Storm Surge Modeling Of Saco-Casco Bays: A Fvcom Based Study On Winter Storm Juno

The Saco-Casco Bays in the southern Maine are susceptible to coastal inundation due to the influence of winter storms. The high-resolution Saco-Casco Bays storm surge modeling is setup based on Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model (FVCOM), one-way nested with the Northeast Coastal Ocean Forecast System (NECOFS) and driven by high-resolution NECOFS/WRF and moderate-resolution NAM WRF to understand the impact of wind speed and direction on the predicting skill of the surge. The inundation model calculated a peak surge of more than 0.5 m due to winter storm Juno, at ME8418150 on 27 January 2015. The model simulated nearshore coastal currents flow southwestward with an accelerated speed of 0.8 m/s during peak storm period forming a strong eddy at the mouth of the Saco River and two separable eddies at the Pine Point. The RMSE calculated between ME8418150 and model is similar to 0.2, which imply that the model simulates reasonably well.