Does a storm surge hit before, during, or after the wind of a hurricane? n

[kid a]

[NMDemDist2]

1. a surge is the water pushed in front of the wind so yes to all the above

[flyingfysh]

2. that's not what causes the surge

A surge is caused by the lowered air pressure. And Rita has a very low measured pressure in the center.

[karlrschneider]

5. Not really. The water rises only about 1 cm per millibar of low pressure.

Most surge is exactly what the other poster said...wind-driven water.
Trust me on this.

[AirmensMom]

3. Here's a good link.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/storm_surge.shtml

[Robertwf]

4. Surge is responding to multiple forces

Among them is the decrease in water depth as the storm comes closer to land. The surge starts before the winds hit land--generally a number of hours earlier. Generally, too, the surge begins gradually, then increases as the water being pushed up meets resistance. One of the Houston tv stations has an interesting map showing by zip codes projected flooding.

[Ilsa]

6. Yeah, the surfers are notorious for evac-ing too late

because they go out to catch the good waves before the storm.

[Oilwellian]

7. The surge from Katrina...

hit Slidell after she passed through. I think it depends on which side of the eye you're on.

[kid a]

8. Thank you!