Assessment of the Meteorological Elements associated with Coastal Damaging Storms on Eastern Lake Ontario

Understanding a land water interface can serve many purposes for multiple areas of interest. A larger body of water has a larger effect on the shoreline with which it interacts. An analysis of history can show that many events have affected the shorelines of eastern Lake Ontario. The biggest effects are felt through coastal erosion occurring in Western New York State. Specifically, three counties are offered for research as areas of importance by the National Sea Grant College Program from NOAA; Wayne County, Jefferson County, and Oswego County. With cities like Oswego and areas like Sodus Bay at risk for these events, an understanding of their damage and predictability is necessary. Associated meteorological elements are to be assessed, gauging a more intricate understanding of events and how to predict them in the future. On a synoptic scale, wind speeds, wind directions, sea level pressure, associated passage of lows and highs, fronts that move through the area (and over the lake) are some of the meteorological components to be investigated. Discerning the details of these associated storms will help the coastal communities to take the necessary precautions if a possibly dangerous storm is forecasted, saving lives, money, and property. Also, by analyzing global climate change models and deducing the past storms' prevalence, one can anticipate the probability of the frequency of these coastal damaging events for the future.