Yesterday, we had a RED flood warning for Mounts Bay. It was never that windy, the sea was nothing out of the ordinary.

Even out at Sevenstones
5' on the morning high tide
7' on the eve high tide
If anything below average for the time of yes and sea conditions were certainly better than earlier in the week when the swell height was 12' at times.

At no point was a big swell forecast, jut some fairly typical rough sea associated with the wind as the front went through

Wind wise the maximum gust in Penzance (in the heart of the red warning area) was just 29mph, and by late afternoon it was just a F2-3 onshore breeze in sunshine and fairly gentle sea. You could have an ice cream on the prom

Warning downgraded to orange for today. Swell height was around 16' at Sevenstones at high tide, the S wind straight into Mount's Bay gusted to 69mph at Lands End, the sea in the Bay is very rough & the prom strewn with debris (weed, pebbles & sadly the usual plastic).
Minack, well after high tide
https://www.minack.com/a-living-theatre/webcams/ - definately nasty

As the wind's set to increase again this afternoon, with a much more powerful swell due to arrive, the iffist high tide is still to come.

For what it's worth I think today warrants some sort of warning (orange is fine) but yesterday was a fairly average day in all respects very pleasant in the afternoon. The only thing of note being a spell of very heavy rain mid morning.

Graham
Penzance

On 12/10/2018 09:20, Graham Easterling wrote:
Yesterday, we had a RED flood warning for Mounts Bay. It was never that windy, the sea was nothing out of the ordinary.

Even out at Sevenstones
5' on the morning high tide
7' on the eve high tide
If anything below average for the time of yes and sea conditions were certainly better than earlier in the week when the swell height was 12' at times.

At no point was a big swell forecast, jut some fairly typical rough sea associated with the wind as the front went through

Wind wise the maximum gust in Penzance (in the heart of the red warning area) was just 29mph, and by late afternoon it was just a F2-3 onshore breeze in sunshine and fairly gentle sea. You could have an ice cream on the prom

Warning downgraded to orange for today. Swell height was around 16' at Sevenstones at high tide, the S wind straight into Mount's Bay gusted to 69mph at Lands End, the sea in the Bay is very rough & the prom strewn with debris (weed, pebbles & sadly the usual plastic).
Minack, well after high tide
https://www.minack.com/a-living-theatre/webcams/ - definately nasty

As the wind's set to increase again this afternoon, with a much more powerful swell due to arrive, the iffist high tide is still to come.

For what it's worth I think today warrants some sort of warning (orange is fine) but yesterday was a fairly average day in all respects very pleasant in the afternoon. The only thing of note being a spell of very heavy rain mid morning.

Graham
Penzance


Why are marine flood warnings with the EA and not Maritime & Coastgaurd
Agency?
They don't seem to have much of a clue. Their warnings are nearly always
in terms of Ordnance Survey datum heights, which anyone involved with
tide-gauges/sea-levels , anything marine don't use.
Anyone , on land, liable to flooding is fully aware of what readings on
tide-gauges imply as to flooding of their premises, not what the height
of their hous is in Ordnance Survey heights terms.
I'm aware of the local conversion factor to HMHO chart datum, but still
annoying having to mentally convert al lthe time , if looking at EA stuff.
Near me they added their idea of tide-gauges, virtually impossible to
read at the best of times, because silt disguises any contrast in most
light conditions. Then the heights are in OS terms , despite standing in
tidal water. To cap it all those gauges are submerged and totally
unreadable at anything above a spring tide level, ie surge/flood situation.
Many of their marine flood warnings are near enough timed at the start
of the event anyway, when they could and should be about half a day in
advance, let alone a lack of any advisory structure , say a day or so in
advance , easily possible.