Ireland’s Atlantic coastline is getting absolutely pulverized. And in County Mayo, one wave appears to have gone looking for a fight with an entire cliff.
In a jaw-dropping Instagram clip, a massive swell crashes against the rocky shoreline. Whitewater rockets upward, reportedly reaching 40 feet as spray engulfs the cliffside. It’s less like a wave breaking than the Atlantic trying to climb onto land.
The spectacle comes amid what CNN meteorologist Dakota Smith’s latest report calls a “parade of storms” marching across Europe. See the clip below.
The CNN report summarizes the extraordinary stretch: “Three storms walloped Western Europe in just four days, disrupting travel and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands.”
The trouble began with Storm Austen, which lashed Britain and France with damaging winds and surf. In France, nearly 300,000 homes lost electricity at the storm’s peak. In Brighton, England, part of the historic West Pier collapsed into the sea.
As Smith noted, “Austen brought powerful winds over 100 mph, downing trees and knocking out power,” leaving “over 300,000 homes without power in France and 12,000 in Britain.”
Then came Storm Boelo.
The second named storm of the season swept past Ireland over the weekend, delivering severe gusts, heavy rain, and punishing surf to the western coastline. Another Atlantic low followed on Monday.
Ireland’s national weather service, Met Éireann, issued an orange wind warning for Mayo and four neighboring counties, specifically cautioning about “large coastal waves” and “coastal flooding and wave overtopping.”
The ingredients for the punishment are familiar: powerful low-pressure systems churn across the North Atlantic, strong winds generate enormous swells, and that energy travels toward Europe’s exposed western shores. When the swells encounter near-vertical cliffs, the water has nowhere to go but up.
Still, the reported 40-foot reach isn’t a verified measurement of an offshore wave face. Water and spray can surge much higher when a breaking wave slams into solid rock.
For people watching from a safe distance, it’s incredible. For anyone tempted to venture closer to the edge, the message is simple: don’t.
Related: Super Typhoon Champi Wave Knocks 164-Foot Crane Into Ocean in Taiwan (Video)
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