I typically write about things like the storm surge around Jupiter or how to relate storm surge to the height of the first floor of a house. Now Helene did NOT make it anyplace close to Tampa BUT, unlike Ian, Tampa was on the “wrong side” of the storm as it headed for the big bend area of Florida. Here’s the data right from the official NOAA tide gauge at the East Bay sensor. The peak surge happened just about midnight and the surge pushed water to about +8′ (NAVD 88) at a time when it was calcualted to be about +0.25′ NAVD and has been running about to +2′. Don’t shoot the messenger but looking at the data availabe this was “ONLY” about a 6′ storm surge. Keep this in mind for the next storm when they predict perhaps a 12-15′ surge. Hide from wind, run from water!
