Hurricane Hazards
Surge, inland flooding, rip currents, tornadoes.
Storm Surge: The Deadliest Threat
## Understanding Storm Surge Storm surge causes more hurricane deaths than any other hazard. Here's what you need to know: ### What is Storm Surge? **Definition**: Abnormal rise in seawater level caused by a storm's winds pushing water onshore. **NOT**: - Regular waves - Tide (though they combine)…
intermediateRainfall and Inland Flooding: The Hazard That Reaches Farthest 🔒
When people picture hurricane damage, they picture wind and coastal surge. But over recent decades, inland freshwater flooding from rainfall has been one of the leading causes of death in U.S. tropical systems — often striking people who thought they were too far from the coast to be at risk.…
beginnerRip Currents: A Hurricane Hazard Hundreds of Miles Away 🔒
You do not have to be anywhere near a hurricane to be killed by one. A storm churning far offshore sends out swell that produces dangerous surf and rip currents along beaches hundreds of miles away , often under a clear, sunny sky. These long-distance deaths are a regular and tragic feature of…
beginnerTornadoes from Tropical Systems 🔒
Hurricanes and tropical storms routinely spawn tornadoes — a hazard many coastal residents do not plan for because they are focused on wind and surge. Where and when they form Tropical tornadoes are most common in the right-front quadrant of the storm (relative to its motion), in the outer…
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