What Is A Storm Surge?

When the winds within a hurricane or a cyclone blowing over the sea with their sheer force push the sea water towards the shore in huge volumes it is called a storm surge. High velocity winds pushing on the oceans surface cause the water to rise higher than the level of sea water forcing it to rush forward in the form of a huge wave. A storm surge is potentially dangerous in low lying areas or areas where the continental shelf is very low or shallow as it converts normal tides or waves into hurricane tides which gush past the coastline inundating the in land area. Depending on the severity of the storm a storm surge can increase the mean height of the water by 15 feet and more causing floods particularly when the normal high tides merge with the hurricane tides.


Storm surges are not confined to just sever cyclones even a relatively smaller tropical cyclone can cause a storm surge. In recent times we were witness to how severely damaging and dangerous a storm surge can be when Hurricane Katrina hit the United States.