BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Hurricane Milton is heading toward Tampa and could cause catastrophic damage to the Florida Gulf Coast.
When we think of hurricanes, most people think of the strong winds associated with them. However, water is responsible for 90% of deaths with half of those from the storm surge.
The National Weather Service defines a storm surge as the abnormal rise in seawater level during a storm, measured as the height of the water above the normal predicted astronomical tide. The surge is caused primarily by a storm's winds pushing water onshore. The amplitude of the storm surge at any given location depends on the orientation of the coastline with the storm track and the storm's intensity, size and speed.
A storm surge of 12 ft could cause structural damage to buildings and heavy flooding. Ft. Myers Beach residents are still recovering from the storm surge of Hurricane Ian two years ago.
The storm surge shouldn't be as high this time, but the surge could be higher closer to Tampa Bay. The potential peak surge amounts for this storm are 10 to 15 ft from the Anclote River to Englewood and 6 to 10 ft from Englewood to Bonita Beach.
