.02-I think that there is no pressure change at the bottom of the deep sea-the rise of the sea surface and the lowering of atmospheric pressure should balance. I suppose it won't balance perfectly because of the wind-if anything, coriolis effect (Ekman transport) may cause water to diverge from the center, so there may be a negative pressure (check this before taking it as true). It is when the storm approaches shallow water/coastlines that the storm surge piles up. In this case there will indeed be a pressure change at the (shallow) bottom. Concerning cause and effect-I should have said that cause and effect are not always discussed here....I probably should not have said that, though. Concerning Canie linking to Lowell's old post and energy calculations-I may ask my scientist wife to look at that... Chris