Ever wonder how the Jupiter area will fare in terms of storm surge in a Category 1,2,3,4, or god forbid a full blown category 5 hurricane? I have, and NOAA has too.
CLICK HERE to get to the NOAA Maps website
The north county looks OK up until a Cat 3 storm. Except the area between Indiantown Rd and the river. This little area of older homes is in an area of lower lying land. The blue area is a prediction of water “up to 3′ above the ground”. A prediction, but let’s talk actual numbers.
During hurricane Jeanne (2004-Cat 3 but NOT a direct hit) the storm surge at the Riviera Beach power plant was reported to be 5′. At my house, east of US-1 in North Palm Beach, the water got to be about 2′ above the road. The finished floor elevation at my house if 7.5′ by the 1988 datum. The Base Flood Elevation at my property is 6′, again by the 88 datum. I would say that the high water “seaweed/debris line” in my driveway was just a bit below this 6′ elevation contour. So, these predictions noted on the web site above look to be correct. I know that for myself if there is ever a storm surge predicted to be over 8′ then I suspect the water to be at the first floor of my house. YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT YOUR FINISHED FLOOR ELEVATION IS. Need to know how to convert an old finished floor elevation to the current 1988 datum? CLICK HERE. Want to know how storm surge correlates to your finished floor elevation? CLICK HERE.
