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Subject: A8) What is storm surge and how is it different
from tidal surge ?
Contributed by Neal Dorst
Storm surge is the onshore rush of sea or lake water
caused by the high winds associated with a landfalling cyclone
and secondarily by the low pressure of the storm.
Tidal surge is often mis-used to describe storm surge,
but storm surge is independent of the usual tidal ebb and flow.
In some inlets, such as the Bay of Fundy, rapid changes in sea
level due to the tides will cause a tidal bore or surge to move
in to or out of the inlet. This surge occurs independent of
the present weather.
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