U.S. Storm Surge Records
By Jeffrey Masters, Ph.D. — Director of Meteorology, Weather Underground, Inc.
The highest documented storm surge in the U.S. occurred in 2005 during Hurricane Katrina, when Pass Christian, MS, recorded a 27.8 foot storm surge above mean sea level. The highest High Water Mark on record for a U.S. hurricane occurred in Biloxi, MS during Katrina, where a High Water Mark of 34.1 feet above mean sea level was recorded on the outside of the Beau Rivage Lighthouse (Figure 1). The surge was 22 feet high in Biloxi, so the combination of the tide (about 1 foot) and 11-foot waves on top of the storm surge created the 34.1-foot high water mark.

Highest Theoretical U.S. Storm Surge
The highest theoretical storm surge produced by NOAA's SLOSH model for the U.S. is 38.5 feet above mean sea level, for a Category 4 hurricane hitting New Bedford, Massachussets. New Bedford lies near the end of a narrow bay, and narrow bays and river estuaries can act as funnels that focus the storm surge to extreme heights if the hurricane's direction of motion is aligned so that the surge propagates up the bottleneck. Storm surges in excess of 32 feet are possible at New York City; New Bedford and Buzzard's Bay, Massachussets; Florida's Apalachee Bay; the coast north of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and in St. Louis Bay in Mississippi.

Figure. The four regions of the U.S. coast theoretically prone to storm surges in excess of 33 feet at the coast. These Maximum of the Maximum Envelope Of Waters (MOM) SLOSH model plots are for a maximum strength hurricane hitting at high tide. A theoretical peak storm surge of 33 - 34 feet (pink colors) is predicted by the SLOSH model for New York City near the JFK Airport (upper left), for the Big Bend region of the Florida Gulf Coast (lower right), and for the Intracoastal Waterway north of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (lower left). The highest theoretical surge occurs at New Bedford, Massachussets (upper right), 38.5 feet for a Category 4 hurricane.

U.S. City Records
If you find references for the highest storm surge on record for a U.S. city not listed here, send the info (and URL documenting the record), to: jmasters@wunderground.com.

Alabama

Mobile:
11.6', July 5, 1916 Hurricane
11.45', Hurricane Katrina, 2005

Dauphin Island:
9.2', Hurricane Camille, 1969
7.7', July 5, 1916 Hurricane

Gulf Shores:
11.8', September 1906 hurricane
9.1', Hurricane Camille, 1969
Florida

Coconut Grove:
15', Great Miami Hurricane of 1926
Louisiana

New Orleans Lakefront Airport:
11.8', Hurricane Katrina, 2005

Grand Isle:
12.0', Hurricane Katrina, 2005

Port Fourchon:
8.0', Hurricane Katrina, 2005
Mississippi

Bay St. Louis:
25.0', Hurricane Katrina, 2005
21.7', Hurricane Camille, 1969
15.2', September 1947 Hurricane

Pass Christian:
27.8', Hurricane Katrina, 2005
22.6', Hurricane Camille, 1969
13.4', September 1947 Hurricane

Long Beach:
25.7', Hurricane Katrina, 2005
21.6', Hurricane Camille, 1969
14.0', September 1947 Hurricane

Gulfport:
24.5', Hurricane Katrina, 2005
21.0', Hurricane Camille, 1969
14.0', September 1947 Hurricane

Biloxi:
22.0', Hurricane Katrina, 2005
19.5', Hurricane Camille, 1969
11.1', September 1947 Hurricane

Pascagoula:
18.0', Hurricane Katrina, 2005
11.8', Hurricane Camille, 1969
9.0', September 1947 Hurricane
New Jersey

Atlantic City:
7.0', March 1962 Ash Wednesday Nor'easter
4.0', January 1956 Nor'easter

Sandy Hook:
5.2', March 1962 Ash Wednesday Nor'easter
4.0', January 1956 Nor'easter
Texas

Port Lavaca:
22.8', Hurricane Carla, 1961

Corpus Christi:
12', Atlantic-Gulf Hurricane of 1919
Virginia

Norfolk (Sewell's Point):
9', March 1962 Ash Wednesday Nor'easter
7.9', Hurricane Isabel, 2003
6.4', Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane, 1933
5.96', November 13, 2009 Nor'easter
4.9', February 5, 1998 Nor'easter
4.54' Hurricane Irene, August 27, 2011
North Carolina

Oregon Inlet:
7.09', Hurricane Irene, August 27, 2011
Calabash/Carolina Shores:
18', Hurricane Hazel, October 15, 1954.