Storm surge

Article By:

Signorini, Sergio R. Division of Ocean Sciences, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia.

Last reviewed:December 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.658100

An anomalous rise in water elevations caused by severe storms approaching the coast. A storm surge can be succinctly described as a large wave that moves with the storm that caused it. The surge is intensified in the nearshore, shallower regions where the surface stress caused by the strong onshore winds pile up water against the coast, generating an opposing pressure head in the offshore direction. However, there are so many other forces at play in the dynamics of the storm surge phenomenon, such as bottom friction, Earth's rotation, inertia and interaction with the coastal geometry, that a simple static model cannot explain all the complexities involved. In fact, the problem of predicting storm surges is so complex that scientists and engineers have dedicated many years in the development and application of sophisticated computer models to accurately predict the effects of storm surges.

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