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It has been speculated that future global warming will change the frequency and severity of tropical and extratropical storms. The US east coast is heavily impacted by such storms, so it is important to determine their natural temporal variability for the last century during which global warming has been relatively small. Storm surge data obtained from hourly tide gauge records provide a unique quantitative measure of storm duration and intensity, unlike qualitative estimates based on eyewitness reports or meteorological hindcasts. To demonstrate the potential of storm surge data for climate analysis, the authors have evaluated 10 very long records of water level anomalies. An analysis of the hourly tide gauge records along the US east coast shows a considerable interdecadal variation but no discernible long-term trend in the number and intensity of moderate and severe coastal storms during this century. However …