Much like mermaids, the kraken, or the hafgufa, rogue waves have been regarded as a maritime myth. Rogue waves are not a magical exception to the rules of physics. “This is the most definitive, real-world evidence to date.”The North Sea data had no evidence of modulational instability in rogue waves. While the ocean’s rolling waves may appear random, extreme waves like rogues actually follow a natural recognizable pattern that could aid these forecasts. “Rogue waves are, simply, a bad day at sea,” Fedele said.