Long-term coastal management of beach/dune systems requires the definition and assessment of storm events. This study presents a framework using statistical analyses and numerical modelling (XBeach) to characterize storm events and investigate their impact on beach/dune erosion. The method is developed using exemplary data from Formby Point on the Sefton coast (UK), which has a complex beach morphology and frontal dunes. Relevant storm events are classified by a versatile univariate response function taking into account both nearshore water levels and offshore significant wave heights (Hs). It is shown that compared to the established storm classification (Hs ≥ 2.5 m) 35% more storm events that are relevant for beach/dune erosion are identified. Also the events exceed critical conditions for longer durations, and cause greater erosion impact (12%) along the beach/dune profile. The proposed classification of storm events thus captures relevant events for the storm erosion and can inform coastal management strategies. This framework is widely applicable to other beach/dune systems.

海滩/沙丘系统的长期海岸管理需要定义和评估风暴事件。本研究提出了一个框架，使用统计分析和数值建模 (XBeach) 来表征风暴事件并调查它们对海滩/沙丘侵蚀的影响。该方法是使用来自塞夫顿海岸（英国）的 Formby Point 的示例数据开发的，该海岸具有复杂的海滩形态和正面沙丘。考虑到近岸水位和离岸显着波高 ( Hs )，相关风暴事件通过通用的单变量响应函数进行分类。结果表明，与既定的风暴分类（Hs ≥ 2.5 m) 与海滩/沙丘侵蚀相关的风暴事件增加了 35%。此外，这些事件会在更长的时间内超过临界条件，并沿海滩/沙丘剖面造成更大的侵蚀影响 (12%)。因此，拟议的风暴事件分类捕获了风暴侵蚀的相关事件，并可以为沿海管理策略提供信息。该框架广泛适用于其他海滩/沙丘系统。