How deep under water is the ocean calm during a Catergory 4 Hurricaine?
The wave motion extends down only a little bit into the ocean depth, maybe only 2X or 3X or maybe up to 5X the wave height. If that is right, a ten foot tall wave would not create any wave motion more than roughly 30 feet deep. It is not obvious by looking at waves but any particular point in the water moves in a circle as a wave passes unless the wave is high enough that it “breaks”, then the water in the break deviates from the circular motion as it “falls” down the face. The circular motion is greatest at the top of the wave and gets smaller the deeper you go. If you watch waves at the shore, they start to crest as the wave motion starts being disrupted by the bottom. Since the water “wants” to move in a circle and the bottom does not allow the water to move in a circle, the lower portion of the wave gets slowed down and this causes the wave to break. The storm surge is another thing the moves water around. Depending on how low the barometric pressure is in the eye of the hurricane,
