World storm surge records
There's still not much to talk about the tropical Atlantic today. The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), the band of intense thunderstorms that spans the tropical Atlantic between Africa and the Lesser Antilles Islands, has grown more active in the past few days, though. The two tropical waves in the ITCZ closest to the coast of Africa bear some scrutiny this week as they cross the Atlantic. However, none of the models are currently forecasting development of these waves, and there is plenty of wind shear and dry air that will interfere with potential development.
World storm surge records
In preparation for the release of a major new storm surge section of the web site, I've been researching storm surge records. The Bathurst Bay Cyclone, also known as Tropical Cyclone Mahina, which struck Bathurst Bay, Australia on March 5, 1899, is generally credited with the world record for storm surge. The cyclone's storm surge is variously listed at 13 - 14.6 meters (43 - 48 feet). The Category 5 cyclone was a monster--with sustained winds in excess of 175 mph and a central pressure between 880 and 914 mb. Mahina killed at least 307 people, mostly on pearling ships, and was the deadliest cyclone in Australian history. The eyewitness account of Mahina's record storm surge was provided by Constable J. M. Kenny, who journeyed to Barrow Point on Bathurst Bay to investigate a crime on the day of the storm. While camped on a ridge 40 feet above sea level and 1/2 mile inland, Kenny's camp was inundated by a storm wave, reaching waist-deep. On nearby Flinders Island, fish and dolphins were found on top of 15 meter (49 foot) cliffs. However, an analysis by Nott and Hayne (2000) found no evidence of storm-deposited debris higher than 3 - 5 meters above mean sea level in the region. They also cited two computer storm surge simulations of the cyclone that were unable to generate a surge higher than three meters. Indeed, Bathurst Bay is not ideally situated to receive high storm surges. The Great Barrier Reef lies just 20 - 40 km offshore, and the ocean bottom near the bay is not shallow, but steeply sloped. Both of these factors should conspire to keep storm surges well below the record 13 - 14.6 meters reported. The authors concluded that the actual surge from the Bathurst Bay Cyclone may have been 3 - 5 meters. The observed inundation at 13 meters elevation, plus the observation of dolphins deposited at 15 meters above sea level, could have been caused by high waves on top of the surge, they argue. Waves on top of the surge (called "wave run-up") can reach five times the wave height at the shore for steeply fronted coasts like at Bathurst Bay. Since waves in the Bathurst Bay Cyclone could easily have been 3 meters, 15 meters of wave run-up on top of the surge is quite feasible. Since wave run-up doesn't count as surge, the status of the 1899 Bathurst Bay Hurricane as the world-record holder for storm surge is questionable. However, the event is certainly the record holder for the high water mark set by a tropical cyclone's storm surge, an important category in its own right.
Figure 1. Satellite image of Bathurst Bay, Queensland Province, Australia. The record 43 - 48 foot storm surge wave occurred on Barrow Point, marked by an "x" on the map above. Image credit: NASA.
Figure 2. Track of the 1899 Bathurst Bay cyclone. Bathurst Bay is located at the point where the 914 mb pressure is listed. Image credit: Whittingham, 1958.
Australian storm surge records
The largest storm surges in Australia occur in Gulf of Carpentaria, due to the large expanse of shallow water there (the Gulf of Carpentaria is the large bay to the left of the zoomed-in map of Bathurst Bay shown above). According to an email I received from Australian hurricane scientist Jeffrey Callaghan, "From all reports the storm surge from the disastrous 5 March 1887 cyclone flooded almost all of Burketown (some 30km inland from the Gulf). A copy of a 1918 report to the Queensland Parliament from the Department of Harbours and Rivers Engineer refers to the sea rising to 5.5 metres above the highest spring tide level at the Albert River Heads. This level is about 8 metres (26.2 feet) above Australian Height Datum (AHD). The biggest measured surge in the Gulf of Carpenteria occurred on 30 March 1923, when a surge of 21.4 feet was recorded at a Groote Eylandt Mission".
So what is the world storm surge record if the Bathurst Bay cyclone does not qualify? Well, I haven't researched storms in the Indian Ocean or Pacific Typhoons yet, but it might be difficult to find any storm that beats Hurricane Katrina's 27.8 foot storm surge.
References:
Nott, J, N. Hayne, 2000: How high was the storm surge from Tropical Cyclone Mahina?", Australian Journal of Emergency Management, Autumn 2000.
Anonymous, 1899, The Outridge Report--The Pearling Disaster 1899: A Memorial", The Outridge Company, 1899
Whittingham, 1958, "The Bathurst Bay hurricane and associated storm surge", Australian Meteorological Magazine, No. 27, pp. 40-41. Scanned and put on-line courtesy of John McBride.
I'll have an update on Tuesday, when the latest CSU seasonal hurricane forecast comes out at 11am EDT.
.
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
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Answer: Haiti, deforestation started since the 16-17 century during the colonisation of the new world. due to the baren hill sides, haiti floods easily, under the same amount of rainfall, I place like Panama or Costa Rica gets.
It must be on the southern side of the island - when we were on the northern side in May, all the mountains we could see had tree cover...
By Andrea Thompson, LiveScience Staff Writer
posted: 15 November 2007 02:00 pm ET
Ed Brown of the Mississippi Forestery Commission examines a downed pine tree in a stand of mature trees in Wiggins Miss., Friday Sept 16, 2005. The Commission estimates that Hurricane Katrina damages $2.4 Billion worth of commercial and urban forest which could take up to 2 1/2 years to clean up. Credit: AP Photo/Steve Helber Major hurricanes may not only be fueled by global warming, they may also contribute to it, according to a new study that puts the Hurricane Katrina death toll for trees at 320 million.
Too many people, too few resources.
When my grandparents visited Haiti in the 40's,
it was a green paradise, but today, no trees left, population in poverty with no options.
Today we have this situation in Haiti,
from several factors.
Soil overfarmed and soil nutrition used up.
Forests entirely cut down for firewood, charcoal etc, no trees left standing.
Without trees, soil runs off the hillsides,
running into the sea.
Soil Runoff chokes the reefs off Haiti.
So now, plenty of babies but no food or jobs,
no food from farms, no fish either.
Tragic situation, and probably Un-Fixable too.
May the Lord help them in Haiti...
Here, I am not pointing fingers or criticizing anyone here, just stating what I believe is
the current circumstances in a simplistic way. I hope nobody takes this post the wrong way,
no harm intended...
Very nice system.
Can you link that?
Way too big
LINK
Thats because its in the ITCZ.
Anways this disturbance is loaded with moisture!
MPE
Secure from General Blogging.
Rigg for Storm.
Advise the Leewards.
Get me 2 more Blades installed in the NHC Mainframe also,...and somebody make some strong coffee.
Love Apollo 13, could totally see Ed Harris playing an NHC meteorologist in a movie lol
Haiti.
I really do think that the dry air can be overemphasized sometimes. I remember many a storms that develop, have that moisture shield but than most of the Atlantic is dry.
As long as this area can create that shield, the dry air wont affect too much.
"what's going on with that blob on the atlantic...somebody explain to me.."
What's happening is:
That BLOB is coming directly to Get You!
Run for your life!
but a system trying to develop can create its own moisture shield allowing it to develop
what is the specific significance of the
lack of 850mb Vorticity?
Yes I get that this wave needs circulation to develop, but what is the significance of the Levels in Millibars etc?
Just means there is nothing at the surface yet
456,What do the steering currents look like for this one?
Observed
Haiti, I thought because didn't the whole side of the country (if that's what you want to call it) was deforestated. :)
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