A World Meteorological Organization expert committee has established a new world record wave height of 19 meters (62.3 feet) measured by a buoy in the North Atlantic. The wave was recorded by an automated buoy at 0600 UTC on 4 February 2013 in the North Atlantic ocean between Iceland and the United Kingdom (approximately 59° N, 11° W). It followed the passage of a very strong cold front, which produced winds of up to 43.8 knots (50.4 miles per hour) over the area. The previous record of 18.275 meters (59.96 feet) was measured on 8 December 2007, also in the North Atlantic. The WMO Commission for Climatology’s Extremes Evaluation Committee classified it as “the highest significant wave height as measured by a buoy”. The Committee consisted of scientists from Great Britain, Canada, the United States of America and Spain.
The full press release is at:
http://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/19-meter-wave-sets-new-record