Abstract 
The characteristics of negative surges (water lev 
els below 440 cm) in the southern Baltic Sea are 
described using data from five gauge stations 
along the German and Polish coasts. The 
stations are Wismar, Warnemünde, and Sassnitz 
in the German part of the Baltic coast, 
Swinoujscie and Kotobrzeg in the Polish part. 
Hourly and 4-hourly data series starting in 1958 
are available from these stations. Besides, 
20 major negative surge events observed in the 
period from 1955 to 2005 and the meteorological 
situation leading to these events are discussed in 
detail. 
The most important factor leading to the devel 
opment of a negative surge is strong offshore 
wind or storm forcing the water away from the 
coast. Wind measurements on the coast have 
shown that offshore wind, i. e. wind from ESE- 
WSW directions, prevailed in a large majority of 
all negative surge events observed (about 90 %). 
Strong offshore wind normally accompanies 
low-pressure systems tracking rapidly across the 
Baltic Sea. The majority of all negative surges on 
record (83.6%) occurred under zonal circulation 
conditions. Among these, at 32.5%, the West 
Cyclonic atmospheric situation (Wz) was most 
frequent, followed by the Central European Ridge 
situation (BM), at (14.8%), and the cyclonic 
North-West Cyclonic situation (NWz), at 10%. 
The severity and frequency of negative surge 
events decreases from west to east, which is 
explained by the fact that the southern Baltic 
Sea has the shape of a bay with an eastward 
opening. Statistically, a negative surge event 
with water levels of -190 cm occurs every 50 
years in Wismar, whereas only -128 cm has to 
be expected in Kotobrzeg. Wismar also is the 
only station where negative surge events have 
occurred in each month of the year, although the 
majority of such events occur during the winter 
months.