Now we’ll look at ship and buoy observations taken off the Moroccan coast.
What is the maximum significant wave height and highest period reported by ships and buoys off the Moroccan Atlantic coastal areas on 6 January at 1200 UTC?
The ship circled in red reports a significant wave height of about 4.5 m and a period of 18 s. This period value is not usually observed off the Moroccan coast. At the same time, far to the south, two ships observe a significant height of 3 m and 3.5 m.
In this situation, should forecasters take action?
Since this swell height exceeds 4 m, it's above the threshold for issuing a warning. On the Atlantic coast, the warning threshold is a wave height greater than or equal to 4 m, while in the Mediterranean, it is 3 m.