Storm Surge/Tide — Coastal St. Lucie, Florida

2022-11-09 to 2022-11-10 · Coastal St. Lucie, Florida

Event narrative

Persistent onshore flow ahead of and during Nicole led to water level rises of 3 to 5 feet along the St. Lucie County coastline. Moderate to severe beach erosion along already weakened dunes left behind in the wake of Hurricane Ian led to additional failures of structures along the coastline, namely dunes and beach access crossovers. Elevated water levels of up to 2 to 4 feet and wave action along the intracoastal waters resulted in street flooding along the riverfront and damage to some boat docks and marinas in the county.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Nicole made landfall near Vero Beach, Florida as a Category 1 Hurricane on Thursday, November 10, 2023 with estimated maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. The system was originally classified as a subtropical storm after forming several hundred miles east of the Bahamas before it gained tropical characteristics as it approached Grand Bahama and Abaco Island. The interplay between Nicole and an expansive area of high pressure over the eastern United States produced a large wind field of tropical storm force over the western Atlantic, with a long northeast fetch that stretched over 1000 miles. These onshore winds generated very large seas in excess of 30 feet offshore, which over multiple unusually high tide cycles, led to moderate to severe beach erosion across east central Florida. Damage to coastal structures was extensive, particularly across Volusia County where an already weakened shoreline due to Hurricane Ian succumbed to the long-duration high surf event. Two indirect storm-related fatalities were reported in Orange County.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1067675. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.