Caro-COOPS, Carolinas Coastal Ocean Observation and Prediction System

Hurricane Storm Surge Maps and Animations

In the event of an approaching hurricane, the Climate and Weather Impacts on Society and the Environment (CWISE) group at North Carolina State University will generate storm surge projections based on updated hurricane track forecasts issued by the National Hurricane Center. The data management group based at the Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences at the University of South Carolina will help to transform these projections into useful information products for the SC Emergency Management Division and other users.


Charleston Storm Surge Scenario Catalog

The modeling team has run a total of 576 different storm surge scenarios for the coastal area of Charleston, South Carolina. These are a variations of the following factors simulated at hourly time steps over a 21 hour interval at mean sea level(tides would be added or subtracted from these results).

  • Location of landfall (listed South to North)
  • Edisto Beach, Folly Beach, Isle of Palms, Awendaw

  • Angle of approach(East to West is 90 degrees)
  • 90,105,120,135,150,165,180,195,210,225,245,255

  • Forward Speed and starting location
  • 18.6 mph (30 kph) at 190 miles (312 km) from shore
  • 12.4 mph (20 kph) at 127 miles (208 km) from shore
  • 6.2 mph (10 kph) at 63 miles (104 km) from shore

  • Storm Category
  • 1 (980 mb)
  • 2 (965 mb)
  • 3 (950 mb)
  • 4 (935 mb)


    • Scenario Query

    An query interface for selecting a storm scenario and the derived products is located at the following link.
    Scenrario Query

    Scenario Ranked Listing

    A ranked listing of storm scenarios using the maximum flooding as an index from most flooding to least is located at the following link.
    Scenario Ranked Listing

    Scenario Sequential Listing

    A sequential listing of storm scenarios ordered by their scenario id located at the following link.
    Scenario Sequential Listing