Wilson Shaffer, chief of the National Weather Service's evaluation division, said the storm surge was smaller than predicted, but the region wasn't out of the clear as the storm continued on its path. The highest surge Saturday morning was about 13.5 feet at Sabine Pass in Texas, according to tidal gauges. The surge at Galveston was 11 feet, about half of what was predicted.

Forecasters had warned that the surge could reach 25 feet, which would have been the highest in recorded history in Texas, above 1961's Hurricane Carla, a storm that brought a 22-foot wall of water.