Hurricane DANIEL waves

[rsailor]

Hurricane DANIEL is tracking towards Hawaii. The storm isn't likely to find the fleet, but it will be interesting to see if and when the waves do.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_ep4.shtml?5-daynl?large#contents

 

[rsailor]

Current wave forecasts show the center of Hurricane DANIEL's wave train passing comfortably south of Hawaii. Centered due south of the big island on the 14th. With a possibility of 8-10 foot swells affecting some of the fleet starting around the 13th.

http://www.stormsurfing.com/cgi/display.cgi?a=npac_height

 

[rsailor]

From Taz!! " . . this morning at 8:20 AM the waves had built to 10′ to 15”and were coming from two directions."

(Not sure what timezone Taz was using here. Guessing Honolulu; this is about 7:20 PM GMT on Tuesday the 13th as predicted. The wave models are in GMT.)

Presumably this is the trade wind swell from the East and hurricane Daniels vanguard of swell from the south east. The 2010 Transpac had similar but very high crossed seas from hurricane Celia at this point in the race. Celia was a major hurricane. Daniel was smaller. (Please correct my statements if you disagree, or comment if you were there.)

 

[Critter]

The 2010 Transpac had similar but very high crossed seas from hurricane Celia at this point in the race. Celia was a major hurricane. Daniel was smaller.

That sounds about right in terms of conditions, although I didn't see any seas over about 10 feet. I think July 1 in '10 - which corresponds to yesterday, the second Thursday of the race - was the roughest day on both me and the boat. For months afterward I had this strange visual memory of seeing the entire boat from a distance, watching it struggle. The funny thing was, that's when I had my best 24 hour run of the race.

But I thought Celia was only a tropical storm, like Daniel.
Max

 

[rsailor]

Celia and Daniel

But I thought Celia was only a tropical storm, like Daniel.
- Max

This is an interesting statement to hear, Max. Whether NOAA calls a storm a "tropical storm" or a "hurricane" depends on which day you talk to them. (Kinda like one-eyed Pete, the "dealer" down on the street corner.)

When storm winds are at hurricane force, meaning right now, news reports call it "hurricane X". Before and after the hurricane phase, news reports call it "tropical storm X". If you get off the boat in Hanalei after being at sea for three weeks, you are more likely to read about "tropical storm X" than "hurricane X".

FYI: "Celia was a long-lived hurricane that reached category five strength on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. It tied Hurricane Ava as the strongest June hurricane on record in the eastern North Pacific (since reliable records began in the early 1970s)." It didn't get into the press very often because it never made a landfall.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/TCR-EP042010_Celia.pdf

P.S. Hurricane Daniel existed from July 6th to July 9th, 2012. Hurricane Celia existed from June 20 to June 27, 2010.

P.P.S: Strength five on the Saffir-Simpson corresponds to 13 on the Beaufort scale. "Very, very, huge flying waves. Air is filled with whales, ships, and olympic sized swimming pools, greatly reducing visibility. Winds greater than 155 mph."