Port aux Basques, Hurricane Fiona Storm Surge

[Sym P. le]

When life gets real too fast. From the CBC report, a quick check on Google Earth shows a storm surge of approximately seven meters. An overlay shows a potential impact area affecting many shoreline homes and businesses and several low lying areas.

from CBC report over Google Earth Streetview 47°34'7.65"N 59° 9'21.38"W

 

[Sym P. le]

For those watching, this appears to be a 1 meter storm surge with focused waves pushing material up to 6-7 meters. CTV News on youtube

 

[FacEngrPE]

There is a tide gauge at Port aux Basques, surprisingly easy to find. The recorded water level is close to 1m above predicted, The higher water observed in the video is easily explained by local geography interacting with the wave action and wind.

https://tides.gc.ca/en/stations/00665/2022-09-19?tz=NDT&unit=m

 

[JohnRBaker]

This is going to be interesting if there's a 1m storm surge caused by Hurricane Ian, as that could submerge half of Florida ;-)

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[JohnRBaker]

I just heard a report on MSNBC that they're predicting a possible storm surge of anywhere between 5 and 10 feet when Ian comes ashore South of Sarasota.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[FacEngrPE]

Coastal Emergency Risks Assessment predicts at landfall Ian will provide water levels of ~11 ft above NAVD88 at Ft Myers Beach. Widespread flooding is predicted. Given the angle of approach, small changes of track can result in significant movement of the high water along the coast.

 

[Sym P. le]

Thanks for the posts. I was trying to make sense of what the news was reporting. They show a few locations of heavy damage but didn't give any context other than to say some homes have been there for eighty years, yet they didn't show the main street area which would have been inundated with as much water. I feel sorry for the residents as they have had an idyllic setting that gets turned upside down in a single event. It's hard to imagine though that anyone could think of putting a house so close to the open ocean. I wish the Floridians God's grace in the coming hours.

 

[TugboatEng]

Some houses are going to get moist.

 

[Sym P. le]

Switching to Ian, its interesting that the storm surge sucks water out of neighboring regions, visible especially in bays but also in open water at Clearwater Beach.

from NOAA - tides and currents

 

[FacEngrPE]

at 4:18 PM EST Fort Myers, FL tide gauge is still rising sharply.
Tide gauge at Naples, Gulf of Mexico, FL stopped sending data at about 3:12 PM.All other data stopped about the same time, so loss of power, internet, or station damage.

Naples is on the coast, somewhat south of the storm center. Ft Myers is a bit inland and closer to the track.

Tide Gauge Link