Offshore Hurricane Impact & Swell Simulator
Simulate how an offshore mega-storm—such as Hurricane Polo spinning off Mexico’s southwestern coast—distributes destructive wave trains, high-velocity wind radii, and torrential squall bands even while its eyewall never makes landfall.
1. Why Offshore Storms Cause Severe Inundation
Hurricanes generate deep-water long-period swells (14–18 second wave periods) through immense wind fetch. As these swells approach shallow continental slopes, shoaling amplifies wave heights to 5–8 meters, creating lethal rip currents and beach erosion hundreds of kilometers from the eye.
2. Orographic Rain Amplification
When peripheral tropical squall bands slam into the steep coastal topography of the Sierra Madre del Sur, rapid forced air ascent (up to 4 m/s) supercharges condensation. This orographic squeeze triggers sudden river surges and mountain mudslides even while coastal stations experience only gale-force winds.
3. Radial Decay & Asymmetry
Tropical cyclone winds do not drop off linearly. Using modified Holland vortex approximations, the core transitions sharply from calm eye to peak eyewall, followed by an exponential decay. The right-front quadrant carries the translation vector, producing the highest coastal wave buildup.