T.M. No. 78 - March 1956 



Hurricanes Affecting the Coast of Texas from Galveston to Rio Grande 

 by W. Armstrong Price 



This report presents a collection of available data on hurricanes 

 reaching and passing inland over the Texas coast between Galveston 

 and the Rio Grande, and certain statistical conclusions as to fre- 

 quency of occurrence are derived. Detailed data on the storms and 

 paths from 1818 to 1955 are presented as appendixes. 



T.M. No. 79 - March 1956 



Orbital Velocity Associated with Wave Action Near the Breaker Zone 

 by Douglas L. Inman and Noriyuki Nasu 



The orbital velocity associated with ocean surface waves in 

 shallow water was measured for various wave conditions at La Jol la, 

 California. Measurements were made near the bottom and just seaward 

 of the breaker zone in water depths ranging from about 5 to 15 feet 

 and for wave heights\as great as 7 1/2 feet. Observed maximum 

 horizontal velocities compare favorably with those predicted from 

 solitary wave theory when the ratio of wave height to water depth 

 is greater than about 0.4, the agreement with theory being somewhat 

 better for longer period waves. 



T.M. No. 80 - April 1956 



Model Study of Overtopping of Wind-Generated Waves on Levees with 

 Slopes of I :3 and 1 :6 by Osva I d J. SIbul and Ernest G. Tickner 



The overtopping of wind-generated waves on levees with slopes of 

 1:3 and 1:6 was studied in a laboratory wind-wave tunnel and compared 

 with other experiments using mechanically generated uniform waves 

 not affected by wind. For low wind velocities, results are similar, 

 but for higher wind velocities, additional overtopping occurs due to 

 action of the wind so that total overtopping may be separated into 

 that due to wave action and that due to wind action. Criteria for 

 estimating additional overtopping due to wind are presented and 

 d i scussed . 



T.M. No. 81 - June 1956 



A Laboratory Study of Short-Crested Wind Waves by G. C. Ral Is, Jr. 

 and R. L. Wiegel 



Results are presented from a three-dimensional study of funda- 

 mental characteristics of short-crested waves in a laboratory wind- 

 wave tunnel. General characteristics of the waves are shown for 

 varying wind speeds, water depths, and fetch lengths. Several 

 methods of analyzing short-crested waves to obtain quantitative 

 data on wave parameters are discussed, and the results of the 

 methods compared. It was found that the crest length as wel 1 as 

 the wave length could be described by a Gaussian distribution. 



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