Calculating Storm Surge Return Periods Along the Gulf of Mexico

This research identified maximum storm surge height and location of peak surge for storm events occurring between 1880-2013 along the U.S. Gulf Coast. More than 80 sources of information including more than 3,000 pages of newspaper were used to construct the database that includes just under 200 surge events. The data are stored in a GIS database that outputs maps according to surge height, year, and/or magnitude. The surge data were also used to calculate return periods for extreme surge levels along the Gulf Coast region.