🔍 Key Concepts

• Storm wave field vs. swell – where waves are generated vs. where long-period swells travel after leaving the storm • Quadrants of a storm – especially how wind direction and storm motion combine in each quadrant • Swells that have outrun the storm – how their speed and direction compare to the storm’s forward motion

💭 Think About

• Think about which part of the storm sends waves out ahead of the system so that they can arrive well before the center of the storm itself. • Consider how the storm’s forward motion and wind direction add together in some quadrants and subtract in others—where will this make the longest, fastest swells? • Picture a storm moving along a track: where, relative to that track, would you first see long, regular swells before the bad weather arrives?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify which quadrant has winds blowing in roughly the same direction as the storm’s motion, helping swells run ahead of the storm. • Check which answer choice is ahead of the storm along its projected path, not behind or off to the side. • Confirm that “outrun the storm” implies swells arriving well before the storm center and main wind field.