5 THINGS ABOUT A ROGUE WAVE.

1 100-FOOT MONSTER

Hurricane Dorian likely whipped up a 100-foot rogue wave near Newfoundland. A buoy owned and operated by the Marine Institute at Memorial University recorded a 100-foot monster wave Saturday night. Three other waves topped 75 feet.

2 TALLER THAN 8-STOREY BUILDING

A 100-foot wave is taller than an eight-storey office building. Bill Carter, director for the Centre of Applied Ocean Technology at the Marine Institute, says they measure an individual wave from crest to trough.

3 EVEN HIGHER WAVES POSSIBLE

“Only 10 minutes of data from every hour is sent back to shore,” Carter said, citing costs. “There could have been even higher waves during the other 50 minutes. We’ll know when we get the data off the buoy.”

4 BUOY SITS IN 160 FEET OF WATER

The buoy, moored two miles offshore, normally sits in about 160 feet of water. That’s not very deep, especially for a shallow-water wave to reach 100 feet. However, theoretical maximum height-to-depth ratios have been proven to range from 88 to 125 feet.

5 BATHYMETRY AND INTERFERENCE

A number of stations nearby reported wave heights of 50 feet or more. But odds are this wave was helped along by bathymetry and interference. Bathymetry describes the slope, topography and elevation of the sea floor, which can force waves upwards. Interference means that several ordinary waves may have combined, their amplitudes piggybacking to form one mammoth wave.