Storm surge hydrographs from historical observations of sea level along the Dutch North Sea coast.

Due to changing climates and rising sea levels, low-lying coastal regions, such as the Netherlands, face increased risks of flooding driven by extreme sea levels. Thus, understanding extreme sea level events and their underlying dynamics is crucial for effective coastal management. This study developed and applied a novel classification framework to investigate historical storm surge events along the Dutch coast and improve the understanding of regional storm surge dynamics. Using 16 sea level records, storm surges were identified with the Peak Over Threshold (POT) method, using the 70th (POT70) and 99th (POT99) percentiles as thresholds. POT70 captured a more comprehensive storm surge activity, including multiple peaks and successive surges that are critical for coastal management. In contrast, POT99 captured surge peaks but missed significant pre- and post-storm surge activities. The POT70-derived surges were classified into 56 event types using clustering methods based on surge values across the whole event time series, and event duration. Event types were then characterised by temporal patterns, peak magnitude, duration, probability of occurrence, yearly frequency, and cumulative surge intensity. Key findings revealed frequent two-peak storm surges and significant variations in storm surge intensity along the coast, with stronger events occurring in northern regions. The results highlight the complexity of storm surge patterns, indicating that while simplified hydrograph models are useful, they may not always capture the full range of surge pattern variations. This novel classification framework offers a more detailed approach to evaluating surge patterns and can be applied to other coastal regions as well.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11069-025-07351-8.