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 ~0.2, which imply that the model simulates reasonably well.