Tropical cyclone-driven storm surge and wave database for the US North Atlantic and Gulf coastlines

Sci Data. 2026 Jun 26. doi: 10.1038/s41597-026-07635-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Historical datasets of tropical cyclone-driven storm surge and waves at moderate coastal resolution are scarce, limiting coastal hazard analysis and AI/ML-based surrogate model development where field observations remain sparse. We present a publicly available hindcast database of surge and wave conditions for 232 U.S. landfalling and impactful storms (1981-2021). We applied the coupled ADCIRC+SWAN system across the entire U.S. North Atlantic and Gulf coastline on a coastal-refined unstructured mesh achieving practical nearshore resolution (~100 - 500 m) for computational feasibility. We forced simulations with parametric wind fields from the Generalized Asymmetric Holland Model fitted to NOAA best-track data. For each event, we provide hourly NetCDF files containing water-surface elevation, significant wave height, and peak wave period. Users can apply these fields as boundary conditions for higher-resolution local models, train ML model predictors, and conduct coastwide extreme-value analyses. We validated simulations against numerous NOAA tide gauges and NDBC buoys, demonstrating robust water level skill with documented wave biases. This comprehensive basin-scale database enables coastal flood hazard assessment across multiple decades of historical storm surge events.

PMID:42363002 | DOI:10.1038/s41597-026-07635-z