Hurricane season ended last week and right on cue, the cold fronts have begun.
Not every December is free of tropical activity, but this year, the winter-like pattern for the United States is a sure sign we are in the clear.
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There were so many historic aspects to the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, but one question that seems to outnumber the rest is about why Helene brought record storm surge to Tampa Bay while Milton did not, even though both storms rapidly intensified into monsters before landfall.
The most important thing about storm surge is that it is controlled by the “push” of water, not the “pull” of water. So, when Tampa Bay dropped to record-low levels with Irma and Ian, the water did not get “sucked” out.
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Rather, it got pushed out by the storm’s counterclockwise winds. Both Irma and Ian stayed east of Tampa, keeping Tampa on the side of the storm that pushes that water out.
Helene went to Tampa’s west, which meant the counterclockwise winds pushed the water into the Bay, setting an all-time record for surge.
At one point, Milton looked like it was about to do the same thing as Helene, but it began trending south.
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Sarasota may only be about 50 miles south of Tampa and a couple of hundred miles south of Helene’s landfall, but that was enough to keep Tampa Bay on the side of the storm that pushed that water out and not in.
