Weather Dictionary / Glossary of Terms

Fetch


   Weather TermDescription / Definition
   Fetch 1. The area in which ocean waves are generated by the wind. Also refers to the length of the fetch area, measured in the direction of the wind.

2. In hydrologic terms,
  • The effective distance which waves have traversed in open water, from their point of origin to the point where they break.
  • 2. The distance of the water or the homogenous type surface over which the wind blows without appreciable change in direction.


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Data courtesy of NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration