Michael Banner School of Mathematics, The University of New South Wales Forecasting breaking waves during storms Wednesday 13th, October 14:05-14:55pm, Carslaw Lecture Theatre 273. In the context of maritime enterprises such as offshore engineering and coastal recreation, the most dangerous waves usually occur during severe storms, including hurricanes. These hazardous and potentially destructive conditions are associated primarily with breaking dominant wind waves, yet present sea state prediction models fail to provide information on the expected rate of occurrence and severity of such breaking events. This contribution describes our ongoing effort to address this need, through implementation of recent new insight into parameterizing wave breaking in the framework of spectral wind wave evolution models. This new perspective is based on our calculations of two-dimensional nonlinear wave groups, combined with laboratory and field observations. Our effort is aimed at facilitating the delivery of more comprehensive dangerous sea state warnings within existing environmental forecasting networks.