E-Mail IMAGE: Flooding from hurricane storm surge can devastate lives and property. A new method yields substantially smaller errors in water level estimates from computer simulations. The work won a NHERI DesignSafe... view more Credit: FEMA News Photos Hurricane storm surge is one of the most hazardous and difficult parts of a hurricane to forecast. Researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (UNC) have developed a data assimilation method for improving multi-day forecast of coastal water levels. Data assimilation combines real-time measurements with model simulations. The method, developed by UNC researchers, yielded substantially smaller errors in the water level estimates. Data and simulations from their case study of Hurricane Matthew are publicly available online through the DesignSafe cyberinfrastructure.