  We investigate the ocean wave field under Hurricane SAM (2021). Whilst
measurements of waves under Tropical Cyclones (TCs) are rare, an unusually
large number of quality in situ and remote measurements are available in that
case. First, we highlight the good consistency between the wave spectra
provided by the Surface Waves Investigation and Monitoring (SWIM) instrument
onboard the China-France Oceanography Satellite (CFOSAT), the in situ spectra
measured by National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) buoys, and a saildrone. The impact
of strong rains on SWIM spectra is then further investigated. We show that
whereas the rain definitely affects the normalized radar cross section, both
the innovative technology (beam rotating scanning geometry) and the
post-processing processes applied to retrieve the 2D wave spectra ensure a good
quality of the resulting wave spectra, even in heavy rain conditions. On this
basis, the satellite, airborne and in situ observations are confronted to the
analytical model proposed by Kudryavtsev et al (2015). We show that a trapped
wave mechanism may be invoked to explain the large significant wave height
observed in the right front quadrant of Hurricane SAM.
