🔍 Key Concepts

• Storm surge and what physically causes water level to rise in a hurricane • How atmospheric pressure affects sea level (inverse barometer effect) • The difference between effects of wind vs. pressure in a hurricane

💭 Think About

• Which of these factors (wind, pressure, wave period, temperature) can directly and steadily lift the entire sea surface over a wide area? • Does a change in wave period or temperature actually raise the mean water level by several feet, or do they mainly affect how waves behave on top of the water level? • Think about how a drop of 1 millibar (1 hPa) in pressure changes sea level by about 1 centimeter. What happens when pressure drops 30–40 millibars in a strong storm?

✅ Before You Answer

• Distinguish between raising average water level vs. just changing wave characteristics • Recall the inverse barometer rule (roughly 1 cm of sea level rise per 1 millibar drop in pressure) • Eliminate any options that mostly affect surface conditions (roughness, temperature, wave shape) but not the large-scale height of the sea surface itself