coastline the water transported shoreward causes the water level to rise 

 both to the left and right of landfall of the storm center. Transport in 

 the shoreward direction occurs in the right quandrants of the storm, and 

 winds in the leading left quadrant set up a current to the left alongshore 

 prior to the eye advancing into shore thus giving a rise in water level 

 to the left as well as the right. For the relatively straight coastline 

 the offshore winds in the left quadrants will seldom provide sufficient 

 offshore transport to depress the water level below the initial level 

 because of the alongshore currents developed in the leading left quadrant 

 of the storm. However, if a landmass juts .out into the sea such as the 

 southern part of Florida, and a hurricane center moves into the southern 

 tip, then the storm driven currents alongshore become discontinuous at 

 the leeward side of the landmass. Moreover when the winds in the leading 

 quadrants of the storm pass over the landmass , they have a seaward direc- 

 tion on the leeward coast side, and these offshore winds can depress the 

 water level by several feet. All levels of surge along the coast during 

 the passage of a hurricane are of concern. But from the aspect of coastal 

 engineering design, it is of primary interest to know the peak surge or 

 the highest surge. For the relatively straight coastline, the peak surge 

 is generally assumed to occur in the vicinity of landfall of the region 

 of maximum winds. This has never been fully verified from actual obser- 

 vations because of inadequacy of water level recorders on the open coast, 

 but merely based on the physical over-water structure of the hurricane. 

 Jelesnianski (1967) has numerically shown that for a model coast of uni- 

 form and straight contours, the location of the peak surge relative to 

 the storm system is dependent on the angle at which the storm approaches 

 the coast. Irregularities in shelf and coastline configurations would 

 also govern the exact location of the peak surge. 



The highest level to which the water will rise on the open coast 

 during the passage of a hurricane is dependent upon several factors or 

 causes. In general, these factors can be attributed to the initial state 

 of the sea, the properties of the seawater over which the storm runs, the 

 behavior and characteristics of the storm, the characteristics of the 

 basin and forces which act external to the system. The initial sea state 

 refers to the level of the sea on the shelf heralding the approach of a 

 hurricane. Generally, sea level is above normal before the arrival of a 

 hurricane, especially along the coasts adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico 

 and lower latitudes of East Coast. Such abnormal levels have yet to be 

 fully understood, but commonly are called "forerunners", and are attrib- 

 uted to transport caused by winds in advance of the hurricane. Harris 

 (1963) indicates that the initial rise may be related to short -period 

 anomalies in the mean sea level which are not related to the hurricane. 

 In any event, whatever the cause, the initial water level can be an im- 

 portant factor when attempting to account for the total rise at the open 

 coast. 



A hurricane moving over the Continental Shelf affects the buildup 

 of water on the coast in accordance with its intensity, path, pressure 

 effect, forward speed, size, and associated rainfall. The greater the 

 onshore wind speeds and usually the longer the winds act over the water. 



