A storm surge is a coastal flood or tsunami-like rise of water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems such as tropical cyclones, measured as the rise in water level above the normal tidal level and excluding waves; it may also be called a storm flood, tidal surge or storm tide. The main contributing factor is high-speed wind pushing water toward the coast over a long fetch, with severity also shaped by the shallowness and orientation of the water body in the storm's path, the timing of tides, and the atmospheric pressure drop caused by the storm; as extreme weather intensifies and sea level rises with climate change, storm surges are expected to grow in physical severity.
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Associated With
Storm surge from Hurricane Katrina, over 25 feet in parts of Mississippi, was the disaster's single deadliest mechanism.
Caused By
Storm surge is driven by the onshore wind stress and low atmospheric pressure of a landfalling tropical cyclone.
In Discipline
Sources
Storm surge (Wikipedia)
In Group: Tsunamis, Waves and Ocean Surges, Lead sentenceQuote, In Group: Tsunamis, Waves and Ocean Surges, Lead sentence
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.
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