A storm surge is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as tropical cyclones. Alternatively, it may be known as a storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide. It is measured as the rise in water level above the normal tidal level, and does not include waves. The main meteorological factor contributing to a storm surge is high-speed wind pushing water towards the coast over a long fetch. Other factors affecting storm surge severity include the shallowness and orientation of the water body in the storm path, the timing of tides, and the atmospheric pressure drop due to the storm. As extreme weather becomes more intense and the sea level rises due to climate change, storm surges are expected to cause more risk to coastal populations. Communities and governments can adapt by building hard infrastructure, like flood barriers, soft infrastructure, like coastal dunes or mangroves, improving coastal construction practices and building social strategies such as early warning, education and evacuation plans.
Mechanics At least five processes can be involved in altering tide levels during storms.
Direct wind effect
Wind stresses cause a phenomenon referred to as wind setup, which is the tendency for water levels to increase at the downwind shore and to decrease at the upwind shore. Intuitively, this is caused by the storm blowing the water toward one side of the basin in the direction of its winds. Strong surface winds cause surface currents at a 45° angle to the wind direction, by an effect known as the Ekman spiral. Because the Ekman spiral effects spread vertically through the water, the effect is proportional to depth. The surge will be driven into bays in the same way as the astronomical tide.
Atmospheric pressure effect The pressure effects of a tropical cyclone will cause the water level in the open ocean to rise in regions of low atmospheric pressure and fall in regions of high atmospheric pressure. The rising water level will counteract the low atmospheric pressure such that the total pressure at some plane beneath the water surface remains constant. This effect is estimated at a 10 mm (0.39 in) increase in sea level for every millibar (hPa) drop in atmospheric pressure. For example, a major storm with a 100 millibar pressure drop would be expected to have a 1.0 m (3.3 ft) water level rise from the pressure effect.
Effect of the Earth's rotation The Earth's rotation causes the Coriolis effect, which bends currents to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. When this bend brings the currents into more perpendicular contact with the shore, it can amplify the surge, and when it bends the current away from the shore it has the effect of lessening the surge.
Effect of waves The effect of waves, while directly powered by the wind, is distinct from a storm's wind-powered currents. Powerful wind whips up large, strong waves in the direction of its movement. Although these surface waves are responsible for very little water transport in open water, they may be responsible for significant transport near the shore. When waves are breaking on a line more or less parallel to the beach, they carry considerable water shoreward. As they break, the water moving toward the shore has considerable momentum and may run up a sloping beach to an elevation above the mean water line, which may exceed twice the wave height before breaking.
Rainfall effect The rainfall effect is experienced predominantly in estuaries. Hurricanes may dump as much as 300 mm (12 in) of rainfall in 24 hours over large areas and higher rainfall densities in localized areas. As a result, surface runoff can quickly flood streams and rivers. This can increase the water level near the head of tidal estuaries as storm-driven waters surging in from the ocean meet rainfall flowing downstream into the estuary.
Sea depth and topography In addition to the above processes, storm surge and wave heights on shore are also affected by the flow of water over the underlying topography, i.e. the shape and depth of the ocean floor and coastal area. A narrow shelf, with deep water relatively close to the shoreline, tends to produce a lower surge but higher and more powerful waves. A wide shelf, with shallower water, tends to produce a higher storm surge with relatively smaller waves. For example, in Palm Beach on the southeast coast of Florida, the water depth reaches 91 metres (299 ft) 3 km (1.9 mi) offshore, and 180 m (590 ft) 7 km (4.3 mi) out. This is relatively steep and deep; storm surge is not as great but the waves are larger compared to the west coast of Florida. Conversely, on the Gulf side of Florida, the edge of the Floridian Plateau can lie more than 160 kilometres (99 mi) offshore. Florida Bay, lying between the Florida Keys and the mainland, is very shallow with depths between 0.3 m (0.98 ft) and 2 m (6.6 ft). These shallow areas are subject to higher storm surges with smaller waves. Other shallow areas include much of the Gulf of Mexico coast, and the Bay of Bengal. The difference is due to how much flow area the storm surge can dissipate to. In deeper water, there is more area and a surge can be dispersed down and away from the hurricane. On a shallow, gently sloping shelf, the surge has less room to disperse and is driven ashore by the wind forces of the hurricane. The topography of the land surface is another important element in storm surge extent. Areas, where the land lies less than a few meters above sea level, are at particular risk from storm surge inundation.
Storm size The size of the storm also affects the surge height; this is due to the storm's area not being proportional to its perimeter. If a storm doubles in diameter, its perimeter also doubles, but its area quadruples. As there is proportionally less perimeter for the surge to dissipate to, the surge height ends up being higher.
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