During a storm, the North Sea can go wild like an animal. The waves come from distant regions and can gradually grow to as high as houses. Ships and drilling platforms then have to deal with walls of water and that does not always end well. The storm and the waves can also wreak havoc on the coast. Coastal protectors and KNRM always have a hard time doing it. The next moment the North Sea is as soft as a lamb again and you can swim in it and practice other water sports. In any case, the sea is a water to be respected.
High waves on the North Sea
- Storm and Beaufort
- Depression
- Storm surge
- High waves in the North Sea
- Monster waves
- White tigers at the Wadden
- Accidents
Storm and Beaufort
Storm is strong wind that develops within a depression. We speak of a storm when the wind picks up to a force of 9 or higher on the Beaufort scale. The wind then reaches speeds of 75 km / h. We call wind force 10 wind with a speed of 90 km / h. We then speak of a severe storm. A very heavy storm is wind force 11. The wind then rages at 103 km / h over land or sea.
Depression
Depression can cause a storm. A very severe storm can generate gusts of wind that cause damage to coastal areas. Shipping, oil and gas extraction in the North Sea will also be affected by the storm, as will aviation in the areas around the North Sea.
Course low pressure area
How a storm depression turns out depends on the low pressure areas that form elsewhere. Low pressure areas can change course and intensity and can fuel a storm.
Storm surge
An extra high tide caused by a storm is called storm surge. The water is pushed up by strong winds and the water level can rise up to five meters higher than normal during a storm tide, especially when accompanied by spring tide. The North Sea is a sensitive sea to storm surges. This is also due to the shape of the sea and the coastline.
Funnel
The southern North Sea is becoming narrower between the Netherlands and England, making it easy to push up the water. Storm surges regularly occur in these areas; the Wadden Islands have to deal with it now and then as long as they exist. Sometimes with disastrous consequences.
High waves in the North Sea
Storm can stir the water quite a bit. The wave height in the middle of the North Sea can rise to eight to nine meters, with peaks of sixteen meters. In the North Sea hardly any higher waves can occur, although the possibility of walls of water of 20 to 25 meters high is taken into account.
Northern Atlantic Ocean
The wave height increases because the storm and wave formation starts in the North Atlantic. The waves slowly increase in height and are pushed up by the wind in the North Sea.
Monster waves
Monster waves occur on the great oceans, but the North Sea can do some of it too. House-high waves are more common than we think. Research of satellite images and radar images shows that there are indeed towering waves in the North Sea. It was discovered that monster waves roll in the North Sea almost every day.
Wall of water
The Atlantic Ocean has waves of no less than 35 meters high. These waves are a danger to the ships. The waves in the North Sea have not yet been seen that high.
White tigers at the Wadden
Not only the funnel shape, but also the differences in depth have an effect on the height of waves. The North Sea can therefore be dangerous. In addition, the seas around the Wadden Islands form the shallows where waves can develop unpredictably. The North Sea can show its wildest side there. This is also due to the journey that waves travel. They come from the North Pole and have time to grow. If those waves then arrive at shallow coasts such as off the Wadden Islands, they become extremely dangerous. They call sailors and connoisseurs of the North Sea white tigers. They are ground seas that become higher and steeper due to the decreasing depth of the sea.
Top and bottom
The breakers have a top and a valley and the valley of a ground sea can reach to the bottom. The vessel then runs the risk of hitting the bottom with its keel in the valley and being carried along by the next peak of the wave. These white tigers are life-threatening and cause a lot of damage.
Accidents
Accidents in the North Sea regularly occur as a result of storms and high waves:
- 1953 – Storm surge floods a large part of Zeeland, resulting in many casualties
- 2003 – A cargo ship loses barrels of poisonous contents due to a storm and improper cargo
- 2006 – KNRM lifeboat Anna Margaretha capsizes through a high ground sea during a rescue operation
- 2012 – Two men are thrown overboard of a cargo ship and end up in a stormy North Sea. One is picked up, the other is seen by helicopters, but the rescue comes too late.
- 2017 – At the end of October 2017 there is a storm on the North Sea. A supply ship drifts adrift and a container ship loses containers. Partly coils that later on the Wadden Islands, the rest sinks. A crew member is seriously injured and is transported to hospital by helicopter.