CAMPBELL ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND — New Zealand scientists claim a monster wave detected during a storm is the largest ever recorded in the southern hemisphere.<br /><br />The BBC reports that according to the Meteorological Service of New Zealand, a solitary buoy measured a 78-foot wave in the Southern Ocean off Campbell Island on the night of May 9.<br /><br />The massive wave is roughly the same height as an seven-storey building, and just a bit taller than five double decker buses stacked on top of each other.<br /><br />It beat out the previous record holder — a 72-foot swell recorded in Tasmania in 2012.<br /><br />The wave formed during a storm, in which the significant wave height or the average of the top third of waves measured from crest to trough reached over 48 feet.<br /><br />Though a record for the Southern Ocean, larger wave heights have been identified in the northern hemisphere.<br /><br />Scientists say it's possible the storm generated even bigger waves that weren't recorded by the buoy, which operates for only 20 minutes every three hours.
