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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Man sentenced in burglary, assault case ... Cooking oil fire damages SOU-owned house, displaces two ... Black Bear Diner on lockdown while police investigate a possible shooting at Best Western ... Man sentenced in burglary, assault case ... Cooking oil fire damages SOU-owned house, displaces two ... Black Bear Diner on lockdown while police investigate a possible shooting at Best Western ... SINCE YOU ASKED Since You Asked: On the ocean, it's not always swell to wave Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Jul. 6, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Jul. 6, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News We are big fans of your Oregon Outdoors section each Friday, and as sometimes fishers, we regularly read the Fishing Report. One thing that's made me wonder for a long time is some of the words chosen in the Ocean Outlook entry. Sometimes it refers to waves, other times swells. They appear to be used interchangeably. Are they? If not, how do they differ? — Pat A., Medford Well, Pat, we at Since You Asked Central did a lot of asking from the Dudes and Dudettes who put together the Oregon Outdoors section, and the short answer we got from them is that all swells are waves, but not all waves are swells. Hardly a swell answer, so we checked with National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Nieuwenhuis for some actual facts, and he more than accommodated. Waves, which are more commonly called wind waves, are just that — waves directly influenced by wind, Nieuwenhuis says. These tend to be the choppy seas actively built and maintained by winds in that area, he says. These wind waves keep fanning outward and eventually move out of the area where they are influenced by the winds, he says. They shrink, tend to lose their chop, the lengths between them grow, and they continue on in a relatively consistent pattern even though there may not be a lick of wind in the air. These rolling waves are called swells, Nieuwenhuis says. For instance, storms off Alaska generate waves that show up off Southern Oregon as swells, he says. Back to the boys at Oregon Outdoors, where the conventional wisdom for interpreting the Oregon Outlook is twofold. First, the swells will tell you how rolling the ocean is, and that's a function of whether your boat can handle that. If you have a face that's launched lunch from a thousand ships, then pay close attention to the waves because they are the ones that produce the choppy, bouncing conditions that can leave even salty dogs queasy. Nieuwunhuis says that the double-whammy is when localized winds are creating waves in one direction while swells from a long-off storm are coming from another direction, creating pretty chaotic seas. In fact, Pat, there's a scientific name for that. "We call that 'Chaotic Seas,' " Nieuwenhuis says. Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected] . To see a collection of columns, go to mailtribune.com/youasked . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Jul. 6, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501