![]() ![]() Opal, 1995: 21.5’ above MSL at Mirimar Beach, FL (Cat 3) Katrina, 2005: 34.11’ above MSL at Biloxi, MS (Cat 3)Ĭamille, 1969: 24.6’ above MSL at Pass Christian, MS (Cat 5)Ĭarla, 1961: 22’ above MSL at Calhoun County, TX (Cat 4) The database, which culls data from 36 sources-primarily publications by NOAA, USGS, and FEMA-lists twenty hurricanes with maximum high-water marks in excess of 15 feet above normal (including Michael): hurricanes from 1933 – 2017 compiled by Katie Peek of Western Carolina University, the peak high water marks of 20.6' - 21.2’ in Mexico Beach would put Michael in fifth or sixth place for highest water levels ever recorded from a U.S. recordsĪccording to a database of high water marks of landfalling U.S. Michael's high water mark one of the six highest in 85 years of U.S. Image credit: Western Carolina University’s Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines. Three of these were still-water marks inside buildings (marked in blue) and one was from a storm surge sensor mounted on the Mexico Beach Pier (marked in green). The United States Geological Survey (USGS) found at least four high-quality still water marks between 15.5' – 19’ above mean sea level (MSL) in Mexico Beach, Florida, from Hurricane Michael. ![]() NOAA has not yet announced their official numbers for Michael’s storm surge, however.įigure 3. If we subtract off the 0.5’ needed to convert to storm surge (the tide was about 4” above MSL, and an additional 2” correction needs to be made for the conversion between MSL and the NAVD 88 vertical datum), we get an estimate of 15' – 18.5’ for the peak storm surge from Hurricane Michael. Image credit: USGS.Ī map of the location and magnitude of three of these high-quality storm tide measurements, along with the measurement from the storm tide sensor on the Mexico Beach Pier, was created by Dr. Data from a pressure sensor attached to a nearby post is shown in red. The sensor measured a maximum storm tide of 15.55’, and 5’ waves on top of the surge brought a peak water level of 20.6’. Water level (grey line) and storm tide (blue line) from a storm tide sensor attached to the Mexico Beach Pier during Hurricane Michael. This mark was considered of lower quality (“fair”).įigure 2. Joe, which adjoins Mexico Beach to the southeast. A higher HWM of 21.2’ was measured in the interior of a home in Port St. The mobile sensor, installed just before the storm by the USGS, measured a storm tide of 15.5’, so waves on top of the surge were about 5’ high. Michael’s storm tide, when combined with waves on top of the surge, brought a high water mark (HWM) of 20.6’ above mean sea level to a storm tide sensor attached to the Mexico Beach Pier. The horizontal layering of the debris lines show that waves could not reach this location, so 19.06’ may be an accurate measure of the hurricane’s storm tide. A high-water mark 19.06’ above mean sea level from Hurricane Michael was recorded inside this home in Mexico Beach, FL. Robert Young, director of Western Carolina University’s Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines.įigure 1. ![]() These marks are likely a good measure of Michael’s peak storm tide (height above MSL of the storm surge plus the tide), according to Dr. In a post-storm survey, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) found at least three high-quality still-water marks between 17 - 19’ above mean sea level (MSL) in Mexico Beach, taken inside of buildings where waves could not reach. Michael killed 45 people and caused damage in excess of $15 billion, according to an estimate last week from insurance broker Aon. The peak storm surge, located along the right side of where the eyewall made landfall, hit the town of Mexico Beach, which suffered devastating storm surge damage. Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images.Īs an intensifying Hurricane Michael roared ashore in Florida’s Panhandle as a top-end Category 4 storm with 155 mph winds on October 10, 2018, it pushed a massive and destructive storm surge to the coast. ![]() The neighborhood, which had homes most of the way to the beach before the storm, was flattened by Michael’s storm surge. Above: A man walks through a beachfront neighborhood that was decimated by Hurricane Michael on Octoin Mexico Beach, Florida. ![]()
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