Storm Surges

What is Storm Surge?

Storm surge is the abnormal rise in seawater level during a storm, measured as the height of the water above the normal predicted astronomical tide. The surge is caused primarily by a storm’s winds pushing water onshore. The amplitude of the storm surge at any given location depends on the orientation of the coast line with the storm track; the intensity, size, and speed of the storm; and the local bathymetry.

Storm tide is the total observed seawater level during a storm, resulting from the combination of storm surge and the astronomical tide. Astronomical tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and the moon and have their greatest effects on seawater level during new and full moons—when the sun, the moon, and the Earth are in alignment. As a result, the highest storm tides are often observed during storms that coincide with a new or full moon.

Storm surges are a significant coastal hazard associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones, hurricanes, and typhoons, which can lead to severe flooding and are a risk for coastal communities. As of February 2015, the dataset comprises over 700 recorded storm surge events.

Datasets

Dataset	Description	Map viewer link	Data access link
Global Peak Storm Surge Map	The Global Peak Storm Surge Map is a comprehensive resource that documents the location and magnitude of storm surges worldwide since 1880.	View	Access
NOAA storm surge data	Storm surge forecast generated by a physics-based model SLOSH.		Access
National storm surge risk maps	An inundation maps for Category 1-5 hurricanes using the SLOSH model.	View	Access
Global storm surge reconstructions (GSSR)	A database of daily maximum surge values for the past at 882 tide gauges distributed along the global coastline. The reconstruction is based on a data-driven model, utilizing five different atmospheric reanalysis products with varying spatial and temporal resolutions to generate surge information for the periods covered by each reanalysis.	View	Access
NOAA’s Coastal Inundation Dashboard	It provides near real-time water level information, as well as storm track and intensity forecast, active coastal flood and storm surge watches and warnings. Storm surge inundation datasets are created using the high tide scenario SLOSH MOM products for all regions.	View
USGS Coastal Change Hazards Portal	This portal provides a comprehensive collection of data related to coastal hazards, including storm surge, from a wide range of historical storms. These data are suitable for use in land use planning projects, storm response and recovery protocols, and infrastructure, ecosystem, and cultural resource management decision-making. Resources are organized under three coastal hazard themes: extreme storms, shoreline change, and sea level rise.	View
Sea level rise inundation	These data illustrate potential flooding from future sea level rise—from current mean higher high water to a six-foot rise.	View

Storm Surge Data by Region

This dataset categorizes storm surges by the ocean basin in which they occurred, providing insights into regional patterns of this coastal climate risk.

Recorded Storm Surges as of February 2015

The following table summarizes the number of storm surge events recorded in each region:

Region	Number of Storm Surges
Australia, New Zealand, Oceania	134
East Asia	119
Northern Indian Ocean	58
Southern Indian Ocean (Madagascar)	1
Western North Atlantic	388
Western North Atlantic (Non-US)	36
Eastern North Pacific (Hawaii, Mexico)	2
Total Surge Events	702

Dataset Access

The Global Peak Storm Surge Map dataset provides a historical record crucial for research into past storm events and for planning future coastal defenses. For full access to the dataset, please refer to the Global Peak Storm Surge Database.

storm-tide monitoring: https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/storm-tide-monitoring#overview

National Hurricane centerhas a lot of useful information regarding the current hurricanes, including forecast of rainfall, storm surge forecast associated with the hurricane

• storm events database by NOAA: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/
• severe weather data inventory by NOAA https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/severe-weather-data-inventory view https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/maps/swdi/
• usgs total water level and coastal change forecast viewer: https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/research/twlviewer/
• sea-level rise viewer
• https://marine.usgs.gov/coastalchangehazardsportal/ has long and short-term shoreline changes, sea level rise.

Ocean data

• Daily OISST by NCEI: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/optimum-interpolation-sst
• NOAA digital coast: https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/flood-exposure.html

Damage and Loss

• https://nowcoast.noaa.gov/
• NOAA digital coast summarizes the useful tools for coastal data https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/
• sea level rise viewer by NOAA: The data and maps illustrate potential coastal flooding impact areas and relative depth associated with different scales of sea level rise, as well as potential changes in marsh and other land cover types based on inundation levels. It can be used as a screening-level tool for management decisions. Data download
• https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/data/home.html contains a lot of useful data as well as download.
• digital coast socioeconomic data: https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/data/
• digital coast infrastructure data: https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/data/
• data.gov: https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/?metadata_type=geospatial
• Local coastal erosion maps for different scenarios of sea level rise and frequency of storms: https://ourcoastourfuture.org/hazard-map/ https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/ocof.html
• community level wildfire risk https://wildfirerisk.org/explore/

Comprehensive mapping tools:

• https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/data/.html contains a lot of useful data as well as download.
• coastal flood exposure mapper: https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/flood-exposure.html This online visualization tool supports communities that are assessing their coastal hazard risks and vulnerabilities. The tool creates a collection of user-defined maps that show the people, places, and natural resources exposed to coastal flooding. It contains hazard layers (FEMA flood zone, storm surge, sea level rise, and coastal flood hazard composite, ), societal, infrastructure, and ecosystem exposure.
• https://nar.headwaterseconomics.org/ contains a lot of socioeconomic statistics by county and state
• Data access viewer: https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/dav.html This online tool allows a user to search for and download lidar, imagery, and land cover data by user-defined geography. Once found, the data can be downloaded with an easy-to-use checkout interface. Users can select from multiple file formats, projections, and datums.
• Flood event viewer: https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/fev.html This interactive map provides viewable and downloadable flood event data from the U.S. Geological Survey's Short-Term Network (STN) database.
• Climate change indicators by EPA: https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/oceans
• tide and currents NOAA: https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/map/index.html
• sea level tracker: https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/curve.html
• climate explorer: https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/climate-explorer.htmlThis tool projects climate conditions in the United States over the coming decades. The information is derived from global climate models and is available for counties and county equivalents for all U.S. states and territories.