Storm Surge/Tide — Lower Mobile, Alabama

2008-09-11 to 2008-09-12 · Lower Mobile, Alabama

Event narrative

As hurricane Ike moved well south of coastal Alabama, storm surge caused major beach erosion across the area. The astronomical tide was very high and the surge adding to this caused the total tide height to be at or a little higher than what occurred in Gustav. The beaches also had very little time to recover from the battering waves of Gustav before Ike affected the area. The beaches took a pounding from the waves and surge and the water washed across several places. Dauphin Island was the hardest hit area with the west end getting major damage. Gustav had washed away what was left of the berm to protect the west end and high water from Ike washed over the west end. The road to Dauphin Island was closed for two days around the times of high tide. The causeway was also closed for two days due to high water. Water street in downtown Mobile had water in it from Ike. Streams along the bay came out of their banks due to higher tides pushing the water inland. Storm surge heights ranged between 3-4 feet with total tide heights of 4.5-5.5 feet. The highest surge was at Bayou La Batre with 3.93 feet with a total storm tide height of 5.43 feet. Total damage estimate caused from the surge in coastal Alabama was around $1M.

Wider weather episode

As Ike moved south of the area, high astronomical tide along with storm surge brought flooding to the immediate coastal area.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 134848. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.