With the Fall comes the inevitable wind storms! Power normal goes out,the only question is………. for how long? Wind is something I’m always mindful of! I go out in my 10 foot Zodiac (20Hp) so It doesn’t take much of a wave to make for a bumpy ride! So on windy days I keep my feet on solid ground and go out to the beach.
The West coast just had one of those big wind storms. It’s really easy to know when the surf is huge………everyone can hear the roar in town! Normally we can’t hear anything but after the storm noise is gone and the ocean is in motion….. the roar permeates the air!
That’s Mother Nature calling. I’ve always asked her to give me a call when the waves are huge!
I’m not sure if you are aware of this but all these huge waves here in Tofino and all around the Earth are created by the sun.
Energy blasts out from the sun,enters our atmosphere and begins to heat it up. The warm air rises,cools and then descends. This is convective turbulence. You ever see one of those Lava lamps? Lava lamps are a excellent example of convective forces. The wax gets warm,rises,cools and descends.
So this warm air rising,cooling and descending creates the wind we experience here on the surface. The only difference is the speed at which these air currents move. Most times gentle, but sometimes with great force!
The west coast is a perfect spot to watch storms! Thousands flock here each winter to marvel at the shear power of a raging storm! The only problem is …………timing!
If you come here and theres no storm happening, your not going to be very impressed. We get a lot of tourists here in Tofino. I always ask where people come from? If I hear they are from Vancouver or the west coast I tell them to watch the news each night. Specifically the weather. If they hear of a BIG low pressure system moving in, I tell them to get their asses over here ASAP! Make quick plans! Thats Mother Nature calling you. She wants you to get a great seat for the “really big show”! The key is to watch/ listen to the weather all the time!
Of course If you live far from the coast…….your SOL!
Those waves are impressive.
yes Anne,I find even more so when you can feel them as well!
Do you swim in violent seas??? I did once on the south shore of Long Island. It was exhilarating. I was tempted to go in rough waves on Long Island Sound, but the children were with me. Too dangerous!
No Anne. Nobody swims here,too cold! When I see somebody running to the water in their little bathing suit I say to myself “defiantly a tourist” and they stay in only seconds when they realize how cold it is!
That’s a nice safety feature to have water too cold for swimming.
thats one way of looking at it Anne!
Wow! those are huge-fun to watch1
Big waves, Big fun Jane!
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
Wow! The immense and daunting power of Mother Nature! Fascinating!
She does put on a great show!
The contrast of white to dark makes the waves’ performance even more spectacular. I can almost hear the roaring. Though I’m afraid the roar of our east coast waves probably can’t compare.
Oh I’m sure some of those passing Hurricanes have made a few waves Beth!
Sadly they have and lack any beauty as they are dark, roilling, and destructive. The kind of waves people drive miles to avoid.
interesting opposites…..people drive miles to get away from your waves……while people drive miles to get close to our waves!
Humans are funny!
Those waves are really impressive, Wayne. Never knew the history behind these waves. A wonderful read. Mother Nature is always at her best.
She is impressive Kamal!
Yes absolutely true, Wayne.
Spectacular shots, Wayne.
thank you Lynette!
Whoa
Wish I could have been there! It was pretty quiet in October. Some other time, when it’s okay to travel.
I’ll make sure you have a reserved seat Audrey!
😊
When we lived in California near the beach, we used to watch the crazy surfers out in that weather. Always spectacular!
Yes,many people watch the surfers here and I might add the surfers who are not suppose to drive to Tofino!
Always a good show!
yes,especially If your out in a boat during one of them!
That wave looks like an explosion of sea! What a capture!
It was! I see, hear, and feel the explosion all at the same time! Sometimes logs get ejected! Tree limbs have been snapped by them.
Wow! Nature is powerful.
Very powerful! I am always careful around the blow hole!
I love storms. The first photo is my favorite.
me too Sherry! I love these huge wind storms!
Hello Wayne! What wonderful and impressive photos. One can see the power and beauty of nature. I have to apologize for misinterpreting your living area. I always thought you are living in the Canadian “Outback”, where is only the big forest. Lol But now i can see, there is a coastline too. ;-) My adoration for Canada is growing much more. Thank you for sharing these great impressions! Be well and stay save! Michael
Tofino is a coastal town. We have the best of both worlds,a surf and turf!
Great to hear from you Michael!
Wow! Next time i will look on Google Earth first.;-) Sounds wonderful for a vacation, far away from the very crowded destinations. Thank you, Wayne! Enjoy your weekend! Michael
I just got back camping. Never saw a single person for days!
Think we should send our Bavarian politicans to you. ;-) A big area and only bears and eagles to rule. Best for them. Lol Have a beautiful upcoming week, Wayne! Michael
No thanks Michael,you can keep your politicians there please. I end up feeding them to them but when I think about it………they would get a stomach ache!
Those are some tremendous waves, Wayne. I am about 2 hrs from the coast, and don’t see the really bad weather there firsthand.
I grew up very far from the ocean Lavinia. It was a eye opening event for me when I saw my first big storm to be sure!
WP has stopped notifying me of your posts again. I see another weeks has gone by.
those WP bots need oiling!
Incredible captures, Wayne! We saw waves like this while in Hilo, HI two years ago due to a passing storm!
thank you Terri. Nothing like a huge windstorm eh!
I used to live in Cape Town, Wayne. The waves are enormous when it storms there. I do like the ocean.
I’ve heard the waves down there are huge! When they get huge it seems they are in slow motion!
Great shots, Wayne. Is this not the Blow Hole (pics you sent me back in the day which I was crazy about?) It looks like it, especially the second shot. I see that infamous lighthouse there in Photo One. It’s like an old friend. I’ve got so many shots of that lighthouse! I really cannot believe it’s December. We were supposed to have wind and rain overnight. WE DID NOT. We are supposed to have rain today (“heavy at times”). We have not. Bloody weather people. Don’t have a clue, obviously.
Yes,that is the Blow Hole Angie. I do not get down there at all anymore. Need a car. It’s a 30 minute drive or a very long bike trip!
Send some lumps of coal to the weatherman for Christmas!
Those are powerful waves Wayne – were you standing on the shore or a platform to capture them up so close? In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, they often show photos of the lighthouse there with the waves crashing about the tall structure and this year several people standing on a pier have been swept out to Lake Michigan when the waters are roiling like that. I remember Lava Lamps – I may have just dated myself admitting that. I didn’t know the sun contributed to this phenomenon and have heard recently about the big solar spots that were happening last week. So I wonder if it has something to do with these waves? https://earthsky.org/space/nso-predicts-large-sunspot-thanksgiving-nov2020
People get washed into the ocean all the time never to be seen again……!
Yes,sunspots affect our weather greatly! They can eject huge amounts of plasma! We may not get hit by it however? Think Of it being like a shot gun blast. The blast most times miss’s Earth,but when it hits all sorts of things happen! The Earth;’s atmosphere swells forcing all the satellite owners to raise their satellites higher in orbit or else the atmosphere can drag them down!
Than you have great Northern/southern lights occurring! Radio signals are interrupted.
A CME (coronal mass ejection) can be signifagant! A huge one could bring our world crashing down! All data stored on computers could be wiped out! Electrical grids would crash!
I never knew all that could happen that you mentioned, however, I did know about the computer system because several years ago, there was supposed to be a bad solar flare and they said be prepared for possible solar flares.
A solar flare or CME can be very dangerous. It could knock satellites out of the sky,bring down power grids,wipe computer memory banks! The last big one that hit occurred a long time ago when there was no electrical systems.
If you placed your memory banks in a Faraday cage they’d be safe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage
I didn’t know that until that solar flare a few years ago – still didn’t know there was a fix. I just read the info – thanks for sending it Wayne (even if Wikipedia made their plea for $ twice while reading it – they said their 6th time asking me).
tell them to grab a ticket stub and go stand in line with the thousands who are trying to pry open your bank account as well!
When we had that big electrical grid failure in August 2003, you realize how much you depend on power. It was a Thursday around 4:00 p.m. and a girl on the bus told me she had written out a lot of checks and mailed them that morning – her workplace check deposit failed and all her checks bounced. We had to walk down the stairs as the elevator stuck (luckily only six floors in our building). At home, we got the power back on by the next morning, but at work it was not on for two-three days and our building automatically opens all the suites so if someone got past the guard, you could access any suite. People couldn’t fill up either – electricity needed for the pumps.
I grew up on the east coast of Australia. I do miss those big waves that feel as though they’ve travelled all the way across the Pacific Ocean. :)
yes,the ocean transmits the suns energy beautifully! You need to visit the coast during your winter to see a big storm!
Heh, my winter is your winter … I live in the Fraser Valley. :D … and yep, I do need to get over there one of these days. :)
great! come on over!
:D
Awesome photos Wayne, and great information. I did not know that. I hear that there are waves like that on Lake Superior, I have not seen them yet, but I will. Have a great weekend Wayne.
Yes,Superior does get huge waves. Any large body of water is affected. Superior even has tides!