http://www.charlottecountyfl.com/Emergency/Flooding/Storm_Surge11x17.pdf

It seems that the little jut that PGI is located on forms a kind of protective barrier. Looking at this, I suppose that a back door system moving counter clockwise would push water in form the mouth of the peace river.
Conversly, a cyclonic system moving in from the west would push the water up against the south side of the jut --hence the the protective barrier. This still doesnt explain why the water level suddenly decreased during the 2nd half of the storm. I have searched for over two hours, and I cant find a single slosh map of the area. I even came across one site explaining how the surge was, in fact, 15 feet high in my region. Do we have a surge expert anywhere? This is the single greatest threat for costal communites. It is a shame that the wind gets all the attention. Everyone immediatly thinks of wind when they hear the word hurricane.