1 June 2010
Hurricane season starts today, and the USGS Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center is committed to collecting and providing the most up-to-date information before, during, and after the storms that are sure to come our way. When a hurricane or tropical storm is approaching, accurate and timely storm data are crucial in making good decisions regarding personal safety and property protection. With the additional problems associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, these decisions are more important than ever. We maintain an extensive network of data-collection platforms (DCP) on or near the coast that gathers critical hydrologic and meteorological data, and we make this data available in near real-time on our NWISWeb web site.
Hardened Gage Characteristics
Although the USGS operates many coastal or near-coastal gages that provide valuable information during a hurricane, most of them are not built to withstand the full fury of a major storm. However, there are ten hardened gages designed specifically to withstand these conditions. These ten sites are spread out along the Louisiana and Mississippi coast from the Mississippi Sound to Vermilion Bay. The hardened gages
