.

photo showing damage from a high swell event on the Moroccan coast
photo showing damage from a high swell event on the Moroccan coast

Heavy swells are challenging to forecast given the distance at which they can form. Forecasters need to consider many elements of the weather situation and analyze many types of data in order to detect the phenomenon, accurately forecast it, and issue the early warnings needed to minimize its impact.