Wundergroud - 1/18/13, Lee Grenci
I didn't want the week to end without documenting the rapidly deepening low-pressure system east of Japan on Monday and Tuesday. The mid-latitude cyclone's minimum barometric pressure fell from 965 mb at 12Z on January 14 (surface analysis from the Ocean Prediction Center) to 932 mb at 06Z on January 15 (OPC surface analysis), a drop of 33 mb in just 18 hours. Explosive cyclogenesis, indeed (note the reference to hurricane-force winds on the 06Z surface analysis).
The 12Z analysis of significant wave heights, in meters, on January 14, 2013. Larger image. Courtesy of the Ocean Prediction Center.
At 00Z on January 16, OPC's analysis (above; larger image) of the significant wave height, the average height of the highest one-third of the waves, indicated heights of 20 meters or more (well over 60 feet). Dramamine, any one?
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