The Joachim storm hit the french coasts on Dec. 16th, 2011. Significant wave heights off the coasts can be measured by altimetry and reveals heights of more than 8 m.

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Map of significant wave heigths (in m) measured along-track by Jason-1 (left) between December 15 and December 16, 2011 West of Europe during the storm Joachim.  The ground track in red on the left map, where the SWH is highest, is used to plot the SWH vs latitude on the right. Credits Cnes/CLS. Plots made with the <link http: www.altimetry.info _blank external-link-new-window>Basic Radar Altimetry Toolbox.

Further information:

• Applications: <link internal-link>Atmosphere, wind and waves
• Data: <link internal-link>Wind and waves products
• Noaa, Operational wave models: <link http: polar.ncep.noaa.gov waves _blank external-link-new-window>Noaa, Wavewatch III
• The Washington Post: <link http: www.washingtonpost.com blogs capital-weather-gang post atlantic-windstorm-batters-western-and-central-europe giqajspfyo_blog.html _blank external-link-new-window>Atlantic storm slams France, Europe; beaches cargo ship (2011/12/16)
• Météo France: <link http: france.meteofrance.com france actu _blank external-link-new-window>La tempête Joachim des15 et 16 décembre 2011 (in french)