According to surf forecast website STORMSURF, the biggest waves on Earth this morning were off the western edge of England, where 40-foot swells could be found beating the ever-living daylights out of the country's already waterlogged coastal regions.
The UK has found itself rocked by storms and flooding all month long, and one of the hardest hit regions has been the south coast of Cornwall. Treacherous storm surges and violent wind have so far caused more than £4m worth of damage in the area, where indomitable four-story waves this morning made for a brutal display of nature's power.
These images were captured by photographer Peter Sincock from one of Cornwall's westernmost harbors. "The sound was deafening," he told io9 via e-mail, "and you could feel the waves pounding through the ground." Sincock captured the photos this morning starting around 7:40 am GMT. "First off I was right down close to the harbour and it was so intense and powerful and I got caught out by a huge wave at one point and got completely soaked and the camera started to play up... I had to move to higher ground as it was starting to get dangerous."
Fortunately his camera pulled through, and Sincock managed to capture the images you see here. "It was amazing to see mother nature at work but also quite sad knowing that people's lives were going to be affected," he said, adding: "These were the highest seas I have ever seen down here." (As a point of reference, when 30-foot waves collided with Cornwall's coasts last month, it was described as a "once-in-a-decade spectacle.")
For updates on the UK Storm, visit the BBC. For more of Sincock's work, check out his flickr, YouTube and Facebook pages.