Hazardous waves from winter trade winds?
2019
Jury, Mark R.
One of the weather-related shipping hazards in the Caribbean Islands is an intense anticyclone during winter. Surges of trade winds cause steeply sloped short-period (<7 s, >2 m) waves to penetrate the shipping lanes near Puerto Rico. In addition to the large-scale air pressure gradient (5 hPa/300 km), the Antilles Islands funnel the winds (>10 m/s) and accentuate the surface heat fluxes (>200 W/m2) and air-sea momentum transfer. Here, the weather scenario surrounding a case of damage to a supply ship 30–31 December 2015 is presented, when the wave height-to-length ratio exceeded 3%. This case is placed in context by statistical analysis of climate and weather features contributing to intensified trade winds. A negative Pacific-North America pattern during La Nina enhances an anticyclonic ridge north of Puerto Rico, contributing to steep waves. The research highlights the hazard to shipping of short-period waves produced by surges of trade winds.
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