Total Water Level Data From the January and March 2018 

Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

Prepared in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency

Scientific Investigations Report 2020–5048

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
Cover. Background image: Satellite image of nor'easter over the eastern seaboard of the United 

States on January 4, 2018; image courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and 

the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere.

Inset images from top to bottom: A, Waves crashing into a house in Brant Rock, Marshfield, 

Massachusetts, on March 6, 2018, near high tide; photograph by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). 

B, Waves washing over Peggotty Beach, Scituate, Mass., on March 4, 2018, near high tide; photograph 

by Karl Swenson, Norwell, Mass.

Back. Ice in Dead Creek salt marsh in Salisbury, Mass., on January 11, 2018; photograph by USGS.
Total Water Level Data From the January 

and March 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal 

Areas of New England

By Gardner C. Bent and Nicholas J. Taylor

Prepared in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency

Scientific Investigations Report 2020–5048

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

DAVID BERNHARDT, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

James F. Reilly II, Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2020

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Suggested citation:

Bent, G.C., and Taylor, N.J., 2020, Total water level data from the January and March 2018 nor’easters for coastal 

areas of New England: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2020–5048, 47 p., https://doi.org/

10.3133/sir20205048.

ISSN 2328-0328 (online)
iii

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the many private home owners and businesses who allowed access 

to their property during January, March, September through November 2018 and January 2019, 

to deploy and retrieve temporary water-level sensors and identify, flag, and survey high-water 

marks in coastal areas of New England for the January and March 2018 nor’easters. The authors 

also thank the following U.S. Geological Survey field personnel who deployed and retrieved 

temporary water-level and barometric pressure sensors and identified, flagged, and surveyed 

high-water marks: Joseph Hatfield, Brittney Izbicki, Dee-Anne McCarthy, Patrick McNamara, 

Rachel Pearson, Nigel Pepin, Colin Sweeney, and David Thompson in Connecticut and 

Rhode Island; Mike Beardsley and Henry Gilman in Maine; Salvador Amador, David Armstrong, 

Samuel Banas, Alexander Bissell, Robert Bradley, Christopher Bruet, Joshua Combs, 

Monica Conlin, James Fisher, Rena Kalmon, Peiran Liang, Andrew Massey, Anthony Motta, 

Gordon McQuaid, Brian Nelson, Stephen O’Brien, Lance Ramsbey, Cory Smith, Blake Stone, 

Dale Tom, Nathan Van Meter, Alexander Wong, and Curtis Yaeger in Massachusetts; 

and Glenn Berwick, Chandlee Keirstead, Richard Kiah, Domenic Murino, Paul Shea, and 

Sanborn Ward in New Hampshire.

v

Contents

Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................................iii

Abstract...........................................................................................................................................................1

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1

Purpose and Scope ..............................................................................................................................6

Study Area..............................................................................................................................................6

January 2018 Nor’easter...............................................................................................................................6

March 2018 Nor’easter ...............................................................................................................................10

Total Water Level Data ................................................................................................................................10

High-Water Marks ..............................................................................................................................11

Identification and Flagging .......................................................................................................11

Surveying.....................................................................................................................................21

January 2018 Total Water Level Elevations ....................................................................................22

March 2018 Total Water Level Elevations .......................................................................................28

Comparison of January and March 2018 Total Water Level Elevations ....................................28

Comparison of Observed and Predicted Total Water Level Elevations .....................................32

Uses of Data.........................................................................................................................................32

Summary........................................................................................................................................................36

References Cited..........................................................................................................................................37

Appendix 1. Quality Assurance of Survey Equipment Used To Determine Elevations of 

High-Water Marks From the January and March 2018 Nor’easters .....................................41

Figures

1. Map showing locations of gages and temporary water-level sensors for total

water level data in New England during the January and March 2018 nor’easters .........3

2. Graphs showing observed and predicted total water level elevations at the

Boston and Portland tide gages from January 1 to 7 and from March 1 to 7, 2018 ...........4

3. Map showing locations of surveyed high-water marks from the January 2018

nor’easter in coastal areas of eastern Massachusetts .........................................................7

4. Maps showing locations of surveyed high-water marks from the March 2018

nor’easter in coastal areas of New England ............................................................................8

5. Photographs showing evidence and field methods for recording high-water

marks caused by the January and March 2018 nor’easters in coastal areas of

New England ...............................................................................................................................12

6. Boxplots showing total water level elevations for the January and March 2018

nor’easters from Portland, Maine to Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts ...............................31

Tables

1. Description of tide gages and coastal streamgages affected tidally or by

backwater from tides with total water level data during the January and

March 2018 nor’easters in New England ................................................................................14

2. Description of U.S. Geological Survey temporary water-level sensors deployed

during the March 2–4, 2018, nor’easter in New England .....................................................20
vi

3. Uncertainty of high-water marks for coastal areas of New England ................................21

4. High-water marks with no elevation or elevation determined to be inaccurate

from the January and March 2018 nor’easters in New England ........................................23

5. Summary of total water level elevations for high-water marks in coastal areas

of Massachusetts following January 2018 nor’easter of and coastal areas

of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine

following the March 2018 nor’easter .......................................................................................24

6. Summary of total water level elevations at tide gages and coastal streamgages

affected by storm tides or tidal backwater during the January and March 2018

nor’easters in New England ......................................................................................................25

7. Summary of total water level elevations at U.S. Geological Survey temporary

storm-tide sensors during the March 2–4, 2018, nor’easter in New England ..................29

8. Approximate storm surge at 26 tide gages during the January and March 2018

nor'easters in New England......................................................................................................33

Conversion Factors

U.S. customary units to International System of Units

Multiply By To obtain

inch (in.) 2.54 centimeter (cm)

foot (ft) 0.305 meter (m)

mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km)

square mile (mi2) 2.59 square kilometer (km2)

mile per hour (mi/h) 1.609 kilometer per hour (km/h)

Datum

Vertical coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 

(NAVD 88) and the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29).

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).

Elevation, as used in this report, refers to distance above the vertical datum.
vii

Abbreviations

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency

GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System

GPS Global Positioning System

HWM high-water mark

MassDOT Massachusetts Department of Transportation

NAD 83 North American Datum of 1983

NGVD 29 National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929

NAVD 88 North American Vertical Datum of 1988

NGS National Geodetic Survey

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RTKN real-time kinematic network

STN short-term network

USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

USGS U.S. Geological Survey

Total Water Level Data From the January and March 2018 

Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

By Gardner C. Bent and Nicholas J. Taylor

Abstract

During winter 2017–18 coastal areas of New England 

were impacted by the January 4, and March 2–4, 2018, 

nor’easters. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), under an 

interagency agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), collected total water level data (the 

combination of tide, storm surge, wave runup and setup, and 

freshwater input) using the North American Vertical Datum 

of 1988 (NAVD 88) from high-water marks and continuous 

water-level sensors, to better understand the areal extent, timing, and impact of coastal flooding from strong storms.

During the January 4, 2018, nor’easter the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Boston, 

Massachusetts, tide gage recorded the highest total water level 

on record of 9.66 ft. During the March 2–4, 2018, nor’easter, 

the Boston tide gage recorded its third highest total water level 

on record of 9.16 ft.

After the January and March 2018 nor’easter storms, the 

USGS deployed field teams that identified and flagged highwater marks along the coastlines of eastern Massachusetts in 

January and from Portland, Maine, south to the ConnecticutNew York State border in March. In preparation for the 

approach of the March 2018 nor’easter, the USGS deployed 

35 temporary water-level sensors along the coastline of New 

England to collect total water level data during the storm. 

Total water level data were also collected at 28 tide gages and 

14 coastal streamgages (affected tidally or by tidal backwater during coastal storms) in New England during both 

nor’easters.

Total water level elevations at 71 high-water marks 

collected after the January 2018 nor’easter in coastal areas 

of eastern Massachusetts ranged from 5.8 to 15.1 feet (ft), 

with an average elevation of 9.4 ft and a median elevation 

of 9.6 ft. Total water level elevations at 10 tide gages and 

7 coastal streamgages from Portland to Cape Cod Bay ranged 

from 4.8 to 11.2 ft, with an average of 9.1 ft and a median of 

9.6 ft. Following the March 2018 nor’easter, 111 high-water 

marks were collected along the New England coastline. Of the 

111 high-water marks, 100 were along the eastern coastline 

of New England from Portland to Cape Cod and had elevations that ranged from 5.3 to 15.1 ft, with an average of 8.9 ft 

and a median of 8.6 ft. The remaining 11 high-water marks 

along the southern coastline of New England in Connecticut, 

Rhode Island, and Massachusetts had elevations that ranged 

from 3.1 to 7.5 ft, with an average of 4.3 ft and a median of 

4.9 ft. Total water level elevations for 19 USGS temporary 

water-level sensors from Portland to Cape Cod Bay ranged 

from 6.2 to 10.4 ft, with an average of 8.4 ft and a median 

of 8.7 ft. Total water level elevations at 10 tide gages and 

6 coastal streamgages from Portland to Cape Cod Bay ranged 

from 7.8 to 10.8 ft, with an average of 9.1 ft and a median 

of 9.2 ft.

There were 10 tide gages and 5 coastal streamgages with 

data from both nor’easters from Portland to Cape Cod Bay; 

for the January nor’easter, the average and median elevations 

were about 0.3 and 0.5 ft higher, respectively, than for the 

March nor’easter. At the 52 high-water mark locations with 

data for both nor’easters in Massachusetts, the average and 

median elevations were 0.1 and 0.4 ft higher, respectively, for 

the January nor’easter than for the March nor’easter.

At 10 tide gages along the coastline from Portland to 

Cape Cod Bay, the observed peak total water level elevations 

for the January nor’easter ranged from 1.6 to 3.7 ft higher than 

the concurrent predicted elevations, with an average of 2.8 ft 

and a median of 3.0 ft higher. For the March nor’easter, the 

observed peak total water level elevations ranged from 1.8 to 

4.0 ft higher than the concurrent predicted elevations, with an 

average of 2.7 ft and a median of 3.0 ft higher. This is approximately the amount of storm surge that was experienced during 

the highest tides of the two nor’easters along the coastline 

from Portland to Cape Cod Bay.

Introduction

On January 4, 2018, a strong nor’easter passed off the 

coast of New England. This nor’easter developed and tracked 

up the Atlantic Ocean coast quickly, having developed from a 

low-pressure system off the coast of Florida and the Bahamas 

on January 3. The rapid intensification of this storm and the 

loss of 59 millibars (mb) of pressure in 24 hours to a low 

of 950 mb produced peak wind gusts from 50 to 70 miles 

per hour (mi/h). This storm also occurred during a period 
2 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

of astronomical high tides from a full moon on January 1, 

2018. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA) Boston, Massachusetts, tide gage (station 8443970; 

fig. 1, station no. 16) recorded a peak total water level1

elevation of 9.66 feet (ft) above the North American Vertical 

Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) on January 4 (fig. 2A; National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2019b), which was 

the highest elevation in the 97-year record (since May 1921; 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2018a). 

The previous peak of record had been 9.52 ft above NAVD 88, 

which was observed during the February 7, 1978, nor’easter. 

Additionally, the NOAA Portland, Maine, tide gage (station 8418150; fig. 1, station no. 8) recorded its highest total 

water level elevation of 8.42 ft above NAVD 88 on January 4 

(fig. 2B; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

2019c). This is the third highest elevation on record since 1912 

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2018a).

Flooding and wind damage affected communities in 

Massachusetts on the North Shore area between Boston and 

New Hampshire, at Boston Harbor, on the South Coast area 

between Boston and Cape Cod, along Cape Cod Bay, and 

on Nantucket, Mass. (New England Cable News, 2018). 

By January 30, the Massachusetts Emergency Management 

Agency reported preliminary estimates of damages of about 

$9.5 million (Charles Baker, Governor, Commonwealth 

of Massachusetts, written commun., 2018). A major disaster declaration was not made, although a request for a 

60-day extension in the application was submitted from 

Massachusetts Governor Charles Baker to the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters 

(Michelle O’Toole, Massachusetts Emergency Management, 

oral commun., 2018).

On March 2–4, another strong nor’easter passed off the 

coast of New England. This nor’easter started as a stationary 

front over the Midwest on March 1 and moved eastward off 

the mid-Atlantic coast, resulting in a new low-pressure system 

that formed rapidly in the Atlantic and then moved up along 

the coast of New England. This storm underwent a rapid intensification, losing 26 mb of pressure in 21 hours and reaching 

a low of 947 mb. This storm also occurred during a period 

of astronomical high tides from a full moon on March 1. The 

NOAA Boston tide gage (8443970; fig. 1, station no. 16) 

recorded its highest total water level elevation of 9.16 ft above 

NAVD 88 on March 2, 2018 (fig. 2C; National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 2019b), which is the third highest elevation on record (National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, 2018a). The NOAA Portland tide gage 

(8418150; fig. 1, station no. 8) recorded its highest total water 

level elevation of 7.91 ft above NAVD 88 on March 2 (fig. 2D; 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2019c), 

which is the seventh highest elevation on record (National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2018a).

For the March nor’easter, reported costs in Massachusetts 

were more than $23.8 million for emergency response, 

debris clearing, and repairs for public infrastructure; more 

than 2,000 homes were damaged and almost 150 homes 

were destroyed (Wade, 2018). For the March 2–4, 2018, 

nor’easter major disaster declarations were made for areas 

of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. The declaration for Massachusetts (DR–4372) was for a “severe winter 

storm and flooding on March 2–3, 2018” in Essex, Norfolk, 

Plymouth, Barnstable, Nantucket, and Bristol Counties 

(Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2018b). More than 

$3.4 million of total public assistance grants was obligated. A 

major disaster declaration was issued for Maine (DR–4367) 

for a “severe storm and flooding on March 2–8, 2018” in York 

County (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2018a). 

More than $2.7 million of total public assistance grants 

were obligated. A major disaster declaration was issued for 

New Hampshire (DR–4370) for a “severe storm and flooding on March 2–8, 2018” in Rockingham County (Federal 

Emergency Management Agency, 2018c). More than $400,000 

of total public assistance grants were obligated.

The eastern coastline of New England has been affected 

by many nor’easters. Before the January and March 2018 

nor’easters, some of the most damaging nor’easters since 

the February 1978 (Gadoury, 1979) nor’easter have been 

the October 1991 (Kedzierski, 1992), December 1992, and 

January 2015 (Massey and Verdi, 2015) nor’easters. All 6 of 

these nor’easters have total water level elevations that rank in 

the highest 10 peak total water level elevations at the NOAA 

tide gage in Boston (National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, 2018a). In 2012, Hurricane Sandy damaged 

the coastline of eastern Massachusetts (part of the damage to 

the southern coast of New England; Ostiguy and others, 2018).

In response to the January 2018 nor’easter, the 

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) identified, flagged, and 

surveyed 85 high-water marks (HWMs) along the eastern 

coastline of Massachusetts from the State border with New 

Hampshire to Cape Cod Bay. For the March 2018 nor’easter, 

the USGS deployed temporary water-level and barometric pressure sensors and identified, flagged, and surveyed 

115 HWMs along the coastline of New England. Continuous 

total water level elevations were also recorded for both the 

January and March 2018 nor’easters along the New England 

coastline by 28 tide gages operated each variously by the 

USGS, NOAA, or U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) 

and at 14 coastal streamgages affected tidally or by tidal backwater during coastal storms (hereafter referred to as “coastal 

streamgages”), operated by the USGS.

1The term “total water level” data is used because some data maybe a 

combination of astronomical tides, storm surge, waves (runup and setup), and 

freshwater inputs (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2016; National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2019a).
Introduction 3

Base from Maine Geolibrary, Massachusetts Office of Geographic Information, and 

University of Connecticut Map and Geographic Information Center, 1:24,000

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

0 25 50 75 100 MILES

0 50 100 KILOMETERS

EXPLANATION

44

Tide gage and station number in table 5

Temporary water-level sensor and station number

in table 2

Coastal streamgage affected tidally or by tidal

backwater and station number in table 1

8

11

NEW YORK

CONNECTICUT

VERMONT

NEW HAMPSHIRE

MASSACHUSETTS

MAINE

CANADA

CANADA

Portland

Newburyport

Boston

Dennis

UNITED STATES

RHODE

ISLAND 77

76 75

74 73

72

71

70 6968 67

66

65 64 63

62

59

61

60

58 57

5655

54

53

52

51

50

49 48

47 46

45

44

43

7

6

5

4

37 33

27

22

21

20

18 19

17

13

11

36

38

35

39 40

41

42

34

31

32

30

29

28 26

23

24

25

14

15 16

12

10 9

8

3

1

2

73° 72° 71° 70°

45°

44°

43°

42°

41°

69° 68° 67°

Figure 1. Locations of 28 tide gages, 14 coastal streamgages affected tidally or by tidal backwater, and temporary water-level sensors 

where total water level data were collected in New England during the January and March 2018 nor’easters.
4 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

8

10

Total water level elevation in ft above NAVD 88

A. Boston, Mass.

-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

8

10

Total water level elevation in ft above NAVD 88

B. Portland, Maine

00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00

01/02 01/03 01/04 01/05 01/06 01/07

00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00

01/02 01/03 01/04 01/05 01/06 01/07

2018

2018

Predicted tide

Observed tide

Predicted tide

Observed tide

EXPLANATION

EXPLANATION

01/01

01/01

Figure 2. Observed and predicted total water level elevations at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Boston, 

Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine, tide gages A and B, from January 1 to 7 and C and D, from March 1 to 7, 2018. Tide gages 

are described in table 1 (station numbers 16 and 8, respectively), and locations are shown on figure 1. ft, foot; NAVD 88, North 

American Vertical Datum of 1988. 
Introduction 5

-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

8

10

Total water level elevation in ft above NAVD 88

C. Boston, Mass.

Total water level elevation in ft above NAVD 88

D. Portland, Maine

00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00

03/02 03/03 03/04 03/05 03/06 03/07

00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00

03/01 03/02 03/03 03/04 03/05 03/06 03/07

2018

2018

Predicted tide

Observed tide

EXPLANATION

Predicted tide

Observed tide

EXPLANATION

03/01

-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

8

10

Figure 2. —Continued
6 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

Purpose and Scope

This report documents and provides total water level data 

for HWMs, tidal gages, coastal streamgages, and temporary 

water-level sensors for the January 4 and the March 2–4, 2018, 

nor’easters in the coastal areas of New England. In response to 

two nor’easters, the USGS through an interagency agreement 

with FEMA flagged and surveyed HWMs along the hardest 

hit coastal areas in New England to enhance understanding 

of the areal extent and impact of coastal flooding resulting 

from strong storms. USGS water-level sensors also were 

deployed prior to the March 2018 nor’easter to record total 

water level elevations before, during, and following the storm. 

Total water level elevation data for HWMs were collected at 

or near the temporary water-level sensors and tide gages as 

well as at other selected locations, including many at locations 

documented for the February 1978 nor’easter. HWMs were 

surveyed for selected locations immediately following the two 

nor’easters and then at the remaining sites from September to 

November 2018 and in February 2019.

Total water level elevations for all HWMs, tide gages, 

coastal streamgages, and temporary water-level sensors for 

the nor’easters of January and March 2018 are presented, 

summarized, and compared. Observed high total water level 

elevations are also compared with corresponding NOAApredicted high elevations. The emphasis in this study is on 

the total water level data collected along the eastern coastline of New England between Portland and Cape Cod Bay. 

Individual information on all USGS total water level data 

are available on the USGS Flood Event Viewer website for 

the January 2018 nor’easter (https://stn.wim.usgs.gov/FEV/

#NoreasterJanuary2018) and the March 2018 nor’easter 

(https://stn.wim.usgs.gov/FEV/#NoreasterofMarch2018).

Study Area

Coastal flooding from nor’easters primarily affects 

the eastern coast of New England (Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, and Maine) because the winds are mainly from the 

northeast. Many of the top 10 peak total water level elevations 

on record at the long-term tide gages in Boston and Portland 

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2018a) 

are from nor’easters. However, in New England, nor’easters 

can also push ocean waters into coastal inlets that are open 

to the east, such as Long Island Sound between Connecticut 

and New York, or into coastal areas in Connecticut and Rhode 

Island that are open to the ocean and face a more easterly 

direction. Total water level data were mainly collected from 

Portland to Cape Cod Bay during both the January and 

March 2018 nor’easters; some data were also collected along 

the remaining New England coastline. The New England 

coastline is quite long, with the tidal shorelines for the five 

New England States being 618 miles (mi) for Connecticut, 

384 mi for Rhode Island, 1,519 mi for Massachusetts, 131 mi 

New Hampshire, and 3,478 mi for Maine (National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration, 2019d).

For the January 2018 nor’easter, HWMs were collected 

in the coastal areas of eastern Massachusetts from the State 

border with New Hampshire to Cape Cod Bay (fig. 3). During 

the January nor’easter, total water level data were also collected at 28 tide gages and 14 coastal streamgages (fig. 1).

For the March 2018 nor’easter, HWMs were collected 

in coastal areas of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, 

New Hampshire, and Maine (fig. 4). During this nor’easter, 

USGS temporary water-level sensors were deployed to collect 

continuous total water level data 1 to 2 days before, during, 

and for a few days following the nor’easter. Additionally, total 

water level data were collected at 28 tide gages and 14 coastal 

streamgages (fig. 1).

January 2018 Nor’easter

On January 3, the National Weather Service (NWS) 

observed the rapid genesis of a low-pressure system about 

200 mi off the eastern coast of Florida, which was predicted 

to bring severe winter weather to the eastern seaboard of the 

United States (National Weather Service, 2018a, summary 1; 

2018c). The storm was a strong nor’easter by the morning of 

January 4 when it reached New England. Nor’easters have 

counterclockwise winds and so bring strong winds from 

a northeasterly direction, which often batter coastal areas 

along the eastern seaboard. This storm was accompanied by 

a rapid drop in barometric pressure, nearly 59 mb in 24 hours 

(Erdman, 2018)—to a low of 950 mb (National Weather 

Service, 2018a, summary 5). As a result, coastal areas of New 

England were impacted by high winds with peak wind gusts 

from about 50 to 75 mi/h (National Weather Service, 2018a, 

summary 8). Nantucket had a recorded peak wind gust of 

76 mi/h. Snowfall amounts ranged from about 10 to 20 inches 

across New England, with central Maine receiving up to 

22 inches (National Weather Service, 2018a, summary 8). The 

strong northeastern winds combined with a period of high 

astronomical tides from the full moon on January 1 caused 

storm surge and coastal flooding.

Extensive flooding stretched along the eastern coast, 

concentrated along the eastern coastline of New England 

(Samenow, 2018). Damage estimates of about $9.5 million 

were received by the Massachusetts Emergency Management 

Agency by the end of January 2018 (Governor Charles Baker, 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts, written commun., 2018). 

Many coastal communities from Portland to Cape Cod Bay 

were flooded by ocean water that surged inland over beaches 

and sea walls and up coastal tidal rivers (New England Cable 

News, 2018).
January 2018 Nor’easter 7

0 25 50 KILOMETERS

0 25 50 MILES

15.00–15.99

11.00–11.99

3.00–3.99

4.00–4.99

5.00–5.99

6.00–6.99

7.00–7.99

10.00–10.99

8.00–8.99

9.00–9.99

12.00–12.99

13.00–13.99

14.00–14.99

High-water marks—Elevation in feet, 

 relative to the North American 

 Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) 

CONNECTICUT

RHODE ISLAND

Block Island Sound 

MASSACHUSETTS

Cape Cod 

Bay

Massachusetts

Bay 

Nantucket Sound

NEW HAMPSHIRE

ATLANTIC OCEAN 

Base from Massachusetts Office of Geographic Information (MassGIS), 1:25,000

Massachusetts State Plane projection

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83)

Scituate

Barnstable

Boston

EXPANATION

ESSEX

SUFFOLK

NORFOLK

PLYMOUTH

BARNSTABLE

72° 71° 70°

43°

42°

Figure 3. Locations of surveyed high-water marks from the January 2018 nor’easter in coastal areas of eastern Massachusetts.
8 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

0 25 50 KILOMETERS

0 25 50 MILES

15.00–15.99

11.00–11.99

3.00–3.99

4.00–4.99

5.00–5.99

6.00–6.99

7.00–7.99

10.00–10.99

8.00–8.99

9.00–9.99

12.00–12.99

13.00–13.99

14.00–14.99

EXPANATION

High-water marks—Elevation in feet, 

 relative to the North American 

 Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) 

CONNECTICUT

RHODE ISLAND

Block Island Sound 

MASSACHUSETTS

ESSEX

NORFOLK

PLYMOUTH

BRISTOL

SUFFOLK

BARNSTABLE

Cape Cod 

Bay

Massachusetts

Bay 

Nantucket Sound

ATLANTIC OCEAN 

Base from Massachusetts Office of Geographic Information (MassGIS), 1:25,000

Massachusetts State Plane projection

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83)

Scituate

Barnstable

Boston

NEW HAMPSHIRE

KENT

A

72° 71° 70°

43°

42°

Figure 4. Locations of surveyed high-water marks from the March 2018 nor’easter in coastal areas of A, Massachusetts and Rhode 

Island, B, New Hampshire and Maine, and C, Connecticut.
January 2018 Nor’easter 9

NEW 

HAMPSHIRE

MAINE

MASSACHUSETTS

CUMBERLAND

SAGADAHOC

YORK

ROCKINGHAM

ATLANTIC OCEAN 

WALDO

KNOX

LINCOLN

B

Rye

High-water marks—Elevation in feet,

relative to the North American Vertical

Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) 

EXPLANATION

15.00–15.99

11.00–11.99

3.00–3.99

4.00–4.99

5.00–5.99

6.00–6.99

7.00–7.99

10.00–10.99

8.00–8.99

9.00–9.99

12.00–12.99

13.00–13.99

14.00–14.99

0 25 50 KILOMETERS

0 25 50 MILES

43°

44°

71° 70° 69°

Base from Maine Geolibrary, 1:24,000

Maine State Plane projection

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83)

Figure 4. —Continued
10 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

Bridgeport 

Long Island Sound 

Block Island Sound 

MIDDLESEX

NEW HAVEN

FAIRFIELD

NEW LONDON

Base from University of Connecticut Map and

Geographic Information Center (MAGIC), 1:24,000, 1988

Connecticut State Plane projection

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) 0 25 KILOMETERS

0 7.5

7.5

25 MILES

C

NEW YORK

RHODE

ISLAND

CONNECTICUT

NEW

YORK

73° 72°

41°

42°

6.00–6.99 11.00–11.99

7.00–7.99 12.00–12.99

3.00–3.99 8.00–8.99 13.00–13.99

4.00–4.99 9.00–9.99 14.00–14.99

5.00–5.99 10.00–10.99 15.00–15.99

High-water marks—Elevation in feet, relative to the 

North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) 

EXPLANATION

Figure 4. —Continued

March 2018 Nor’easter

In early March, a second nor’easter of a similar magnitude as the January nor’easter affected coastal communities 

along the eastern seaboard from the mid-Atlantic to New 

England. On the evening of March 1, the NWS observed 

a low-pressure system in Pennsylvania migrating east and 

rapidly strengthening off the mid-Atlantic coastline (National 

Weather Service, 2018b, summary 1). By March 2, a rapid 

drop in barometric pressure of nearly 26 mb in 24 hours was 

recorded for the storm, to a low of 974 mb (Weather Channel, 

The, 2018). Later that same day, the NWS issued winter-storm 

and high-wind warnings from Pennsylvania to New England 

and a blizzard warning for upstate New York to northeastern 

Pennsylvania (National Weather Service, 2018b, summary 4). 

Peak wind gusts ranged from about 40 to 90 mi/h from 

Georgia to New England (National Weather Service, 2018b, 

summary 7). Inland areas of the northeast from Pennsylvania 

to New England had snowfall totals ranging from a few inches 

up to 39 inches in upstate New York, and the coastal areas 

had rainfall amounts ranging from 1 to almost 6 inches. The 

persistent strong winds during the highest astronomical tide of 

the month, due to a full moon on March 1, caused widespread 

flooding in coastal areas of New England, especially on the 

eastern-facing coastline (Di Liberto, 2018). Even as the storm 

continued moving offshore northeastward, long-period swells 

exacerbated coastal flooding over multiple tidal cycles from 

March 3 to 5. Eight deaths were reported from downed trees 

across the northeast and mid-Atlantic (Caron, 2018). Major 

disaster declarations were made, and public assistance grants 

were obligated for $3.4 million, $400,000, and $2.7 million for 

areas of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, respectively (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2018a, b, c).

Total Water Level Data

Total water level data were collected for the January and 

March 2018 nor’easters from tide gages, coastal streamgages, 

temporary water-level sensors, and HWMs. Data from tide 

gages operated by NOAA are typically referred to as “stormtide” data, which is the astronomical tide plus storm surge. 

The USGS and USACE tide gages could possibly include 

other effects from waves and are thus typically referred to as 

total water levels. The filtered elevation data at USGS temporary water-level sensor (often referred to as “storm-tide 

sensor”) are typically storm-tide data. HWMs were collected 

in varying coastal environments and thus may contain effects 
Total Water Level Data 11

from waves (wave runup and setup) and possibly freshwater 

inputs for HWMs further upstream on a tidal river, in addition 

to the storm surge.

The USGS, NOAA, and USACE currently [2020] 

operate a network of about 28 continuous tide gages in New 

England (table 1). Augmenting this tidal network, the USGS 

also currently [2020] operates about 14 continuous coastal 

streamgages. Additionally, for coastal storms (nor’easters and 

hurricanes) for which moderate to severe coastal flooding is 

expected, the USGS deploys temporary water-level sensors 

at selected locations to record detailed continuous total water 

level elevations before, during, and following the storm (Verdi 

and others, 2017). During the March 2018 nor’easter, the 

USGS deployed 35 temporary water-level sensors along the 

New England coastline (table 2). Additionally, following a 

coastal storm that results in severe coastal flooding, the USGS 

(typically in cooperation with FEMA) identifies, flags, and 

surveys HWMs to determine the highest total water level 

elevations at coastal locations not covered by sensors. The 

USGS also collects HWMs near tide gages and temporary 

water-level sensors to confirm the recorded peak total water 

level elevations. The coastal streamgages are equipped with a 

crest-stage gage (Sauer and Turnipseed, 2010; U.S. Geological 

Survey, 2019a) to verify the recorded peak total water 

level elevation.

High-Water Marks

Evidence of the highest water surface elevation (fig. 5) 

during a riverine or coastal flood is known as a HWM (Benson 

and Dalrymple, 1967). The highest water level is often 

documented by deposits of natural and manmade pieces of 

debris (seeds, grasses, tree needles or leaves, woody material, 

sediment, trash, or ice) that are transported by floodwaters or 

waves, and deposited on the sides of buildings, fences, mailboxes, telephone poles, and trees (Koenig and others, 2016; 

Feaster and Koenig, 2017). These types of deposits are common during flooding and are used as evidence in identifying 

the highest water level (fig. 5C–F). After the peak of a flood, 

the water recedes and leaves material that forms a HWM 

through settling, staining, or adhesion. Well-defined HWMs 

form best in areas of slow water movement. It is necessary to 

obtain the location of HWMs as soon as the peak water levels 

begin to recede. Time is critical to finding the best available 

HWMs at each site before the marks are faded, lost, moved, 

removed, or covered up by natural (rain, wind, and sun) and 

manmade alterations.

Additionally, if very cold temperatures persist during 

and following a flood, the highest water level may also be 

documented by ice or snow lines on the sides of buildings, 

fences, mailboxes, telephone poles, or trees (fig. 5A and B). 

These ice or snow lines can also include natural and manmade 

pieces of debris frozen into them, which aid in identification of the highest water level. Timely observations are also 

important following the peak water levels recess because these 

marks can quickly melt or be altered by temperatures above or 

near freezing.

Using procedures described by Benson and Dalrymple 

(1967), Koenig and others (2016), and Feaster and Koenig 

(2017), HWMs were identified, flagged, and documented for 

the peak total water level elevations from the January and 

March 2018 nor’easters. Information on the approximate 

horizontal location, the type and general accuracy of the 

HWM, and approximate elevation above the land surface 

were documented so they could be found by surveyors later. 

Additionally, a sketch map was drawn, and photographs were 

taken (fig. 5).

Identification and Flagging

In preparation of surveying and flagging HWMs following the peak total water level elevations of the January 2018 

nor’easter, potential HWM locations were selected in communities in and around Boston that were identified as having 

been affected by coastal flooding (Kerry Bogdan, FEMA, 

written commun., 2018). Potential HWMs were also selected 

in several other communities north and south of Boston and 

along Cape Cod Bay that were identified as having been 

affected by coastal flooding (Sarah White, Massachusetts 

Emergency Management Agency, written commun., 2018). 

When possible, HWM sites were selected to be near locations where HWMs were flagged and surveyed following the 

February 1978 nor’easter (Gadoury, 1979) and October 1991 

nor’easter (Kedzierski, 1992); near a USGS temporary waterlevel sensor site (Verdi and others, 2017); or in an area with 

known damages from previous coastal flooding. A similar 

procedure was followed for the March nor’easter.

For the January nor’easter, two-person crews went into 

the field from January 6 to 10 to identify and flag HWMs 

along the coastlines of Massachusetts. For the March 2018 

nor’easter, crews identified and flagged HWMs along the 

coastlines from Connecticut to Maine from March 5 to 9. 

Where situations prohibited the identification of HWMs with 

acceptable quality at a planned site, a nearby site of better 

quality was selected and identified by the field crew.

Once an adequate HWM was found, the field crew used a 

standard field form to record each mark with a unique identification number, the road and town or city location, a description of the location of the HWM relative to a landmark, the 

latitude and longitude of the HWM, a description of the HWM 

(seeds, grasses, tree needles, leaves, woody material, sediment, ice, or melted ice or snow), the distance of the HWM 

above ground surface or other described object, a qualitative 

description of the accuracy of the HWM, and the type of 

marker (USGS HWM disk, paint, permanent marker, PK nail, 

nail, chisel mark, stake, or surveyor’s hub) used to flag the 

location. Field crews rated and assigned HWM general assessments using a qualitative scale: excellent, good, fair, and poor 

(table 3).
12 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

A. MAPLY24223 B. MASUF04853

C. CTFAI04807 D. MABAR24109

Mar. 2018

Jan. 2018

Figure 5. Evidence and field methods for recording high-water marks 

caused by the January and March 2018 nor’easters in coastal areas 

of New England. A, Ice line on wooden fence (January 2018, Scituate, 

Massachusetts); B, ice line on Neponset River pier (January 2018, 

Boston, Mass.); C, white disc bolted to concrete wall at a debris line 

(March 2018, Bridgeport, Connecticut); D, green disk at wrack line on 

road surface (March 2018, Barnstable, Mass.) and green disk with 

orange paint line at January 2018 high-water mark; E, debris and wrack 

line on side of building (March 2018, Scituate, Mass.); and F, mud line on 

wooden fence (March 2018, Rye, New Hampshire). High-water marks 

depicted can be found on the U.S. Geological Survey Flood Event Viewer 

(https://stn.wim.usgs.gov/FEV/) by their event date and Short-Term 

Network number shown in the label of each photograph.
Total Water Level Data 13

E. MAPLY24223

F. NHROC24227

Figure 5. —Continued
14 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

Table 1. Description of tide gages and coastal streamgages affected tidally or by backwater from tides with total water level data during 

the January and March 2018 nor’easters in New England.

[Station numbers (nos.) and locations of tide gages and coastal streamgages affected tidally or by backwater from tides are shown on figure 1. Tide gages operated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) list the paired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA) tide gage for which predicted tidal data are available on the line below each of those tide gages. NOAA tide gages use the same gage for predicted tide 

data. USGS streamgages do not have a paired NOAA tide gage. Data for USGS tide gages and coastal streamgages are from U.S. Geological Survey (2019d); for 

NOAA tide gages, from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2019e); and for USACE tide gages, from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2019). ft, 

foot; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 1988; NGVD 29, National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929; MLLW, mean lower-low water; mi, mile; 

CT, Connecticut; MA, Massachusetts; ME, Maine; NH, New Hampshire; RI, Rhode Island; Rt., Route; St., Street; —, no number]

Stat

ion 

no.

Gage type

Agency 

operating gage

USGS or NOAA 

station no. Station name

Latitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Longitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Period of 

record Remarks

Conver

sion from 

gage 

datum to 

NAVD 88, 

in ft

Maine, sites north of Portland

1 Tide USGS 01021060 St. Croix River at 

Calais, ME

45.19166 −67.28342 October 2015 

to present

Gage datum set to 

NAVD 88. Gage is 

about 6.1 mi upstream 

from ocean.

0.00

NOAA 8410834 Pettegrove Point, 

Dochet Island, 

ME

2 Tide NOAA 8410140 Eastport, ME 44.90333 −66.98500 September 

1929 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

MLLW.

−9.93

3 Tide NOAA 8411060 Cutler Farris 

Wharf, ME

44.65667 −67.20500 September 

1963 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

MLLW.

−7.54

4 Stream

gage 

(stageonly)

USGS 01037050 Penobscot River at 

Bangor, ME

44.79639 −68.76778 December 

2009 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

NAVD 88. Water 

elevations likely affected by river stage 

as streamgage is about 

22.7 mi upstream 

from ocean.

0.00

5 Stream

gage 

(stageonly)

USGS 01049320 Kennebec River at 

Calumet Bridge 

at Augusta, ME

44.31861 −69.77167 October 1998 

to present

Gage datum is arbitrary. 

Water elevations likely affected by river 

stage as streamgage 

is about 28.0 mi upstream from ocean.

−2.01

6 Stream

gage 

(stageonly)

USGS 01049330 Kennebec River at 

Hallowell, ME

44.28681 −69.78819 March 2018 to 

present

Gage datum set to 1.30 ft 

above NGVD 29. 

Water elevation converted to NAVD 88 

using Vertcon.1 Water 

elevations likely affected by river stage 

as streamgage is about 

25.7 mi upstream 

from ocean.

0.00

7 Stream

gage 

(stageonly)

USGS 01049505 Kennebec River at 

Gardiner, ME

44.23028 −69.76944 February 2000 

to present

Gage datum set to 

NGVD 29. Water 

elevation converted 

to NAVD 88 using 

Vertcon.1 Water elevations likely affected 

by river stage as 

streamgage is about 

21.5 mi upstream 

from ocean.

−0.69
Total Water Level Data 15

Table 1. Description of tide gages and coastal streamgages affected tidally or by backwater from tides with total water level data during 

the January and March 2018 nor’easters in New England.—Continued

[Station numbers (nos.) and locations of tide gages and coastal streamgages affected tidally or by backwater from tides are shown on figure 1. Tide gages operated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) list the paired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA) tide gage for which predicted tidal data are available on the line below each of those tide gages. NOAA tide gages use the same gage for predicted tide 

data. USGS streamgages do not have a paired NOAA tide gage. Data for USGS tide gages and coastal streamgages are from U.S. Geological Survey (2019d); for 

NOAA tide gages, from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2019e); and for USACE tide gages, from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2019). ft, 

foot; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 1988; NGVD 29, National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929; MLLW, mean lower-low water; mi, mile; 

CT, Connecticut; MA, Massachusetts; ME, Maine; NH, New Hampshire; RI, Rhode Island; Rt., Route; St., Street; —, no number]

Stat

ion 

no.

Gage type

Agency 

operating gage

USGS or NOAA 

station no. Station name

Latitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Longitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Period of 

record Remarks

Conver

sion from 

gage 

datum to 

NAVD 88, 

in ft

Maine, sites from Portland south

8 Tide NOAA 8418150 Portland, ME 43.65833 −70.24500 March 1910 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

MLLW.

−5.26

9 Tide USGS 432742070225401 Saco River at 

Camp Ellis near 

Saco, Maine

43.46163 −70.38170 April 2016 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

NAVD 88.

0.00

NOAA 8418606 Camp Ellis, Saco 

River, ME

10 Tide NOAA 8419317 Wells, ME 43.32000 −70.56333 June 1999 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

MLLW.

−5.14

Massachusetts, sites on eastern coastline and Cape Cod Bay

11 Stream

gage 

(stageonly)

USGS 01100693 Merrimack River, 

0.3 mi upstream 

Rt. 125, at 

Haverhill, MA

42.77278 −71.08306 July 2006 to 

present

Gage datum is arbitrary. 

Water elevations likely affected by river 

stage as streamgage 

is about 15.5 mi upstream from ocean.

−1.17

12 Tide USGS 01100870 Merrimack River 

at Newburyport, 

MA

42.81565 −70.87283 January 2015 

to present

Gage datum set to 

NAVD 88.

0.00

NOAA 8440466 Newburyport, 

Merrimack 

River, MA

13 Stream

gage

USGS 01102345 Saugus River 

at Saugus 

Ironworks at 

Saugus, MA

42.46954 −71.00700 March 1994 to 

present

Gage datum is arbitrary. 

Water elevations likely affected by river 

stage as streamgage is 

about 2.3 mi upstream 

from ocean.

5.58

14 Tide USGS 01103050 Mystic River at 

Amelia Earhart 

Dam near 

Somerville, MA

42.39565 −71.07505 December 

2007 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

Boston City Base 

datum. Water elevations from ocean side 

(downstream side) of 

locks.

−106.68

NOAA 8443662 Amelia Earhart 

Dam, Mystic 

River, MA

15 Tide USGS 01104715 Charles River, new 

Charles River 

Dam at Boston, 

MA

42.36889 −71.06167 September 

2002 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

Boston City Base 

datum. Water elevations from ocean side 

(downstream side) of 

locks.

−106.71

NOAA 8443838 Charlestown, 

Charles River 

entrance, MA

16 Tide NOAA 8443970 Boston, MA 42.35333 −71.05000 May 1921 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

MLLW.

−5.51
16 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

Table 1. Description of tide gages and coastal streamgages affected tidally or by backwater from tides with total water level data during 

the January and March 2018 nor’easters in New England.—Continued

[Station numbers (nos.) and locations of tide gages and coastal streamgages affected tidally or by backwater from tides are shown on figure 1. Tide gages operated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) list the paired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA) tide gage for which predicted tidal data are available on the line below each of those tide gages. NOAA tide gages use the same gage for predicted tide 

data. USGS streamgages do not have a paired NOAA tide gage. Data for USGS tide gages and coastal streamgages are from U.S. Geological Survey (2019d); for 

NOAA tide gages, from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2019e); and for USACE tide gages, from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2019). ft, 

foot; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 1988; NGVD 29, National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929; MLLW, mean lower-low water; mi, mile; 

CT, Connecticut; MA, Massachusetts; ME, Maine; NH, New Hampshire; RI, Rhode Island; Rt., Route; St., Street; —, no number]

Stat

ion 

no.

Gage type

Agency 

operating gage

USGS or NOAA 

station no. Station name

Latitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Longitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Period of 

record Remarks

Conver

sion from 

gage 

datum to 

NAVD 88, 

in ft

Massachusetts, sites on eastern coastline and Cape Cod Bay—Continued

17 Stream

gage

USGS 011055566 Neponset River at 

Milton Village, 

MA

42.27093 −71.06838 November 

1996 to 

present

Gage datum is arbitrary. 

Water elevations likely affected by river 

stage as streamgage is 

about 4.1 mi upstream 

from ocean.

2.96

18 Stream

gage

USGS 01105585 Town Brook at 

Quincy, MA

42.24788 −70.99727 October 1998 

to present

Gage datum is arbitrary. 

Water elevations likely affected by river 

stage as streamgage is 

about 0.8 mi upstream 

from ocean.

4.53

19 Stream

gage

USGS 01105583 Monatiquot 

River at East 

Braintree, MA

42.22093 −70.97810 March 2006 to 

present

Gage datum is arbitrary. 

Water elevations likely affected by river 

stage as streamgage is 

about 2.8 mi upstream 

from ocean.

5.18

20 Stream

gage

USGS 01105730 Indian Head River 

at Hanover, MA

42.10066 −70.82254 July 1966 to 

present

Gage datum is arbitrary. 

Water elevations likely affected by river 

stage as streamgage 

is about 11.2 mi upstream from ocean.

2.07

21 Stream

gage

USGS 01105870 Jones River at 

Kingston, MA

41.99094 −70.73365 August 1966 

to present

Gage datum is arbitrary. 

Water elevations likely affected by river 

stage as streamgage is 

about 2.1 mi upstream 

from ocean.

3.88

22 Stream

gage

USGS 01105876 Eel River at Rt. 3A 

near Plymouth, 

MA

41.94177 −70.62253 December 

1969 to 

September 1971

June 2006 

to present

Gage datum is arbitrary. 

Water elevations likely affected by river 

stage as streamgage is 

about 0.6 mi upstream 

from ocean.

2.11

23 Tide USGS 414507070091400 Sesuit Harbor Tide 

Gage at Dennis, 

MA

41.75194 −70.15389 January 2015 

to present

Gage datum set to 

NAVD 88.

0.00

NOAA 8447241 Sesuit Harbor, East 

Dennis, MA
Total Water Level Data 17

Table 1. Description of tide gages and coastal streamgages affected tidally or by backwater from tides with total water level data during 

the January and March 2018 nor’easters in New England.—Continued

[Station numbers (nos.) and locations of tide gages and coastal streamgages affected tidally or by backwater from tides are shown on figure 1. Tide gages operated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) list the paired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA) tide gage for which predicted tidal data are available on the line below each of those tide gages. NOAA tide gages use the same gage for predicted tide 

data. USGS streamgages do not have a paired NOAA tide gage. Data for USGS tide gages and coastal streamgages are from U.S. Geological Survey (2019d); for 

NOAA tide gages, from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2019e); and for USACE tide gages, from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2019). ft, 

foot; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 1988; NGVD 29, National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929; MLLW, mean lower-low water; mi, mile; 

CT, Connecticut; MA, Massachusetts; ME, Maine; NH, New Hampshire; RI, Rhode Island; Rt., Route; St., Street; —, no number]

Stat

ion 

no.

Gage type

Agency 

operating gage

USGS or NOAA 

station no. Station name

Latitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Longitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Period of 

record Remarks

Conver

sion from 

gage 

datum to 

NAVD 88, 

in ft

Massachusetts, sites on eastern coastline and Cape Cod Bay—Continued

24 Tide USGS 011058798 Herring River at 

Chequessett 

Neck Road at 

Wellfleet, MA

41.59233 −70.50781 September 

2017 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

NAVD 88. Ocean side 

(downstream side) of 

culvert and gates.

0.00

NOAA 8446613 Wellfleet, MA

25 Tide USGS 420259070105600 Provincetown 

Tide Gage, 

Provincetown, 

MA

42.04972 −70.18222 December 

2014 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

NAVD 88.

0.00

NOAA 8446121 Provincetown, MA

Massachusetts, sites on southern coastline

26 Tide USGS 413601070275800 Popponesset Bay, 

Mashpee Neck 

Road, near 

Mashpee, MA

41.60016 −70.46612 June 2014 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

NAVD 88.

0.00

NOAA 8447742 Popponesset 

Island, 

Popponesset 

Bay, MA

27 Stream

gage

USGS 011058837 Quashnet River 

at Waquiot 

Village, MA

41.93111 −70.06456 October 1988 

to present

Gage datum is arbitrary. 

Water elevations likely affected by river 

stage as streamgage is 

about 2.1 mi upstream 

from ocean.

−0.46

28 Tide NOAA 8447930 Woods Hole, MA 41.52333 −70.67167 July 1932 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

MLLW.

−1.36

29 Tide USACE — New Bedford 

Hurricane 

Barrier, New 

Bedford, MA

41.62431 −70.90587 — Gage datum set to 

NGVD 29. Water 

elevation converted 

to NAVD 88 using 

Vertcon.1

−0.83

NOAA 8447584 New Bedford 

Bridge, MA

30 Tide NOAA 8447386 Fall River, MA 41.70333 −71.16333 October 1955 

to present

Gage datum set to 

MLLW.

−2.41
18 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

Table 1. Description of tide gages and coastal streamgages affected tidally or by backwater from tides with total water level data during 

the January and March 2018 nor’easters in New England.—Continued

[Station numbers (nos.) and locations of tide gages and coastal streamgages affected tidally or by backwater from tides are shown on figure 1. Tide gages operated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) list the paired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA) tide gage for which predicted tidal data are available on the line below each of those tide gages. NOAA tide gages use the same gage for predicted tide 

data. USGS streamgages do not have a paired NOAA tide gage. Data for USGS tide gages and coastal streamgages are from U.S. Geological Survey (2019d); for 

NOAA tide gages, from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2019e); and for USACE tide gages, from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2019). ft, 

foot; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 1988; NGVD 29, National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929; MLLW, mean lower-low water; mi, mile; 

CT, Connecticut; MA, Massachusetts; ME, Maine; NH, New Hampshire; RI, Rhode Island; Rt., Route; St., Street; —, no number]

Stat

ion 

no.

Gage type

Agency 

operating gage

USGS or NOAA 

station no. Station name

Latitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Longitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Period of 

record Remarks

Conver

sion from 

gage 

datum to 

NAVD 88, 

in ft

Rhode Island

31 Tide NOAA 8452660 Newport, RI 41.50333 −71.32667 September 

1930 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

MLLW.

−2.04

32 Tide NOAA 8454000 Providence, RI 41.80667 −71.40000 June 1938 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

MLLW.

−2.47

33 Stream

gage

USGS 01118500 Pawcatuck River 

at Westerly, RI

41.38371 −71.83312 November 

1940 to 

present

Gage datum is arbitrary. 

Water elevations likely affected by river 

stage as streamgage is 

about 4.5 mi upstream 

from ocean.

−2.68

34 Tide USGS 411838071513000 Watch Hill Cove 

Tide Gage 

Westerly, RI

41.31056 −71.85833 August 2014 

to present

Gage datum set to 

NAVD 88.

0.00

NOAA 8458694 Watch Hill Point, 

RI

Connecticut

35 Tide NOAA 8461490 New London, 

Thames River, 

CT

41.35500 −72.08667 June 1938 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

MLLW.

−1.84

36 Tide USGS 01194750 Connecticut River 

at Essex, CT

41.35148 −72.38437 February 2010 

to present

Gage datum set to 

NGVD 29. Water 

elevation converted 

to NAVD 88 using 

Vertcon.1 Gage is 

about 3.6 mi upstream 

from ocean.

−1.02

NOAA 8462925 Essex, CT

37 Tide USGS 01194796 Connecticut River 

at Old Lyme, 

CT

41.31260 −72.34592 October 2017 

to present

Gage datum set to 

NGVD 29. Water 

elevation converted to 

NAVD 88 from levels.

−1.01

NOAA 8462764 Lyme, highway 

bridge, CT

38 Tide USGS 01194815 Connecticut River 

near Bridge 

St. near Old 

Saybrook, CT

41.28133 −72.34928 September 

2015 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

NAVD 88.

0.00

NOAA 8462752 Saybrook Point, 

CT

39 Tide NOAA 8467150 Bridgeport, CT 41.17500 −73.18333 June 1932 to 

present

Gage datum set to 

MLLW.

−3.84
Total Water Level Data 19

Table 1. Description of tide gages and coastal streamgages affected tidally or by backwater from tides with total water level data during 

the January and March 2018 nor’easters in New England.—Continued

[Station numbers (nos.) and locations of tide gages and coastal streamgages affected tidally or by backwater from tides are shown on figure 1. Tide gages operated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) list the paired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA) tide gage for which predicted tidal data are available on the line below each of those tide gages. NOAA tide gages use the same gage for predicted tide 

data. USGS streamgages do not have a paired NOAA tide gage. Data for USGS tide gages and coastal streamgages are from U.S. Geological Survey (2019d); for 

NOAA tide gages, from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2019e); and for USACE tide gages, from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2019). ft, 

foot; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 1988; NGVD 29, National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929; MLLW, mean lower-low water; mi, mile; 

CT, Connecticut; MA, Massachusetts; ME, Maine; NH, New Hampshire; RI, Rhode Island; Rt., Route; St., Street; —, no number]

Stat

ion 

no.

Gage type

Agency 

operating gage

USGS or NOAA 

station no. Station name

Latitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Longitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Period of 

record Remarks

Conver

sion from 

gage 

datum to 

NAVD 88, 

in ft

Connecticut—Continued

40 Tide USGS 01209510 Saugatuck River 

at Rt. 1 at 

Westport, CT

41.14089 −73.36303 January 2014 

to present

Gage datum set to 

NAVD 88. Gage is 

about 1.6 mi upstream 

from ocean.

0.00

NOAA 8468191 Saugatuck River

41 Tide USACE — Stamford 

Hurricane 

Barrier, 

Stamford, CT

41.03694 −73.53472 — Gage datum set to 

NGVD 29. Water 

elevation converted 

to NAVD 88 using 

Vertcon.1 Gage is 

about 3.6 mi upstream 

from ocean.

−0.90

NOAA 8469198 Stamford Harbor, 

CT

42 Tide USGS 012112296 Greenwich Harbor 

at Grass Island 

at Greenwich, 

CT

41.01412 −73.62508 January 2015 

to present

Gage datum set to 

NAVD 88.

0.00

NOAA 8469549 Cos Cob Harbor, 

CT

1Vertcon is an online tool for converting NGVD 29 elevations to NAVD 88 elevation (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2020).
20 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

Table 2. Description of U.S. Geological Survey temporary water-level sensors deployed during the March 2–4, 2018, nor’easter in 

New England.

[Station numbers (nos.) and locations of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) temporary water-level sensors shown on figure 1. STN, short-term network; St., Street; 

Rd., Road; Rt., Route; Ln., Lane; Dr., Drive; CT, Connecticut; MA, Massachusetts; ME, Maine; NH, New Hampshire]

Station 

no.

USGS STN no. USGS STN site name

Latitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Longitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Maine (sites listed north to south)

43 MEWAL04449 Passagassawakeag River, town dock at end of Main St. behind Weathervane 

Restaurant, Belfast, ME

44.42894 −69.00375

44 MESAG04450 Fort Popham, Popham Rd., across from Fort Popham State Historical site, 

Phippsburg, ME

43.75502 −69.78486

45 MECUM04452 Androscoggin River, Water St. boat ramp west of railroad bridge and Rt. 

196 bridge, Brunswick, ME

43.92219 −69.95533

46 MEYOR19462 Stevens Brook, north side of Ocean Ave. at Moody Point, Rachel Carson 

National Wildlife Refuge, Wells, ME

43.28425 −70.57410

47 MEYOR19460 Stevens Brook, north side of Furbish Rd., Rachel Carson National Wildlife 

Refuge, Wells, ME

43.28290 −70.58141

48 MEYOR19459 Stevens Brook, south side of Furbish Rd., Rachel Carson National Wildlife 

Refuge, Wells, ME

43.28163 −70.58222

49 MEYOR19457 Ogunquit River, near end of Ocean St., Rachel Carson National Wildlife 

Refuge, Wells, ME

43.26449 −70.59169

New Hampshire (sites listed north to south)

50 NHROC00005 Hampton Harbor, Rt. 101 at Tide Mill Brook, Hampton, NH 42.92180 −70.82330

51 NHROC00004 Hampton Harbor at Rt. 1A, Hampton, NH 42.89820 −70.81700

Massachusetts (sites on eastern coastline and Cape Cod Bay and listed north to south)

52 MAESS00040 Ipswich River boat ramp, East St., Ipswich, MA 42.68370 −70.82780

53 MAESS00039 Rockport Harbor, T Wharf, Rockport, MA 42.65900 −70.61500

54 MAESS00038 Salem Harbor, Salem Maritime National Historic Site, Derby Wharf, Derby 

St., Salem, MA

42.51950 −70.88680

55 MAESS04534 Broad Sound, Lynn Heritage State Park, Rt. 1A/Lynnway, Lynn, MA 42.45960 −70.94310

56 MASUF04609 Chelsea River, Condor Street Beach I, Condor St., Boston, MA 42.38350 −71.02890

57 MASUF04851 Neponset River, at entrance to Pope John Paul II Park, Taylor St., Boston, 

MA

42.28730 −71.03970

58 MANOR04848 Quincy Bay, Bayside Rd., and Border St., Quincy, MA 42.30120 −71.00860

59 MANOR07226 Cohasset Harbor, boat ramp and pier, Lighthouse Ln., Cohasset, MA 42.23900 −70.78930

60 MAPLY00035 Scituate Harbor, boat ramp and pier, Jericho Rd., Scituate, MA 42.20140 −70.72570

61 MAPLY00034 Green Harbor, boat ramp and dock, Town Pier Rd. and Central St., 

Marshfield, MA

42.08250 −70.64640

62 MAPLY07232 Kingston Bay, boat ramp, Brick Kiln Rd., Plymouth, MA 41.98020 −70.68290

63 MABAR04551 Scorton Creek, Rt. 6A west of Fort Hill Rd., Sandwich, MA 41.73640 −70.42590

64 MABAR04540 Barnstable Harbor, boat dock, Millway Rd., Barnstable, MA 41.70490 −70.29950

65 MABAR04557 Rock Harbor, boat ramp and dock, Bayview Dr., Orleans, MA 41.80000 −70.00830

Connecticut (sites listed east to west)

66 CTNEW04512 Stonington Harbor, dock off of Water St., opposite Wall St., Stonington, CT 41.33217 −71.90835

67 CTNEW00026 Poquonuck River Bluff Point, dike at end of Depot Rd., Groton, CT 41.33497 −72.03550

68 CTNEW04686 Niantic Bay, Attawan Beach area, Shore Rd., Niantic, CT 41.31083 −72.20194

69 CTMID04510 Hawks Nest Beach, West End Dr., Old Lyme, CT 41.28152 −72.28398
Total Water Level Data 21

Table 2. Description of U.S. Geological Survey temporary water-level sensors deployed during the March 2–4, 2018, nor’easter in 

New England.—Continued

[Station numbers (nos.) and locations of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) temporary water-level sensors shown on figure 1. STN, short-term network; St., Street; 

Rd., Road; Rt., Route; Ln., Lane; Dr., Drive; CT, Connecticut; MA, Massachusetts; ME, Maine; NH, New Hampshire]

Station 

no.

USGS STN no. USGS STN site name

Latitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Longitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Connecticut (sites listed east to west)—Continued

70 CTMID04661 Back River, downstream of Rt. 154 bridge, Old Saybrook, CT 41.27639 −72.39333

71 CTMID04673 Clinton Harbor, Cedar Island Marina, Riverside Dr., Clinton, CT 41.26861 −72.53139

72 CTNEW04687 East River, boat launch at end of Old Post Rd., Madison, CT 41.28674 −72.64608

73 CTNEW04662 West River, downstream side of Rt. 146 bridge, Guilford, CT 41.27904 −72.68790

74 CTNEW04671 Branford Point Pier, end of Harbor St., Branford, CT 41.26038 −72.82070

75 CTNEW04676 Cosey Beach, Caroline Rd., East Haven, CT 41.24310 −72.88250

76 CTFAI04670 Norwalk River, Norwalk Maritime Aquarium public dock, Fairfield, CT 41.10257 −73.41644

77 CTFAI15448 Public dock on Grass Island Rd., Belle Haven, Greenwich, CT 41.01412 −73.62508

Depending on the location of the HWM found, the field 

personnel flagged the mark using one or more of the following: USGS HWM disk, paint, permanent marker, nail, PK nail, 

chiseled mark, stake, or surveyor’s hub. Photographs of the 

HWMs (fig. 5) and the pathways to the HWM were taken; 

photographs of the surrounding area were also taken if needed. 

To provide additional guidance for relocating and recovering the HWMs, coordinates obtained by a handheld Global 

Positioning System (GPS) device (usually a cell phone) were 

recorded on the field form.

Field crews identified and flagged a total of 86 HWMs in 

Massachusetts following the January 2018 nor’easter (fig. 3; 

U.S. Geological Survey, 2019b). Following the March 2018 

nor’easter, field crews identified and flagged a total of 

115 HWMs: 86 sites in Massachusetts, 2 sites in Rhode Island, 

13 sites in New Hampshire, 6 sites in Maine, and 8 sites in 

Connecticut (fig. 4; U.S. Geological Survey, 2019c). At 52 of 

the 86 sites in Massachusetts, HWMs were collected during 

both the January and March 2018 nor’easters.

Surveying

Positions of the coastal HWMs from the January 

and March 2018 nor’easters were surveyed using Global 

Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) methods described by 

Rydlund and Densmore (2012). Specifically, real-time network 

(RTN) positioning was used, which provided centimeter-level 

(0.03-ft) vertical precision through continuous real-time differential corrections between GNSS reference stations and the 

receiver. Trimble R8 and Topcon Hyper V GNSS receivers 

were used for RTN surveys. KeyNetGPS, Inc. (2018) GNSS 

reference network stations provided differential corrections 

to position data. Peak total water level elevations surveyed 

were collected in the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 

(NAVD 88). Horizontal positions surveyed were collected in 

the North American Datum (NAD 83) State Plane Coordinate 

System. Where overhead vegetation or structures interfered 

with satellite reception or when known reference marks 

existed nearby at USGS temporary water-level sensor brackets and National Geodetic Survey (NGS) or Massachusetts 

Department of Transportation (MassDOT) benchmarks, HWM 

elevations were measured with an electronic digital level, following methods described by Kenney (2010).

RTN and leveling of HWM elevations provided surveying results to meet USGS GNSS level II precision standards 

(Rydlund and Densmore, 2012). A few HWMs surveyed had 

more uncertainty in the elevations; the flagged elevations for 

3 of 10 missing HWMs were recreated using notes and photographs from the original surveys. Hand measurements illustrating the heights of the HWMs above the ground provided 

references to survey elevations beneath the missing marks. 

Ground competency was considered when surveying reference 

points, and neither unconsolidated earth nor snow were used 

to reference missing HWM elevations.

Table 3. Uncertainty of high-water marks for coastal areas of 

New England.

[HWM, high-water mark; ft, foot; ±, plus or minus; >, greater than]

HWM classification Vertical uncertainty in HWM, in ft1

Excellent ±0.05

Good ±0.10

Fair ±0.20

Poor ±0.40

Very poor >0.40

1Data are from Rydlund and Densmore (2012) and Koenig and others 

(2016).
For the entirety of the survey, quality control procedures from Rydlund and Densmore (2012) were followed 

to ensure accurate results. Network elevation accuracy was 

checked at nearby NGS and MassDOT benchmarks at the 

beginning and end of each survey day. Surveyed elevations at 

these benchmarks were compared with the published elevations maintained for those benchmarks. The accuracies of the 

NAVD 88 elevations were checked on benchmarks before and 

after each RTN campaign. Redundant, blunder checks were 

also measured at each benchmark (table 1.1). Blunder checks 

can expose multipathing errors that may occur with dualband receivers. Measurements within the 0.10-ft tolerance set 

by the USGS GNSS level II quality standard (Rydlund and 

Densmore, 2012) were averaged for the final elevation. If the 

two measured elevations differed by more than 0.10 ft, then 

subsequent measurements were made to obtain at least two 

elevations that were within 0.10 ft of each other. If a benchmark was in an area with obstructions or other reasons for 

poor satellite reception, then a temporary reference mark was 

set nearby where reception existed and a blunder checks could 

be done following the same standards. Then traditional levels 

were run between the benchmark and the temporary reference 

mark to compare the elevation to the published benchmark 

NAVD 88 elevation.

A network of continuous real-time differential corrected 

sites was provided by a fixed-base GPS network of sites under 

the operation of KeyNetGPS, Inc. (2018). The measurement 

accuracy of the GPS elevations was checked by comparing 

GPS readings at primarily NGS and MassDOT benchmarks 

with established NAVD 88 elevations near the coasts of New 

Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island during August to 

November 2018 and February 2019 (table 1.1). The accuracies 

of the NAVD 88 elevations were checked by making 56 GPS 

measurements of established NGS and MassDOT benchmark 

sites (Massachusetts Department of Transportation, 2018; 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2018b). 

The differences between the established NAVD 88 and surveyed GPS elevations for 56 observations ranged from −0.14 

to 0.24 ft, and the absolute differences had an average of 0.07 

ft, a median of 0.06 ft, and a root mean squared error of 0.09 ft 

(table 1.1).

January 2018 Total Water Level Elevations

Following the January 4 nor’easter, 85 HWMs were 

flagged along the Massachusetts coastline, but only 80 HWMs 

were surveyed; the remaining 5 HWMs could not be found or 

had been destroyed (table 4). Of these 80 HWMs surveyed, 

71 HWMs were determined to be accurate, and 9 HWMs were 

not used because their elevations were substantially lower 

(at least 2 to 5 ft) than the elevations at nearby HWMs and 

peak total water level elevations at the nearby NOAA Boston 

tide gage. Elevations at these nine HWM outliers appeared 

to reflect a subsequent lower high total water level elevation 

based on the NOAA Boston tide gage data (which occurred 

several hours before the HWMs were flagged), and not the 

previous peak total water level elevation that occurred on the 

January 4 storm. Review of field notes and photographs during flagging of these HWMs also aided in determining if the 

HWMs were not accurate.

The 71 HWMs along the eastern coastline of 

Massachusetts (U.S. Geological Survey, 2019b; fig. 3) had 

total water level elevations that ranged from 5.8 to 15.1 ft, 

with an average elevation of 9.4 ft and a median elevation 

of 9.6 ft (table 5). Fifty percent of the HWMs had elevations 

between 8.6 to 9.9 ft. In four of the five counties, the median 

HWM elevations were within 1 ft and ranged from 8.9 to 

9.8 ft. HWM elevations in Barnstable County had a median 

of 10.9 ft, but there were only five sites, which is a limited 

sample size. The HWM elevations (fig. 3; table 5) show a 

wide range of variability, but the lowest HWM elevations 

(fig. 3) were found at sites generally farthest inland from the 

Atlantic Ocean. These inland sites were not openly exposed 

to the oncoming direction of winds and waves. The highest 

HWM elevation values were seen on coastline areas, such 

as extended beaches, which had direct exposure to contact 

waves, wave runup, wave setup, and surge from the ocean. 

These areas may also be open to large areas of great wind 

fetch off the ocean. In several cases, increased elevations were 

seen where the surge funneled or piled up into a narrowing 

bay or estuary where the tides could not quickly drain with the 

continued winds and consecutive storm surges built on one 

another.

For coastal areas of eastern New England from Portland 

to Cape Cod Bay, peak total water level elevations recorded at 

10 tide gages and 7 coastal streamgages (fig. 1; table 1) ranged 

from 4.8 to 11.2 ft, with an average of 9.1 ft and a median 

of 9.6 ft (table 6). These elevations are similar to elevations 

of nearby HWMs (table 5) and those along this same area of 

coastline. The tide gages and coastal streamgages also had 

higher total water level elevations in areas close to the ocean, 

whereas lower elevations were observed in protected harbors 

or up tidally affected rivers further from the coast. The southern New England sites (southern coastlines of Connecticut, 

Rhode Island, and Massachusetts) generally have lower 

recorded total water level elevations than the eastern and 

northern New England sites (coastlines from Cape Cod Bay to 

northern Maine), possibly as a result of land to the north providing a buffer from the northeasterly and easterly winds from 

the storm. The coastal sites north of Portland generally have 

higher total water level elevations than sites from Portland 

south because of the effect of the Bay of Fundy, which has the 

highest tides in the world (National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, 2018c).

22 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England
Total Water Level Data 23

Table 4. High-water marks with no elevation or elevation determined to be inaccurate from the January and March 2018 nor’easters in 

New England.

[Data are from U.S. Geological Survey (2019b, c). USGS, U.S. Geological Survey; STN, short-term network; no., number; HWM, high-water mark; ID, identifier; ft, foot; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 1988; —, no data; NOAA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; MA, Massachusetts; 

St., Street; Rd., Road]

USGS STN 

site no.

USGS 

STN 

HWM 

ID

USGS STN site name

Latitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

Longitude, 

in decimal 

degrees

HWM 

surveyed 

elevation, 

in ft above 

NAVD 88

Reason HWM not used

January 2018 nor'easter

MASUF24069 26905 Winthrop Ferry Dock and Boat 

Launch, Shirley Point, Winthrop, 

MA

42.36700 −70.97100 — Not found

MASUF24075 26915 Massachusetts Bay, Winthrop Golf 

Club, Winthrop, MA

42.37900 −70.97570 — Destroyed

MASUF24089 26934 Long Wharf Pier, Boston, MA 42.36040 −71.04790 4.4 Elevation determined to be too low1

MASUF24092 26937 Boston Harbor, Fan Pier, Boston, 

MA

42.35350 −71.04430 4.1 Elevation determined to be too low1

MASUF24147 27012 NOAA tide gage, Fort Point 

Channel, Northern Ave., Boston, 

MA

42.35480 −71.05060 — Destroyed

MASUF04548 27026 Winthrop Harbor 707 Shirley St., 

Winthrop, MA

42.36849 −70.97167 — Not found

MASUF24063 28259 Boston Harbor, Point Shirley, 

Winthrop, MA

42.35780 −70.97200 — Landowner did not allow it to be 

surveyed

MASUF24092 28282 Boston Harbor, Fan Pier, Boston, 

MA

42.35350 −71.04430 3.7 Elevation determined to be too low1

MASUF24089 28286 Long Wharf Pier, Boston, MA 42.36040 −71.04790 4.1 Elevation determined to be too low1

MASUF24089 28287 Long Wharf Pier, Boston, MA 42.36040 −71.04790 4.2 Elevation determined to be too low1

MASUF24089 28288 Long Wharf Pier, Boston, MA 42.36040 −71.04790 4.3 Elevation determined to be too low1

MASUF24089 28289 Long Wharf Pier, Boston, MA 42.36040 −71.04790 4.2 Elevation determined to be too low1

MAESS04534 27027 154 Lynnway, Lynn, MA 42.45964 −70.94313 5.1 Elevation determined to be too low2

MANOR04848 27023 Boston Harbor Transect #1 near 

Bayside Road Quincy MA

42.30121 −71.00864 6.2 Elevation determined to be too low3

March 2018 nor'easter

MABAR04531 28217 Stage Harbor, Chatham Harbor 

Master, Chatham, MA

41.66628 −69.96644 3.3 Elevation determined to be too low4

MASUF24670 28293 Belle Isle Inlet, Read St., Winthrop, 

MA

42.38334 −70.98799 13.0 Elevation determined to be too high5

MANOR24103 28019 Weymouth Fore River, 

Wessagussett Rd., Weymouth, 

MA

42.24970 −70.94636 — Destroyed

MASUF24089 28290 Long Wharf Pier, Boston, MA 42.36040 −71.04790 — Destroyed

1Based on a peak of 9.66 ft at the nearby NOAA Boston, Mass., tide gage (8443970) on January 4, 2018, and elevation of 9.3 ft at another nearby HWM (not 

directly exposed to the ocean). The surveyed elevation approximately coincided with the high-tide elevation of 4.22 ft on January 7, 2018, at about 3 a.m., which 

was a few hours before this HWM was flagged.

2Based on photograph taken when HWM was flagged, which shows higher ice line in background. Additionally, all other nearby HWMs for the January 2018 

nor'easter were about 2 to 3 ft higher.

3Based on photograph taken when HWM was flagged and that the March 2018 nor'easter HWM elevation was 9.3 ft, substantially higher than the elevation 

surveyed for the January 2018 nor'easter at the same location. Additionally, all other nearby HWMs for the January 2018 nor'easter were about 3 to 4 ft higher.

4Based on photograph taken on March 5, 2018, when HWM was flagged, showing tide at same elevation. Additionally, all other nearby HWMs for the 

March 2018 nor'easter were about 4 to 6 ft higher.

5Based on comparison to other HWMs nearby. Additionally, all other nearby HWMs for the March 2018 nor'easter were about 4 to 5 ft lower.
24 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

Table 5. Summary of total water level elevations for high-water marks in coastal areas of Massachusetts following January 2018 

nor’easter of and coastal areas of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine following the March 2018 

nor’easter.

[HWMs, high-water marks; ft, foot; all elevations are at the North American Vertical Datum of 1988; —, not applicable]

State and county

High-water marks1 Elevations, in feet NAVD 88

Number 

flagged

Number 

surveyed Minimum Maximum Average Median 25th percentile

75th 

percentile

January 4, 2018, nor'easter

Massachusetts:

Barnstable County 5 5 10.2 11.5 10.9 10.9 10.6 11.4

Essex County 13 12 6.2 15.1 9.6 9.2 8.6 10.3

Norfolk County 15 14 7.4 12.4 9.7 9.8 9.0 9.9

Plymouth County 29 29 5.8 12.6 9.1 9.4 8.4 9.8

Suffolk County 23 11 6.7 9.8 8.8 8.9 8.5 9.6

Total 85 71 5.8 15.1 9.4 9.6 8.6 9.9

March 2–4, 2018, nor'easter

Maine2 6 6 7.6 11.4 7.8 8.4 7.7 8.0

New Hampshire3 13 13 5.3 9.7 7.6 7.6 6.9 8.1

Massachusetts:

Barnstable County 15 14 4.3 13.5 9.2 9.2 8.6 10.0

Essex County 9 9 5.8 15.1 8.5 8.0 7.4 8.3

Norfolk County 12 11 8.3 13.5 10.1 9.7 9.2 10.6

Plymouth County 30 30 6.7 14.2 9.1 9.0 8.0 9.5

Suffolk County 20 18 7.0 11.6 8.6 8.6 7.8 9.0

Total 86 82 4.3 15.1 8.9 9.1 8.1 9.7

Portland, Maine, south to Cape Cod, 

Massachusetts4

114 100 5.3 15.1 8.9 8.6 7.8 9.6

Rhode Island5 2 2 3.7 5.4 4.6 4.6 4.1 5.0

Connecticut6 8 8 3.1 7.5 4.7 5.1 3.6 6.7

Southern coastline of New England 

(Connecticut, Rhode Island, and southern side of Cape Cod)7

11 11 3.1 7.5 4.3 4.9 3.7 6.0

1Information on the location, type, accuracy, and elevation of individual high-water marks is available at U.S. Geological Survey (2019b, c).

2Maine HWM sites are in York County (three sites), Cumberland County (one site), Sagadahoc County (one site), and Waldo County (one site).

3New Hampshire HWM sites are all in Rockingham County (13 sites).

4Excludes one site from Barnstable County, which is on the southern side of Cape Cod.

5Rhode Island HWM sites are in Kent County (one site) and Bristol County (one site).

6Connecticut HWM sites are in Fairfield County (three sites), New Haven County (two sites), New London County (two sites), and Middlesex County 

(one site).

7Includes one site from Barnstable County, which is on the southern side of Cape Cod.
Total Water Level Data 25

Table 6. Summary of total water level elevations at tide gages and coastal streamgages affected by storm tides or tidal backwater 

during the January and March 2018 nor’easters in New England.

[Station numbers (nos.) and descriptions of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers (USACE) tide gages and coastal streamgages affected by storm tides or tidal backwater are listed in table 1 and locations are shown on figure 1. 

Data for USGS tide gages and coastal streamgages are from U.S. Geological Survey (2019d); for NOAA tide gages, from National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (2019e); and for USACE tide gages, from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2019). ft, foot; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 

1988; MLLW, mean lower-low water; NGVD 29, National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929; Rt., Route; St., Street; Ave., Avenue; CT, Connecticut; MA, 

Massachusetts; ME, Maine; RI, Rhode Island; —, no data or backwater from tide could not be determined]

Station 

no.

Station name

January 2018 nor'easter March 2018 nor'easter

Date Time

Highest total water 

level elevation, 

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Date Time

Highest total water 

level elevation, 

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Maine (sites north of Portland)

1 St. Croix River at Calais, ME 1/4/2018 12:18 14.77 3/2/2018 11:00 14.80

2 Eastport, ME 1/4/2018 12:18 13.46 3/2/2018 10:54 13.17

3 Cutler Farris Wharf, ME 1/4/2018 12:18 11.06 3/2/2018 10:42 10.30

4 Penobscot River at Bangor, ME 1/4/2018 12:30 10.571 3/2/2018 10:36 11.18

5 Kennebec River at Calumet Bridge at 

Augusta, ME

1/4/2018 16:42 4.77 3/2/2018 17:00 5.16

6 Kennebec River at Hallowell, ME — — — 3/3/2018 15:48 7.15

7 Kennebec River at Gardiner, ME 1/4/2018 16:15 6.17 3/3/2018 15:15 6.82

Minimum 4.77 5.16

Maximum 14.77 14.80

Median 10.82 10.30

Average 10.13 9.80

Maine (sites from Portland south)

8 Portland, ME 1/4/2018 12:30 8.42 3/2/2018 11:12 7.91

9 Saco River at Camp Ellis near Saco, 

Maine

1/4/2018 12:36 8.10 3/2/2018 11:30 7.81

10 Wells, ME 1/4/2018 12:48 8.22 3/2/2018 11:30 7.76

Minimum 8.10 7.76

Maximum 8.42 7.91

Median 8.22 7.81

Average 8.25 7.83

Massachusetts (sites on eastern coastline and Cape Cod Bay)

11 Merrimack River, 0.3 mi upstream 

Rt. 125, at Haverhill, MA

1/4/2018 15:00 8.48 3/2/2018 13:30 9.56

12 Merrimack River at Newburyport, MA 1/4/2018 13:15 8.43 3/3/2018 12:45 8.32

13 Saugus River at Saugus Ironworks at 

Saugus, MA

1/4/2018 13:30 8.90 — — —2

14 Mystic River at Amelia Earhart Dam near 

Somerville, MA

1/4/2018 12:45 9.743 3/2/2018 11:30 9.013

15 Charles River, New Charles River Dam at 

Boston, MA

1/4/2018 12:45 9.634 3/2/2018 11:15 9.194

16 Boston, MA 1/4/2018 12:42 9.65 3/2/2018 11:12 9.16

17 Neponset River at Milton Village, MA 1/4/2018 13:00 9.88 3/2/2018 11:15 9.67

18 Town Brook at Quincy, MA 1/4/2018 13:00 9.85 3/2/2018 11:30 10.15

19 Monatiquot River at East Braintree, MA — — — 3/2/2018 11:15 9.48
26 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

Table 6. Summary of total water level elevations at tide gages and coastal streamgages affected by storm tides or tidal backwater 

during the January and March 2018 nor’easters in New England.—Continued

[Station numbers (nos.) and descriptions of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers (USACE) tide gages and coastal streamgages affected by storm tides or tidal backwater are listed in table 1 and locations are shown on figure 1. 

Data for USGS tide gages and coastal streamgages are from U.S. Geological Survey (2019d); for NOAA tide gages, from National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (2019e); and for USACE tide gages, from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2019). ft, foot; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 

1988; MLLW, mean lower-low water; NGVD 29, National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929; Rt., Route; St., Street; Ave., Avenue; CT, Connecticut; MA, 

Massachusetts; ME, Maine; RI, Rhode Island; —, no data or backwater from tide could not be determined]

Station 

no.

Station name

January 2018 nor'easter March 2018 nor'easter

Date Time

Highest total water 

level elevation, 

in feet above 

NAVD88

Date Time

Highest total water 

level elevation, 

in feet above 

NAVD88

Massachusetts (sites on eastern coastline and Cape Cod Bay)—Continued

20 Indian Head River at Hanover, MA 1/4/2018 18:30 4.83 — — —2

21 Jones River at Kingston, MA 1/4/2018 13:30 9.79 3/2/2018 11:45 9.635

22 Eel River at Rt. 3A near Plymouth, MA 1/4/2018 13:00 11.17 3/2/2018 12:00 10.766

23 Sesuit Harbor Tide Gage at Dennis, MA 1/4/2018 13:15 10.34 3/2/2018 23:45 9.40

24 Herring River at Chequessett Neck Road 

at Wellfleet, MA

1/4/2018 13:00 9.76 3/2/2018 11:30 8.73

25 Provincetown Tide Gage, Provincetown, 

MA

1/4/2018 12:45 9.77 3/2/2018 11:45 8.87

Minimum 4.83 8.32

Maximum 11.17 10.76

Median 9.75 9.40

Average 9.30 9.38

Portland, Maine south to Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts (station nos. 8–25)

Minimum 4.83 7.76

Maximum 11.17 10.76

Median 9.65 9.18

Average 9.12 9.09

Massachusetts (sites on southern coastline)

26 Popponesset Bay, Mashpee Neck Road, 

near Mashpee, MA

1/4/2018 14:00 4.08 3/2/2018 13:15 4.49

27 Quashnet River at Waquiot Village, MA 1/4/2018 14:00 2.92 3/2/2018 13:30 2.867

28 Woods Hole, MA 1/4/2018 09:36 3.40 3/3/2018 09:18 3.73

29 New Bedford Hurricane Barrier, New 

Bedford, MA

1/4/2018 09:30 4.03 3/3/2018 08:30 4.71

30 Fall River, MA 1/4/2018 09:36 4.35 3/3/2018 09:00 5.11

Minimum 2.92 2.86

Maximum 4.35 5.11

Median 4.03 4.49
Total Water Level Data 27

Table 6. Summary of total water level elevations at tide gages and coastal streamgages affected by storm tides or tidal backwater 

during the January and March 2018 nor’easters in New England.—Continued

[Station numbers (nos.) and descriptions of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers (USACE) tide gages and coastal streamgages affected by storm tides or tidal backwater are listed in table 1 and locations are shown on figure 1. 

Data for USGS tide gages and coastal streamgages are from U.S. Geological Survey (2019d); for NOAA tide gages, from National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (2019e); and for USACE tide gages, from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2019). ft, foot; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 

1988; MLLW, mean lower-low water; NGVD 29, National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929; Rt., Route; St., Street; Ave., Avenue; CT, Connecticut; MA, 

Massachusetts; ME, Maine; RI, Rhode Island; —, no data or backwater from tide could not be determined]

Station 

no.

Station name

January 2018 nor'easter March 2018 nor'easter

Date Time

Highest total water 

level elevation, 

in feet above 

NAVD88

Date Time

Highest total water 

level elevation, 

in feet above 

NAVD88

Average 3.76 4.18

Rhode Island

31 Newport, RI 1/4/2018 09:36 4.28 3/3/2018 20:48 4.01

32 Providence, RI 1/4/2018 09:42 4.21 3/3/2018 21:06 5.29

33 Pawcatuck River at Westerly, RI — — —2 3/2/2018 09:30 4.06

34 Watch Hill Cove Tide Gage Westerly, RI 1/4/2018 10:30 3.29 3/3/2018 22:15 3.66

Minimum 3.29 3.66

Maximum 4.28 5.29

Median 4.21 4.04

Average 3.93 4.26

Connecticut

35 New London, Thames River, CT 1/4/2018 11:06 3.31 3/3/2018 22:42 3.68

36 Connecticut River at Essex, CT 1/4/2018 12:30 3.10 3/4/2018 00:25 4.41

37 Connecticut River at Old Lyme, CT 1/4/2018 12:10 3.50 3/4/2018 00:10 4.34

38 Connecticut River near Bridge St. near 

Old Saybrook, CT

1/4/2018 12:00 4.04 3/3/2018 23:54 4.54

39 Bridgeport, CT 1/4/2018 12:18 5.79 3/2/2018 11:24 6.45

40 Saugatuck River at Rt. 1 at Westport, CT 1/4/2018 12:42 5.92 3/2/2018 11:42 6.79

41 Stamford Hurricane Barrier, Stamford, CT 1/4/2018 12:30 6.16 3/2/2018 11:30 6.90

42 Greenwich Harbor at Grass Island at 

Greenwich, CT

1/4/2018 12:18 6.46 3/2/2018 11:54 6.95

Minimum 3.10 3.68

Maximum 6.46 6.95

Median 4.92 5.50

Average 4.78 5.51

1There was a total water level elevation higher on January 3, 2018, but this is not associated with the January 4, 2018, nor'easter.

2The total water level is not reported since there is either no tidal backwater (that is, all freshwater runoff) or the total water level is mainly from freshwater runoff.

3The total water level reported is for at tide gage on the “ocean side” or “downstream side” of the Amelia Earhart Dam locks. There is also a stage recorded 

on the “river side” or “upstream side” of the Amelia Earhart Dam locks, but this is not reported since it is the stage of the Mystic River.

4The total water level reported is for at tide gage on the “ocean side” or “downstream side” of the new Charles River Dam locks. There is also a stage 

recorded on the “river side” or “upstream side” of the new Charles River Dam locks, but this is not reported since it is the stage of the Charles River.

5There was a total water level elevation higher on Marth 4, 2018, but this total water level is mainly affected by freshwater runoff.

6There was a total water level elevation higher on March 3, 2018, but this total water level is mainly affected by freshwater runoff.

7Peak total water level elevation is from crest-stage gage reading because streamgage was not operational.
28 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

March 2018 Total Water Level Elevations

Following the March 2018 nor’easter, 115 HWMs were 

flagged along the New England coastline, but only 113 HWMs 

were recovered; the remaining 2 HWMs had been destroyed 

(table 4). Of the 113 HWMs surveyed, 111 HWMs (fig. 4; 

U.S. Geological Survey, 2019c) were determined to be useable, and 2 HWMs (table 4) were not used because their total 

water level elevations were deemed to be inaccurate. One 

HWM had an elevation substantially lower (at least 4 to 5 ft) 

than elevations at nearby HWMs and tide gages, and the other 

HWM had an elevation substantially higher (at least 4 to 6 ft) 

than elevations at nearby HWMs and tide gages. Review of 

field notes and photographs during flagging of these HWMs 

also aided in determining if they were not accurate.

The 82 HWMs primarily along the eastern coastline of 

Massachusetts (and one location on the southern coastline 

of Cape Cod; fig. 4A) had total water level elevations that 

ranged from 4.3 to 15.1 ft, with an average elevation of 8.9 ft 

and a median elevation of 9.1 ft (table 5). Fifty percent of the 

HWMs had elevations between 8.1 and 9.7 ft. In four of the 

five counties the median HWM elevations were fairly similar, 

ranging from 8.6 to 9.7 ft. The 13 HWMs along the coastline 

of New Hampshire (fig. 4B) had elevations ranging from 5.3 to 

9.7 ft, with an average elevation of 7.6 ft and a median elevation of 7.6 ft (table 5). The 6 HWMs along the coastline of 

Maine (fig. 4B) had elevations that ranged from 7.6 to 11.4 ft, 

with an average elevation of 7.8 ft and a median elevation of 

8.4 ft (table 5). The average and median HWM elevations of 

New Hampshire and Maine are fairly similar to those at Essex 

County (north of Boston) in Massachusetts (within 1.0 ft), 

to the south of the New Hampshire and Maine sites. These 

100 HWMs along the eastern coastline of New England from 

Portland to Cape Cod (excluding the one HWM on the southern side of Cape Cod facing Nantucket Sound in Barnstable 

County) had elevations that ranged from 5.3 to 15.1 ft, with an 

average of 8.9 ft and a median of 8.6 ft (table 5). The remaining 11 HWMs along the southern coastline of New England 

in Connecticut (8 HWMs; fig. 4C), Rhode Island (2 HWMs; 

fig. 4A), and Massachusetts (1 HWM on the southern side 

of Cape Cod facing Nantucket Sound in Barnstable County; 

fig. 4A) had elevations that ranged from 3.1 to 7.5 ft, with an 

average of 4.3 ft and a median of 4.9 ft. The HWMs along the 

easterly or northerly facing coastline of Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, and Maine had average and median elevations 

that were notably higher (4.6 and 3.7 ft, respectively) than the 

HWM elevations in Rhode Island and Connecticut along the 

southern coastline of New England. As was the case for the 

January 2018 nor’easter, the total water level elevations at the 

HWMs for the March 2018 nor’easter (fig. 4; table 5) show a 

wide range, but generally were higher at locations that were 

directly exposed to waves, wave runup, wave setup, and surge 

from the ocean. The lower elevations tended to be at locations 

that were protected from the ocean or further up a tidal river.

For coastal areas of eastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod 

Bay and from Portland south to the New Hampshire border, 

peak total water level elevations for the March 2018 nor’easter 

at 10 tide gages and 6 coastal streamgages (fig. 1; table 1) 

ranged from 7.8 to 10.8 ft, with an average elevation of 9.1 ft 

and a median elevation of 9.2 ft (table 6). These elevations 

are similar to elevations of nearby HWMs (table 5). The tide 

gages and coastal streamgages also had higher total water 

level elevations in areas close to the ocean, and lower elevations were in protected harbors or up tidally affected rivers 

further from the coast.

The southern New England sites (southern coastal sites of 

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut) generally have 

lower elevations than the eastern coastal sites since the storm 

winds are from the northeast and east (table 6). The coastal 

sites north of Portland generally have higher total water level 

elevations than sites from Portland south because of the effect 

of the Bay of Fundy, which has the highest tides in the world 

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2018c).

For the March 2018 nor’easter, 35 USGS temporary 

water-level sensors were deployed along the Maine, New 

Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut coasts (fig. 1; 

table 2). Of the 35 temporary water-level sensors, 12 were 

deployed in Connecticut; 14, in Massachusetts; 2, in New 

Hampshire; and 7, in Maine (table 7). Two sites (one in 

Massachusetts and one in Maine) malfunctioned and did not 

record any data. For the 19 temporary storm-tide sensors along 

the eastern coastline from Portland to Cape Cod Bay (stations 

46 to 65, station 57 recorded no data), the filtered peak total 

water level elevations ranged from 6.2 to 10.4 ft, with an average of 8.5 ft and a median of 8.7 ft (table 7). The peak filtered 

elevations were also compared with HWMs obtained near the 

temporary water-level sensors, and averages and medians were 

similar. The average and median filtered peak elevations at the 

temporary water-level sensors were similar to all HWMs collected along the coastline (table 5) and to the peak elevations 

at the tide gages and coastal streamgages (table 6).

Comparison of January and March 2018 Total 

Water Level Elevations

A direct comparison of the January and March 2018 

nor’easter total water level data along the eastern New 

England coastline from Portland to Cape Cod Bay was made 

with data from the tide gages, coastal streamgages, and HWM 

locations where data exist for both nor’easters. Ten tide 

gages and five coastal streamgages had recorded peak total 

water level elevations for both the January and March 2018 

nor’easters; the peak total water level elevations ranged from 

8.1 to 11.2 ft for the January nor’easter and from 7.8 to 10.8 ft 

for the March nor’easter (fig. 6). Average elevations for the 

January and March nor’easters were 9.4 and 9.1 ft, respectively, and medians were 9.7 and 9.2 ft, respectively. Thus, for 

the January nor’easter, average and median total water level 

elevations were about 0.3 to 0.5 ft higher, respectively, than 

for the March nor’easter.
Total Water Level Data 29

Table 7. Summary of total water level elevations at U.S. Geological Survey temporary storm-tide sensors during the March 2–4, 2018, 

nor’easter in New England.

[Station numbers (nos.) and descriptions of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) temporary water-level sensors are listed in table 2 and locations are shown on 

figure 1. HWM, high-water mark; STN, short-term network; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 1988; ft, foot; ID, identifier; St., Street; Rd., Road; 

Rt., Route; Ln., Lane; Dr., Drive; CT, Connecticut; MA, Massachusetts; ME, Maine; NH, New Hampshire; —, no data]

Station 

no.

USGS STN site name

Lowpass filtered highest 

total water level Nearby HWM

Date Time

Elevation, 

in ft above 

NAVD 88

USGS 

STN ID1

Elevation,2

in ft above 

NAVD 88

Quality3

Maine

43 Passagassawakeag River, town dock at end of Main St. 

behind Weathervane Restaurant, Belfast, ME

3/3/2018 16:40:00 8.17 27205 8.1 Fair

44 Fort Popham, Popham Rd., across from Fort Popham State 

Historical site, Phippsburg, ME

3/2/2018 16:21:00 7.36 27209 7.6 Fair

45 Androscoggin River, Water St. boat ramp west of railroad 

bridge and Rt. 196 bridge, Brunswick, ME

3/3/2018 19:36:00 6.93 — — —

46 Stevens Brook, north side of Ocean Ave. at Moody Point, 

Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Wells, ME

3/2/2018 13:03:14 7.07 — — —

47 Stevens Brook, north side of Furbish Rd., Rachel Carson 

National Wildlife Refuge, Wells, ME

3/2/2018 13:01:02 6.23 — — —

48 Stevens Brook, south side of Furbish Rd., Rachel Carson 

National Wildlife Refuge, Wells, ME

3/2/2018 12:11:08 7.19 — — —

49 Ogunquit River, near end of Ocean St., Rachel Carson 

National Wildlife Refuge, Wells, ME

3/2/2018 11:38:04 8.27 — — —

Minimum 6.23 7.6

Maximum 8.27 8.1

Median 7.19 7.8

Average 7.32 7.8

New Hampshire (sites listed north to south)

50 Hampton Harbor, Rt. 101 at Tide Mill Brook, 

Hampton, NH

3/3/2018 12:47:16 7.42 27227 7.4 Fair

51 Hampton Harbor at Rt. 1A, Hampton, NH 3/2/2018 11:54:45 7.83 27226 8.6 Fair

Minimum 7.42 7.4

Maximum 7.83 8.6

Median 7.62 8.0

Average 7.62 8.0

Massachusetts (sites on eastern coastline and Cape Cod Bay and listed north to south)

52 Ipswich River boat ramp, East St., Ipswich, MA 3/2/2018 11:26:25 8.91 28200 6.8 —

53 Rockport Harbor, T Wharf, Rockport, MA 3/2/2018 11:16:26 8.27 — — —

54 Salem Harbor, Salem Maritime National Historic Site, 

Derby Wharf, Derby St., Salem, MA

3/2/2018 16:06:44 8.42 28211 7.4 Good

55 Broad Sound, Lynn Heritage State Park, Rt. 1A/Lynnway, 

Lynn, MA

3/2/2018 11:13:32 8.70 — — —

56 Chelsea River, Condor Street Beach I, Condor St., 

Boston, MA

3/2/2018 06:26:06 8.87 28235 8.4 Fair

57 Neponset River, at entrance to Pope John Paul II Park, 

Taylor St., Boston, MA

— — — 28234 9.8 Fair

58 Quincy Bay, Bayside Rd., and Border St., Quincy, MA 3/3/2018 00:17:07 9.81 28233 9.3 Fair
30 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

Table 7. Summary of total water level elevations at U.S. Geological Survey temporary storm-tide sensors during the March 2–4, 2018, 

nor’easter in New England.—Continued

[Station numbers (nos.) and descriptions of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) temporary water-level sensors are listed in table 2 and locations are shown on 

figure 1. HWM, high-water mark; STN, short-term network; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 1988; ft, foot; ID, identifier; St., Street; Rd., Road; 

Rt., Route; Ln., Lane; Dr., Drive; CT, Connecticut; MA, Massachusetts; ME, Maine; NH, New Hampshire; —, no data]

Station 

no.

USGS STN site name

Lowpass filtered highest 

total water level Nearby HWM

Date Time

Elevation, 

in ft above 

NAVD 88

USGS 

STN ID1

Elevation,2

in ft above 

NAVD 88

Quality3

Massachusetts (sites on eastern coastline and Cape Cod Bay and listed north to south)—Continued

59 Cohasset Harbor, boat ramp and pier, Lighthouse Ln., 

Cohasset, MA

3/2/2018 16:25:33 8.68 27718 9.1 Fair

60 Scituate Harbor, boat ramp and pier, Jericho Rd., Scituate, 

MA

3/2/2018 11:32:24 8.93 27720 9.3 Fair

61 Green Harbor, boat ramp and dock, Town Pier Rd. and 

Central St., Marshfield, MA

3/2/2018 18:53:58 8.78 27723 8.6 Fair

62 Kingston Bay, boat ramp, Brick Kiln Rd., Plymouth, MA 3/2/2018 11:36:19 9.11 28224 9.7 Good

63 Scorton Creek, Rt. 6A west of Fort Hill Rd., Sandwich, 

MA

3/2/2018 12:46:18 9.54 28232 8.5 Fair

64 Barnstable Harbor, boat dock, Millway Rd., Barnstable, 

MA

3/2/2018 18:49:37 10.38 28230 10.1 Good

65 Rock Harbor, boat ramp and dock, Bayview Dr., Orleans, 

MA

3/2/2018 23:54:21 9.34 28228 8.6 Excellent

Minimum 8.27 6.8

Maximum 10.38 10.1

Median 8.91 8.8

Average 9.06 8.8

Portland, Maine south to Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts (station nos. 46–65)

Minimum 6.23 6.8

Maximum 10.38 10.1

Median 8.70 8.6

Average 8.51 8.7

Connecticut (sites listed east to west)

66 Stonington Harbor, dock off of Water St., opposite Wall St., 

Stonington, CT

3/3/2018 22:11:17 3.52 — — —

67 Poquonuck River Bluff Point, dike at end of Depot Rd., 

Groton, CT

3/3/2018 22:55:47 3.34 28201 3.2 Good

68 Niantic Bay, Attawan Beach area, Shore Rd., Niantic, CT 3/3/2018 23:07:34 3.73 — — —

69 Hawks Nest Beach, West End Dr., Old Lyme, CT 3/3/2018 23:33:21 4.21 — — —

70 Back River, downstream of Rt. 154 bridge, Old Saybrook, 

CT

3/4/2018 00:33:53 3.98 28023 4.1 Good

71 Clinton Harbor, Cedar Island Marina, Riverside Dr., 

Clinton, CT

3/4/2018 00:25:19 4.94 — — —

72 East River, boat launch at end of Old Post Rd., 

Madison, CT

3/3/2018 13:16:12 4.87 28296 3.7 Good

73 West River, downstream side of Rt. 146 bridge, Guilford, 

CT

3/3/2018 19:47:45 5.30 28295 5.4 Good

74 Branford Point Pier, end of Harbor St., Branford, CT 3/2/2018 11:27:58 5.89 — — —

75 Cosey Beach, Caroline Rd., East Haven, CT 3/2/2018 11:03:59 5.96 — — —
Total Water Level Data 31

Table 7. Summary of total water level elevations at U.S. Geological Survey temporary storm-tide sensors during the March 2–4, 2018, 

nor’easter in New England.—Continued

[Station numbers (nos.) and descriptions of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) temporary water-level sensors are listed in table 2 and locations are shown on 

figure 1. HWM, high-water mark; STN, short-term network; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 1988; ft, foot; ID, identifier; St., Street; Rd., Road; 

Rt., Route; Ln., Lane; Dr., Drive; CT, Connecticut; MA, Massachusetts; ME, Maine; NH, New Hampshire; —, no data]

Station 

no.

USGS STN site name

Lowpass filtered highest 

total water level Nearby HWM

Date Time

Elevation, 

in ft above 

NAVD 88

USGS 

STN ID1

Elevation,2

in ft above 

NAVD 88

Quality3

Connecticut (sites listed east to west)—Continued

76 Norwalk River, Norwalk Maritime Aquarium public dock, 

Fairfield, CT

3/2/2018 11:08:36 6.87 27700 7.0 Good

77 Public dock on Grass Island Rd., Belle Haven, Greenwich, 

CT

3/2/2018 16:08:30 7.08 28204 7.5 Fair

Minimum 3.34 3.2

Maximum 7.08 7.5

Median 4.91 4.7

Average 4.97 5.1

1USGS high-water mark number from U.S. Geological Survey (2019c).

2USGS high-water mark elevations are only reported to the tenth of a foot.

3See table 3 for HWM quality rating information.

0

2

6

8

10

12

14

4

16

Total water level, in ft above NAVD 88

January 2018 

tide gages and 

coastal

streamgages

March 2018 

tide gages

and 

coastal

streamgages

January 2018

high-water

marks

March 2018

high-water

marks

n=15 n=52 n=15 n=52

75th percentile

Mean value

Interquartile

range

50th percentile

(median)

25th percentile

Largest value within

1.5 times the interquartile

range above 75th percentile

Smallest value within

1.5 times the interquartile

range below 25th percentile

Outside value greater than

1.5 times, and less than 3

times the interquartile

range beyond either end

of the box

EXPLANATION

n=15 Number of samples

Figure 6. Total water level elevations at 10 tide gages and 5 coastal streamgages affected tidally or by tidal backwater, and 

52 high-water mark locations with data for both the January and March 2018 nor’easters from Portland, Maine to Cape Cod Bay, 

Massachusetts. ft, foot; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 1988.
32 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

At the 52 HWM locations with data for both the January 

and March 2018 nor’easters in Massachusetts (the only State 

with January HWMs), elevations for both events ranged from 

5.8 to 15.1 ft (fig. 6). Average HWM elevations for the January 

and March nor’easters were 9.3 and 9.2 ft, respectively, and 

medians were 9.3 and 8.9 ft, respectively. Thus, the January 

nor’easter had average and median HWM elevations that were 

0.1 and 0.4 ft higher, respectively, than the March nor’easter.

Comparison of Observed and Predicted Total 

Water Level Elevations

The observed peak total water level data at 26 tide 

gages along the New England coastline with data for both 

2018 nor’easters were compared with the concurrent NOAApredicted total water level data for those locations (table 8). 

The difference between the observed and predicted total water 

level elevations for the Boston and Portland NOAA tide gages 

are shown in fig. 2A–D. The difference between the observed 

and predicted total water level is defined as storm surge 

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2019g). 

For this study, only the storm surge at the peak total water 

level was examined. It is possible that at a lower total water 

level, the storm surge may have been higher.

For 10 tide gages along the eastern New England coastline from Portland to Cape Cod Bay, the observed peak total 

water level elevations for the January 4 nor’easter ranged from 

about 1.6 to 3.7 ft higher than the concurrent predicted elevations, with an average of 2.8 ft and a median of 3.0 ft higher 

(table 8). For the March 2–4 nor’easter, the observed peak 

total water level elevation ranged from 1.8 to 4.0 ft higher than 

the concurrent predicted elevation, with an average of 2.7 ft 

and a median of 3.0 ft higher. These differences between the 

observed and predicted peak total water level elevations are 

approximately the amount of storm surge that was experienced during the highest total water level elevations of the two 

nor’easters along the coast from Portland to Cape Cod Bay.

A comparison of observed and predicted peak total water 

level elevations of the January and March 2018 nor’easters 

at three tide gages north of Portland showed that median 

differences in observed elevations for the two storms were 

1.7 ft and 1.4 ft higher, respectively than the predicted elevations (table 8). For the southern coastline of New England, 

the median differences of the observed peak total water level 

elevations at tide gages in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and 

Massachusetts for the January nor’easter were about 1.6, 

1.7, and 1.6 ft higher, respectively, and for the March 2018 

nor’easter, 2.6, 2.1, and 2.5 ft higher, respectively, than the 

corresponding predicted high tide. This is approximately 

the amount of storm surge that was experienced during the 

highest total water level elevations of the January and March 

nor’easters along the coastline north of Portland and the southern coastline of New England.

Uses of Data

This report documents total water level elevations 

in the coastal areas of New England from the January 

and March 2018 nor’easters. The location and elevation of the HWMs, tide gages, coastal streamgages, and 

temporary water-level sensors used to measure the total 

water level elevations from the two nor’easter are available from the USGS (https://stn.wim.usgs.gov/fev/), 

NOAA (https://www.co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/), and USACE 

(https://reservoircontrol.usace.army.mil/). These data are 

needed by emergency managers to delineate coastal areas 

likely to be flooded and to evaluate the extent of such flooding. Federal, State, and local government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, universities, and the public can use 

these data for land-use planning, flood risk, flood resiliency, 

and coastal modeling. These entities can use these data to 

make more informed decisions regarding the management and 

development of coastal areas shown to be affected by ocean 

storms within the coastal environment.
Total Water Level Data 33

Table 8. Approximate storm surge at 26 tide gages during the January and March 2018 nor'easters in New England.

[Storm surge is the difference between the observed and predicted peak total water level elevation. Station numbers (nos.) and descriptions of U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) tide gages are listed in table 1 and 

locations are shown on figure 1. Observed total water level elevation USGS tide gages and coastal streamgages are from U.S. Geological Survey (2019d); for 

NOAA tide gages, from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2019e); and for USACE tide gages, from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2019). 

Predicted total water level elevation data for USGS and USACE tide gages are from corresponding NOAA tide gages listed in table 1. Predicted total water level 

elevation data for NOAA tide gages are from the same stations are the observed total water level elevation data. ft, foot; NAVD 88, North American Vertical 

Datum of 1988; St., Street; MA, Massachusetts; ME, Maine; RI, Rhode Island; CT, Connecticut]

Station 

no.

USGS, NOAA, and USACE 

station name

January 2018 nor'easter March 2018 nor'easter

Observed 

highest total 

water level 

elevation, 

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Predicted concurrent total 

water level 

elevation,1

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Approximate storm 

surge,2 in 

feet above 

NAVD 88

Observed 

highest total 

water level 

elevation, 

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Predicted concurrent total 

water level 

elevation,1

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Approximate 

storm surge,2

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Maine (sites north of Portland)

1 St. Croix River at Calais, ME 14.77 12.78 1.99 14.80 12.22 2.58

2 Eastport, ME 13.46 12.37 1.09 13.17 11.89 1.28

3 Cutler Farris Wharf, ME 11.06 9.33 1.73 10.30 8.90 1.40

Minimum 1.09 1.28

Maximum 1.99 2.58

Median 1.73 1.40

Average 1.60 1.75

Maine (sites from Portland south)

8 Portland, ME 8.42 6.36 2.06 7.91 5.95 1.96

9 Saco River at Camp Ellis near 

Saco, Maine

8.10 6.47 1.63 7.81 5.96 1.85

10 Wells, ME 8.22 6.24 1.98 7.76 5.86 1.90

Minimum 1.63 1.85

Maximum 2.06 1.96

Median 1.98 1.90

Average 1.89 1.90

Massachusetts (sites on eastern coastline and Cape Cod Bay)

12 Merrimack River at 

Newburyport, MA

8.43 5.91 2.52 8.32 5.20 3.12

14 Mystic River at Amelia Earhart 

Dam near Somerville, MA

9.74 6.54 3.20 9.01 5.98 3.03

15 Charles River, New Charles 

River Dam at Boston, MA

9.63 6.55 3.08 9.19 6.14 3.05

16 Boston, MA 9.65 6.56 3.09 9.16 6.15 3.01

23 Sesuit Harbor Tide Gage at 

Dennis, MA

10.34 6.67 3.67 9.40 5.45 3.95

24 Herring River at Chequessett 

Neck Road at Wellfleet, MA

9.76 6.88 2.88 8.73 6.44 2.29

25 Provincetown Tide Gage, 

Provincetown, MA

9.77 6.10 3.67 8.87 5.73 3.14

Minimum 2.52 2.29

Maximum 3.67 3.95

Median 3.09 3.05

Average 3.16 3.08
34 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

Table 8. Approximate storm surge at 26 tide gages during the January and March 2018 nor'easters in New England.—Continued

[Storm surge is the difference between the observed and predicted peak total water level elevation. Station numbers (nos.) and descriptions of U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) tide gages are listed in table 1 and 

locations are shown on figure 1. Observed total water level elevation USGS tide gages and coastal streamgages are from U.S. Geological Survey (2019d); for 

NOAA tide gages, from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2019e); and for USACE tide gages, from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2019). 

Predicted total water level elevation data for USGS and USACE tide gages are from corresponding NOAA tide gages listed in table 1. Predicted total water level 

elevation data for NOAA tide gages are from the same stations are the observed total water level elevation data. ft, foot; NAVD 88, North American Vertical 

Datum of 1988; St., Street; MA, Massachusetts; ME, Maine; RI, Rhode Island; CT, Connecticut]

Station 

no.

USGS, NOAA, and USACE 

station name

January 2018 nor'easter March 2018 nor'easter

Observed 

highest total 

water level 

elevation, 

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Predicted concurrent total 

water level 

elevation,1

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Approximate 

storm 

surge,2 in 

feet above 

NAVD 88

Observed 

highest total 

water level 

elevation, 

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Predicted concurrent total 

water level 

elevation,1

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Approximate 

storm surge,2

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Portland, Maine south to Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts (station nos. 8–10, 12, 14–16, and 23–25)

Minimum 1.63 1.85

Maximum 3.67 3.95

Median 2.98 3.02

Average 2.78 2.73

Massachusetts (sites on southern coastline)

26 Popponesset Bay, Mashpee Neck 

Road, near Mashpee, MA

4.08 1.00 3.08 4.49 0.90 3.59

28 Woods Hole, MA 3.40 1.41 1.99 3.73 0.97 2.76

29 New Bedford Hurricane Barrier, 

New Bedford, MA

4.03 2.82 1.21 4.71 2.49 2.22

30 Fall River, MA 4.35 3.31 1.04 5.11 2.97 2.14

Minimum 1.04 2.14

Maximum 3.08 3.59

Median 1.60 2.49

Average 1.83 2.68

Rhode Island

31 Newport, RI 4.28 2.54 1.74 4.01 2.31 1.70

32 Providence, RI 4.21 3.48 0.73 5.29 3.20 2.09

34 Watch Hill Cove Tide Gage 

Westerly, RI

3.29 1.57 1.72 3.66 1.40 2.26

Minimum 0.73 1.70

Maximum 1.74 2.26

Median 1.72 2.09

Average 1.40 2.02

Connecticut

35 New London, Thames River, CT 3.31 1.48 1.83 3.68 1.23 2.45

36 Connecticut River at Essex, CT 3.10 2.02 1.08 4.41 1.73 2.68

37 Connecticut River at Old Lyme, 

CT

3.50 2.12 1.38 4.34 1.80 2.54

38 Connecticut River near Bridge 

St. near Old Saybrook, CT

4.04 1.96 2.08 4.54 1.65 2.89

39 Bridgeport, CT 5.79 4.17 1.62 6.45 4.06 2.39

40 Saugatuck River at Route 1 at 

Westport, CT

5.92 4.40 1.52 6.79 4.23 2.56
Total Water Level Data 35

Table 8. Approximate storm surge at 26 tide gages during the January and March 2018 nor'easters in New England.—Continued

[Storm surge is the difference between the observed and predicted peak total water level elevation. Station numbers (nos.) and descriptions of U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) tide gages are listed in table 1 and 

locations are shown on figure 1. Observed total water level elevation USGS tide gages and coastal streamgages are from U.S. Geological Survey (2019d); for 

NOAA tide gages, from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2019e); and for USACE tide gages, from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2019). 

Predicted total water level elevation data for USGS and USACE tide gages are from corresponding NOAA tide gages listed in table 1. Predicted total water level 

elevation data for NOAA tide gages are from the same stations are the observed total water level elevation data. ft, foot; NAVD 88, North American Vertical 

Datum of 1988; St., Street; MA, Massachusetts; ME, Maine; RI, Rhode Island; CT, Connecticut]

Station 

no.

USGS, NOAA, and USACE 

station name

January 2018 nor'easter March 2018 nor'easter

Observed 

highest total 

water level 

elevation, 

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Predicted concurrent total 

water level 

elevation,1

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Approximate 

storm 

surge,2 in 

feet above 

NAVD 88

Observed 

highest total 

water level 

elevation, 

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Predicted concurrent total 

water level 

elevation,1

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Approximate 

storm surge,2

in feet above 

NAVD 88

Connecticut—Continued

41 Stamford Hurricane Barrier, 

Stamford, CT

6.16 4.67 1.49 6.90 4.48 2.42

42 Greenwich Harbor at Grass 

Island at Greenwich, CT

6.46 4.48 1.98 6.95 4.28 2.67

Minimum 1.08 2.39

Maximum 2.08 2.89

Median 1.57 2.55

Average 1.62 2.58

1The predicted peak total water level elevations at NOAA stations are available from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2019f) at the mean 

lower low water datum. NOAA provides conversion of mean lower low water datum elevation to the North American Datum of 1988 or the conversion was 

done using the NOAA online VDatum program (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2019f).

2Difference between observed highest and predicted total water level elevations.

3The total water level reported is for a tide gage on the “ocean side” or “downstream side” of the Amelia Earhart Dam locks. There is also a stage recorded 

on the “river side” or “upstream side” of the Amelia Earhart Dam locks, but this is not reported since it is the stage of the Mystic River.

4The total water level reported is for a tide gage on the “ocean side” or “downstream side” of the new Charles River Dam locks. There is also a stage 

recorded on the “river side” or “upstream side” of the new Charles River Dam locks, but this is not reported since it is the stage of the Charles River.
36 Total Water Level Data from 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England

Summary

During January and March 2018, the eastern coastline of New England was impacted by two nor’easters. 

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), under an interagency 

agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

(FEMA), collected total water level data (high-water marks 

and continuous water-level sensors) in those coastal areas. All 

total water level data were collected and reported using the 

North American Vertical Datum of 1988. The total water level 

is the combination of tide, storm surge, waves (wave runup or 

wave setup), and freshwater input.

The January 4, 2018, nor’easter formed as an extratropical cyclone off the coast of Florida and the Bahamas 

on January 3 and quickly moved northward along the east 

coast of the United States and intensified rapidly. The powerful storm reached the coast of New England on January 4, 

bringing high winds, heavy snowfall, and coastal flooding 

to the region. This storm also occurred during astronomical high tides from a full moon on January 1. The National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tide gage 

in Boston, Massachusetts, recorded the highest total water 

level elevation on record at 9.66 ft on January 4. This elevation exceeded the previous peak elevation of record of 9.52 ft 

from the February 7, 1978, nor’easter. Flood and wind damages affected many coastal communities of Massachusetts on 

the North Shore area between Boston and New Hampshire, 

at Boston Harbor, on the South Coast area between Boston 

and Cape Cod, along Cape Cod Bay, and on Nantucket. The 

coastal flooding resulted in numerous rescues and flooded 

homes and vehicles in Massachusetts.

On March 2–4, a strong nor’easter passed off the coast 

of New England. This nor’easter started as a stationary front 

over the Midwest on March 1 and moved eastward off the 

mid-Atlantic coast, resulting in a new low-pressure system 

that formed and intensified rapidly. The storm reached the 

New England coast on March 2, bringing high winds, rainfall 

and snowfall, and coastal flooding to the region. This storm 

also occurred during astronomical high tides from a full moon 

on March 1. The NOAA Boston tide gage recorded a peak 

total water level elevation of 9.16 ft on March 2, the third 

highest elevation on record. Many coastal communities from 

Portland, Maine, southward to Cape Cod Bay experienced 

severe flooding, resulting in numerous rescues and flooded 

homes and vehicles. Major disaster declarations were made 

in many coastal counties of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, 

and Maine.

Following the January 2018 nor’easter, the USGS 

identified and flagged 85 high-water marks (HWMs) along 

coastal areas of eastern Massachusetts from the State border 

with New Hampshire to Cape Cod Bay. No USGS waterlevel sensors were deployed for the January nor’easter. In 

preparation for the approach of the March nor’easter, the 

USGS deployed 35 temporary water-level sensors to collect 

total water level elevation data before, during, and after the 

storm along the coastal areas of New England from Portland 

to the Connecticut-New York State border. Following the 

March nor’easter, 115 HWMs were identified and flagged 

in the coastal areas of New England from Portland to the 

Connecticut-New York State border. Peak total water level 

elevations were available from 28 tide gages and 14 coastal 

streamgages affected tidally or by tidal backwater in New 

England for both the January and March nor’easters.

Following the January and March 2018 nor’easters, field 

crews identified and flagged HWMs, which included completing a HWM field form with a detail description and sketch 

of the location, latitude and longitude, a description of the 

type, distance above ground surface or other object, qualitative description of accuracy, and type of marker, and also 

photographing the HWM and pathways to it. These HWMs 

were surveyed from August through November 2018 and 

in February 2019, except HWMs that were identified and 

flagged near USGS temporary water-level sensors, tide gages, 

and coastal streamgages in March, which were surveyed 

then. Elevations of all HWMs were referenced to the North 

American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88), and horizontal coordinates, to the North American Datum of 1983, using 

the Global Navigation Satellite System, survey-grade Global 

Positioning System (GPS) receivers, and automatic level and 

total station surveying equipment. The GPS elevations were 

checked for quality assurance against 56 National Geodetic 

Survey and Massachusetts Department of Transportation 

benchmarks with established NAVD 88 elevations at locations 

along the coast and near the HWMs and storm-tide sensors. 

For the 56 quality-assurance observations, the absolute differences between the GPS elevations and established NAVD 88 

elevations had an average of 0.07 foot (ft), a median of 0.06 ft, 

and a root mean square error of 0.09 ft.

Of the 85 HWMs flagged for the January nor’easter, 

only 80 HWMs were surveyed; the remaining 5 could not be 

found or had been destroyed when locations were revisited 

to survey. Of these 80 HWMs surveyed, 71 HWM elevations 

were determined to be accurate, and 9 HWM elevations were 

determined to be inaccurate based on nearby total water level 

elevations. The HWMs were determined to have been flagged 

at a subsequent lower high total water level elevation than the 

previous peak elevation that occurred on January 4, 2018. Of 

the 71 HWMs, Massachusetts had total water level elevations 

that ranged from 5.8 to 15.1 ft, with an average of 9.4 ft and 

a median of 9.6 ft. Peak total water level elevations at 10 tide 

and 7 coastal streamgages from Portland to Cape Cod Bay 

ranged from 4.8 to 11.2 ft, with an average of 9.1 ft and a 

median of 9.6 ft.

Of the 115 HWMs flagged for the March nor’easter, 

only 113 HWMs were surveyed; the remaining 2 could not be 

found or had been destroyed when locations were revisited to 

survey. Of these 113 HWMs surveyed, 111 HWM elevations 

were determined to be accurate, and 2 elevations were determined to be inaccurate based on the total water level elevations of nearby HWMs or tide gages. Of the 111 HWMs along 

the eastern New England coastline from Portland to Cape Cod 

Bay, 100 had total water level elevations that ranged from 
References Cited 37

5.3 to 15.1 ft, with an average of 8.9 ft and a median of 8.5 ft. 

The remaining 11 HWMs along the southern coastline of New 

England in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts had 

elevations that ranged from 3.1 to 7.5 ft, with an average of 

4.3 ft and a median of 4.9 ft. Peak total water level elevations 

for 19 USGS water-level sensors from Portland to Cape Cod 

Bay ranged from 6.2 to 10.4 ft, with an average of 8.5 ft and 

a median of 8.7 ft. Six storm-tide sensors in Connecticut had 

peak elevations ranging from 3.3 to 7.1 ft, with an average of 

5.0 ft and a median of 4.9 ft. Peak total water level elevations 

at 10 tide and 6 coastal streamgages from Portland to Cape 

Cod Bay ranged from 7.8 to 10.8 ft with an average of 9.1 ft 

and a median of 9.2 ft.

The January and March 2018 nor’easter total water level 

data along the eastern New England coastline from Portland, 

Maine, to Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts, were compared with 

data from tide gages, coastal streamgages, and HWM locations where data exist for both nor’easters. For the 10 tide 

gages and 5 coastal streamgages with total water level elevations for both storm events, the average and median elevations 

for the January nor’easter were about 0.3 and 0.5 ft higher, 

respectively, than for the March nor’easter. At the 52 HWM 

locations with total water level elevations for both events (all 

locations were in Massachusetts as it was the only State with 

January HWM data) the average and median elevations from 

the January storm were 0.1 and 0.4 ft higher, respectively than 

the March nor’easter.

The observed peak total water level elevations at 10 tide 

gages along the eastern New England coastline from Portland, 

Maine, to Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts, with data for both 

2018 nor’easters were compared with the concurrent predicted 

total water level elevations at those locations. For the January 

nor’easter, the observed peak elevations ranged from 1.6 to 

3.7 ft higher than the concurrent predicted elevations, with an 

average of 2.8 ft and a median of 3.0 ft higher. For the March 

nor’easter, the observed peak total water level elevations 

ranged from 1.8 to 4.0 ft higher than the concurrent predicted 

elevations, with an average of 2.7 ft and a median of 3.0 ft 

higher. The difference between the observed peak and the concurrent predicted total water level elevations is approximately 

the amount of storm surge that was experienced during the 

highest tides of the two nor’easters along the coastline from 

Portland to Cape Cod Bay.

Total water level data collected following the January 

and March 2018 nor’easters can be used by Federal, State, and 

local government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, 

universities, and the public in understanding the areal extent 

and depth of the coastal flooding. Additionally, these data 

can be used for land-use planning, flood risk studies, flood 

resiliency studies, and coastal models. Total water level data 

from these nor’easters can be compared with data from past 

and future regional nor’easters, hurricanes, and tropical storms 

to assist in future planning and preparedness.

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Appendix 1 41

Appendix 1. Quality Assurance of Survey Equipment Used 

To Determine Elevations of High-Water Marks From the 

January and March 2018 Nor’easters
Table 1.1. Quality assurance of survey equipment used by the U.S. Geological Survey to determine elevations of high-water marks from the January relative to National Geodetic Survey and Massachusetts Department of Transportation certified benchmarks in Massachusetts and Rhode Island from November 2018 and February 2019. [Blank spaces indicate information identical to the completed row above. NGS, National Geodetic Survey; MassDOT, Massachusetts Department of Transportation; USGS, U.SCoast Guard; PID, permanent identification; Vert., vertical can be first [1st] or second [2d]; NAD 83, North American Datum of 1983; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum sachusetts; NH, New Hampshire; RI, Rhode Island; —, no data] Date surveyed NGS and MassDOT benchmark1 Surveyed, in NAD 83 Surveyed eleva- tion, in ft above NAVD 88 NGS a

MassD

benchm

elevat

in ft ab

NAVD 

Owner Designation (stamped name) PID Vert. order2 County Town State Latitude, in decimal degrees Longitude, in decimal degrees 

8/28/2018 NGS 22 K MY0150 1st Essex Newburyport MA 42.80223 70.87950 31.37 31.36 

31.32 31.36 31.41 31.36 

8/29/2018 MassDOT — 24885 2d Essex Essex MA 42.62874 70.77094 19.00 18.95 

18.71 18.95 

8/30/2018 MassDOT — 24885 2d Essex Essex MA 42.62874 70.77094 18.95 18.95 

19.07 18.95 

8/31/2018 MassDOT — 25282 2d Essex Salem MA 42.50832 70.91286 93.24 93.28 

93.24 93.28 

9/4/2018 NGS Langdon 146 RM 1 OC0425 2d Rockingham Portsmouth NH 43.06345 70.71189 10.01 9.87 

9.74 9.87 

9/5/2018 NGS 8 MY0586 1st Suffolk Boston MA 42.37438 71.05468 8.76 8.87 

8.93 8.87 

9/6/2018 NGS 8 MY0586 1st Suffolk Boston MA 42.37438 71.05468 8.97 8.87 

8.79 8.87 

9/17/2018 NGS 8 MY0586 1st Suffolk Boston MA 42.37438 71.05468 8.77 8.87 

8.74 8.87 

9/18/2018 NGS 85 AR MY2172 1st Norfolk Weymouth MA 42.24252 70.96043 29.43 29.42 

29.52 29.42 

9/19/2018 NGS 85 AR MY2172 1st Norfolk Weymouth MA 42.24252 70.96043 29.35 29.42 

29.38 29.42 
Table 1.1. Quality assurance of survey equipment used by the U.S. Geological Survey to determine elevations of high-water marks from the January relative to National Geodetic Survey and Massachusetts Department of Transportation certified benchmarks in Massachusetts and Rhode Island from November 2018 and February 2019.—Continued[Blank spaces indicate information identical to the completed row above. NGS, National Geodetic Survey; MassDOT, Massachusetts Department of Transportation; USGS, U.SCoast Guard; PID, permanent identification; Vert., vertical can be first [1st] or second [2d]; NAD 83, North American Datum of 1983; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum sachusetts; NH, New Hampshire; RI, Rhode Island; —, no data]

Date surveyed

NGS and MassDOT benchmark1 Surveyed, in NAD 83 Surveyed elevation, in 

ft above 

NAVD 88

NGS a

MassD

benchm

elevat

in ft ab

NAVD 

Owner

Designation 

(stamped 

name)

PID Vert. order2 County Town State Latitude, in decimal degrees Longitude, in decimal degrees 

9/20/2018 NGS 85 AR MY2172 1st Norfolk Weymouth MA 42.24252 70.96043 29.34 29.42 

29.28 29.42 29.28 29.42 

9/25/2018 NGS 3 42 MY2164 1st Plymouth Hingham MA 42.24634 70.88189 9.77 9.82 

9.90 9.82 9.83 9.82 

9/27/2018 NGS N 42 MY2151 1st Plymouth Marshfield MA 42.14719 70.74291 115.39 115.34 

115.36 115.34 115.37 115.34 

10/10/2018 NGS Q 43 LW1524 1st Plymouth Manomet MA 41.80298 70.54562 122.62 122.83 

122.62 122.83 

10/10/2018 NGS D 56 AB7923 1st Barnstable Marstons 

Mills

MA 41.65106 70.41449 24.61 24.53 

24.54 24.53 

10/11/2018 MassDOT — 17534 2d Barnstable Provincetown MA 42.05908 70.18903 15.40 15.47 

15.32 15.47 

10/11/2018 USGS — HERRINGDIKERM2 — Barnstable Wellfleet MA 41.93115 70.06430 11.46 11.54 

11.57 11.54 

10/11/2018 NGS Chatham 

Light USCG

AB2629 1st Barnstable Chatham MA 41.67174 69.94916 40.12 40.30 

40.22 40.30 

10/30/2018 MassDOT — 10943 2d Plymouth Marshfield MA 42.09301 70.69371 16.62 16.56 

16.56 16.56 
Table 1.1. Quality assurance of survey equipment used by the U.S. Geological Survey to determine elevations of high-water marks from the January relative to National Geodetic Survey and Massachusetts Department of Transportation certified benchmarks in Massachusetts and Rhode Island from November 2018 and February 2019.—Continued [Blank spaces indicate information identical to the completed row above. NGS, National Geodetic Survey; MassDOT, Massachusetts Department of Transportation; USGS, U.SCoast Guard; PID, permanent identification; Vert., vertical can be first [1st] or second [2d]; NAD 83, North American Datum of 1983; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum sachusetts; NH, New Hampshire; RI, Rhode Island; —, no data] Date surveyed NGS and MassDOT benchmark1 Surveyed, in NAD 83 Surveyed eleva- tion, in ft above NAVD 88 NGS a

MassD

benchm

elevat

in ft ab

NAVD 

Owner Designation (stamped name) PID Vert. order2 County Town State Latitude, in decimal degrees Longitude, in decimal degrees 

10/30/2018 NGS G 2 MY0196 1st Rockingham Seabrook NH 42.91180 70.85175 7.53 7.6

7.61 7.6

10/31/2018 MassDOT — 10875 2d Plymouth Hanover MA 42.10439 70.79254 7.60 7.58 

7.42 7.58 

10/31/2018 MassDOT — 10943 2d Plymouth Marshfield MA 42.09301 70.69371 16.49 16.56 

16.55 16.56 

11/1/2018 MassDOT — 4981 2d Barnstable Orleans MA 41.78833 69.99147 58.69 58.64 

58.68 58.64 

11/1/2018 NGS 844 6493 Tidal 10 LW1544 1st Plymouth Plymouth MA 41.95948 70.66243 9.99 9.98 

9.97 9.98 

11/02/208 MassDOT — 17409 2d Barnstable Dennis MA 41.73747 70.19138 37.90 38.00 

37.92 38.00 

2/8/2019 NGS 440 LW0561 2d Bristol Bristol RI 41.70240 71.28000 114.50 114.44 

114.41 114.44 

Minimum Maximum Median Average 

1Massachusetts Department of Transportation (2018) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2018c).2NGS standards assign order to express the accuracy of established vertical control to local reference point in the level circuit (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrat
Appendix 1 45

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For more information about this report, contact:

Director, New England Water Science Center

U.S. Geological Survey 

10 Bearfoot Road 

Northborough, MA 01532

dc_nweng@usgs.gov

or visit our website at

https://www.usgs.gov/centers/new-england-water

Publishing support provided by the 

Pembroke Publishing Service Center
Bent and Taylor—Total Water Level Data From the January and March 2018 Nor’easters for Coastal Areas of New England—SIR 2020–5040

ISSN 2328-0328 (online)

https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20205048