Obviously with Hurricane Ida coming it’s all over the news. They’re saying storm surges could be several feet. I understand if it breaks a dam or a levy how the water can get that high. But how can a Hurricane bring so much water inland?
In: Earth Science
Three main factors:
1. **Wind.** The last report I saw showed Ida at 121 mph wind gusts. That level of wind speed will literally push the water of the ocean inland.
2. **Atmospheric Pressure.** Hurricanes–like any storm–are examples of low-pressure systems, though hurricanes have more dramatic drops in pressure than a normal thunderstorm. The last report I saw showed the pressure in Ida at 933 mb (or 27.55 inHg if your used to inches of mercury; anything below 29.8 is considered low). Normal atmospheric pressure is 1,013 mb. That means the pressure is 80 mb below normal. 80 mb = 1.16 psi, so every square inch of water effectively has 1.16 less pounds of air pushing down on it, which allows the water level to rise.
3. **Rain.** Hurricanes have rain, which adds to the water.
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