There was surprise surge today in Jacksonville. I posted a map upthread about how the tropical storm-force winds massively expanded at landfall. The track of the storm pulled those into Jacksonville and points north, and the long fetch of those winds meant high surge, and that ran into the runoff coming downriver from 15 inches of rain. Sometimes the overall physical dynamics partially dictate the ground truth, and it has nothing to do with what category the storm happens to be at the time.
Even tropical storms or nor’easters can cause significant flooding, let alone an actual hurricane. I’m on the same page as far as that’s concerned.