In December of 2024, the Pacific Ocean raged with a huge storm, and satellites orbiting the earth detected the waves, documenting the largest swells ever seen from space.
It was the same swell that brought 50-foot waves to Waimea Bay during the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational in Hawaii on December 22nd, and some of the biggest rides ever witnessed at Maverick’s in California a few days later.
Now, scientists from the European Space Agency have published the data observed from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, and they showed that waves recorded from December 21st, 2024 were the largest ever detected from space – ranging from 19.7 meters (65 feet) and some more than 35 meters (115 feet).
New satellite observations have recorded ocean wave heights of almost 20 metres – the highest measurement obtained by satellite altimetry since 1991 🌊
The findings have been validated using the Sea State dataset from ESA’s Climate Change Initiative. They reveal that long ocean… pic.twitter.com/C81GeOtaM4
— ESA Climate Office (@esaclimate) October 13, 2025
Per a press release regarding the findings:
“During recent storms, satellites recorded ocean waves averaging nearly 20 meters high – the largest ever measured from space. Moreover, satellite data now reveal that ocean swells act as storm ‘messengers’: even though a storm may never make landfall, its swell can travel vast distances and bring destructive energy to distant coastlines.”
According to an infographic regarding the findings from the December 21st, 2024 swell event: “With an average wave height measured at 19.7 meters [65 feet], Storm Eddie likely produced individual waves exceeding 35 meters [115 feet].
From a surfing perspective, those waves reached Waimea Bay on December 22nd, giving the greenlight to the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, which was won by Hawaii’s Landon McNamara. And then, the following day, the same swell made its way to California, where Santa Cruz’s Alo Slebir rode what many believed to be the biggest wave ever surfed at Maverick’s. Although, the official measurement came in at 76 feet – that’s 10 feet shy of the official world record held by Sebastian Steudtner in 2020 at Nazaré, Portugal.
Related: No 100-Foot Wave? Inside Alo Slebir’s Monster at Maverick’s
As for the scientists, they’re using the data to analyze climate change and its effects on generating bigger storms. According to Dr. Fabrice Ardhuin of the Laboratory of Physical and Spatial Oceanography in France:
“Our next step is to link the findings to climate change. We will test this with modeling. We are now able to track storm intensity trends over time. Climate change may be a driver, but it is not the only one. At the coast, seabed conditions also shape waves, for example, and these very large storms are rare – occurring roughly once a decade – which makes it hard to prove trends.”
For more, the study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Related: 97-Foot World Record Wave Surfed at Nazaré, Study Claims