West side of the northbound storm is the “clean” side for storm surge. There may be some pile up as the storm approaches, will be swept back out on the backside of the storm.
Right, though the trick in this case will be the proximity of the eye to the coast. You could argue that this could be a worst-case scenario if the eye stays right at the shoreline between the slow speed, angle, and high winds. But yeah, first you pile up the water, then yank it all back out.