Towering Waves on the Sicilian Coast

March 24, 2023

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Photographer: Salvo Vasile  
Summary Author: Salvo Vasile; Jim Foster

In early February, a very powerful extratropical storm (named Helios) roared into the Mediterranean region with winds in excess of 55 mph (90km/h) and extremely rough seas. The photograph above was taken at Faro Capo Murro di Porco (Sicily), Italy. Waves in the open Mediterranean Sea reached 20 ft (6 m) in height during this storm, and when the big breakers slammed onto the rocky shore here, as you can see, the resulting sea spray engulfed the entire lighthouse. Damage from wind and waves was considerable.

I've been dreaming of taking this photograph for I don't know how many years. However, this storm was so strong I had to wait for conditions to improve to safely leave my house. But for people like me who love photography, it’s something I just had to do. Photo taken on February 10, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. local time.

 

Faro Capo Murro di Porco (Sicily) Italy Coordinates: 37.003119, 15.335129

Related Links:

Big Waves off Portugal

Salvo’s Website