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A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the normal tidal level, and does not include waves.
Storm surge is the abnormal rise in water levels during a storm — a result of heavy hurricane winds pushing a bulge of water toward shore as depths become shallower.
The relatively quick surge in sea level can move miles/kilometers inland, flooding homes and cutting off escape routes. The NOAA report about sea level states that the likeliness of storm surges during a hurricane has increased due to climate change, and by 2050, the chance of moderate flooding occurring will have increased by 10 times.
Hurricane Ian’s storm surge in Southwest Florida in 2022 – estimated at a peak of 15 feet in Fort Myers Beach – prompted emergency water rescues as the sun set, but still claimed 41 lives.
Along the northern coast of the lake, the storm surge ranged from 12 to 16 ft (3.7 to 4.9 m), based on high water marks. Tidal gauges failed during the hurricane, leading to an analysis led by FEMA to determine the storm surge. In some areas, the hurricane left few buildings left standing to record a high water mark. [12]
Storm surge can happen near and to the right of where a storm makes landfall, but negative water levels can occur to the left of the landfall location, weather service meteorologist Ernie Jillson ...
The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea level. Low pressure at the center of a weather system also has a small secondary effect, as can the bathymetry of the body of water. It is this combined effect of low pressure and persistent wind over a shallow water body which is the most common cause of storm surge flooding ...
A storm surge is the abnormal rise in water levels caused by a hurricane or tropical storm. High winds around the eye of the storm cause a vertical circulation of the ocean. This phenomenon may ...