Abstract

Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 devastated northern Gulf of Mexico and its coastal regions with catastrophic impacts in some regions. On the basis of applied physics of air-sea-land interaction, following formulas are derived and validated using the minimum sealevel pressure (Po in mb) as the most important input. They are: (1) Maximum wind speed (in m/s)= 6.3 (1013 - Po) 0.5; (2) Max significant wave height (in m) = 0.20 (1013 #x2013; Po); (3) Max wave setup (in feet)= 0.11 (1013 #x2013; Po); (4) Max surface drift velocity (in m/s) = 0.22 (1013 #x2013; Po) 0.5; (5) Most probable shoaling depth (in m) = (1013 #x2013; Po); (6) Max storm surge (in feet) = 0.23*(1010 #x2013; Po)*Fs*Fm, where Fs is a shoaling factor (not the shoaling depth) and Fm is a correction factor for storm motion; And(7) Max bottom (seabed) stress (in N/m^2) = 0.016 (1013 #x2013; Po). Examples for the applications of these formulas are provided.