Skew surges | National Tidal and Sea Level Facility
Source: http://www.ntslf.org/storm-surges/skew-surges
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:12
Skew surges | National Tidal and Sea Level Facility
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The River Mersey
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Tidal predictions – UK and Ireland
UK South Atlantic Network
Gibraltar sea level station
Tidal predictions – South Atlantic
Tide gauge instruments
Definitions of tidal levels
Chart datum and ordnance datum
Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL)
(external link)
Engineers’ page
Proudman Building, Liverpool weather station
About storm surges
Tide-surge model
Surge model forecast
Surge model archive
Surge model archive: 2004–2019
Surge model ensemble forecasting
Skew surges
Skew surge history: England – south
Skew surge history: England – east
Skew surge history: England – west
Skew surge history: Wales
Skew surge history: Scotland
Skew surge history: Northern Ireland
Skew surge history: Isle of Man
Skew surge history: Channel Islands
Sea level trends
Sea level trend charts
Software
Contact us
Skew surges
A skew surge is the difference between the maximum observed sea level and the maximum predicted tide regardless of their timing during the tidal cycle – there is one skew surge value per tidal cycle. The maximum observed sea level measured by tide gauges are primarily determined by the tidal regime. The difference (residual) between the maximum observed sea level and the maximum predicted tide is governed by the wind stress and the local atmospheric pressure, roughly a two thirds to one third split respectively.
The skew surge statistics for the UK used data from all of the tide gauges within the
United Kingdom’s National Tide Gauge Network
. The data used for compiling the individual site histories were from the period from the beginning of each tide gauge record up to 1 January 2013. The tide gauges are in strategic positions around the coast, which help to monitor, and hence protect key infrastructures from, extreme sea levels. For example, since 1990 there has been a tide gauge at Hinkley Point in Somerset, which is an integral part of the nuclear power station site. Heysham nuclear power station also has a tide gauge located nearby for the same purpose. Major naval and industrial ports are monitored by tide gauges, for example, Aberdeen and Dover, which have 82 and 89 years of tide gauge data respectively.
The data were quality checked by the British Oceanographic Data Centre; we removed data flagged as having improbable values (M) and null values (N), however, we kept in our data set those flagged as interpolated from adjacent values (T).
The average time span of a UK tide gauge time series is 36 years. Newlyn has the longest tide gauge record spanning 98 years. The average percentage of complete data from all the tide gauges was 87%.
There are great variations in tidal regime around the UK coastline. Avonmouth experiences the second highest tides in the world with mean high water springs recorded at 13.33m. While the lowest tidal amplitude occurs at Port Ellen where the mean high water springs value is 0.78m. The purpose of this compilation was to ascertain whether there was a correlation between the skew surge and the predicted maximum tide, and whether there was a correlation between the skew surge and the maximum sea level observed by the tide gauge.
The results are displayed by region:
England – South
,
England – East
,
England – West
,
Wales
,
Scotland
,
Northern Ireland
,
Isle of Man
,
Channel Islands
Skip to main content
National Tidal and Sea Level Facility
Tides
Storm surges
Products
About
Search
About tides
Tides – questions and answers
Sea level – questions and answers
The Doodson-Légé Tide Predicting Machine
Tide clocks and watches
Tidal river bores
The River Dee / Afon Dyfrdwy
The River Mersey
UK National Tide Gauge Network
Data availability
Tidal predictions – UK and Ireland
UK South Atlantic Network
Gibraltar sea level station
Tidal predictions – South Atlantic
Tide gauge instruments
Definitions of tidal levels
Chart datum and ordnance datum
Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL)
(external link)
Engineers’ page
Proudman Building, Liverpool weather station
About storm surges
Tide-surge model
Surge model forecast
Surge model archive
Surge model archive: 2004–2019
Surge model ensemble forecasting
Skew surges
Skew surge history: England – south
Skew surge history: England – east
Skew surge history: England – west
Skew surge history: Wales
Skew surge history: Scotland
Skew surge history: Northern Ireland
Skew surge history: Isle of Man
Skew surge history: Channel Islands
Sea level trends
Sea level trend charts
Software
Contact us
Skew surges
A skew surge is the difference between the maximum observed sea level and the maximum predicted tide regardless of their timing during the tidal cycle – there is one skew surge value per tidal cycle. The maximum observed sea level measured by tide gauges are primarily determined by the tidal regime. The difference (residual) between the maximum observed sea level and the maximum predicted tide is governed by the wind stress and the local atmospheric pressure, roughly a two thirds to one third split respectively.
The skew surge statistics for the UK used data from all of the tide gauges within the
United Kingdom’s National Tide Gauge Network
. The data used for compiling the individual site histories were from the period from the beginning of each tide gauge record up to 1 January 2013. The tide gauges are in strategic positions around the coast, which help to monitor, and hence protect key infrastructures from, extreme sea levels. For example, since 1990 there has been a tide gauge at Hinkley Point in Somerset, which is an integral part of the nuclear power station site. Heysham nuclear power station also has a tide gauge located nearby for the same purpose. Major naval and industrial ports are monitored by tide gauges, for example, Aberdeen and Dover, which have 82 and 89 years of tide gauge data respectively.
The data were quality checked by the British Oceanographic Data Centre; we removed data flagged as having improbable values (M) and null values (N), however, we kept in our data set those flagged as interpolated from adjacent values (T).
The average time span of a UK tide gauge time series is 36 years. Newlyn has the longest tide gauge record spanning 98 years. The average percentage of complete data from all the tide gauges was 87%.
There are great variations in tidal regime around the UK coastline. Avonmouth experiences the second highest tides in the world with mean high water springs recorded at 13.33m. While the lowest tidal amplitude occurs at Port Ellen where the mean high water springs value is 0.78m. The purpose of this compilation was to ascertain whether there was a correlation between the skew surge and the predicted maximum tide, and whether there was a correlation between the skew surge and the maximum sea level observed by the tide gauge.
The results are displayed by region:
England – South
,
England – East
,
England – West
,
Wales
,
Scotland
,
Northern Ireland
,
Isle of Man
,
Channel Islands