CERA Storm Report for Tropical Storm CLAUDETTE

Tropical Storm Claudette (17 June –  21 June , 2021) was already the third named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season but the first tropical system that targeted both the Gulf and the Atlantic coasts.

The CERA Group at the LSU Center for Computation and Technology successfully performed storm surge and flood guidance to end users in Louisiana and North Carolina. Several model results were available on the CERA website at https://cera.coastalrisk.live.

Summary:

  1.  We used high resolution storm surge model meshes for the States of Louisiana and North Carolina and a vortex wind model to represent the NHC consensus track wind fields and the associated predicted storm surge  through the ADCIRC Surge Guidance System.
  2. The Compound Flood Inundation Guidance System delivered flood guidance showing compound threat predictions from surge and rainfall for watersheds in Louisiana once daily from June 16 through June 19 and an after-storm guidance on June 21.
  3. Customized gage stations were provided to the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) for their use to monitor water levels at critical locations.
TS Claudette approaching Louisiana, NHC advisory 5


TS Claudette impacting North Carolina, NHC advisory 15

Compound storm surge and rainfall impacts, NHC advisory 4

Gage stations for the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA)

Potential Tropical Cyclone THREE is rainfall threat

Potential Tropical Cyclone Three has formed in the Northern Gulf and might strengthen into a tropical system before making landfall along the southern Louisiana coastline. After two short-lived tropical systems in the Atlantic, this would already be the third named storm of the season 2021 – Claudette.

In partnership with Seahorse Coastal Consulting, the CERA Group at LSU provides storm surge and flood guidance for the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana (CPRA) and our partners in Louisiana.

Please visit our website at https://cera.coastalrisk.live for real-time guidance.

CERA Featured in LSU News

The LSU Office of Research and Development (ORED) recently published an online article about the partnership between LSU and CERA, which can be found here:

Read the article

The article details CERA’s functionality through the historic and record-breaking 2020 Hurricane Season, as well as some new capabilities in 2021.

This publication will also be promoted through LSU’s Working for Louisiana newsletter this July.

CERA named Frequently used Site by CPRA ahead of 2021 Hurricane Season

The LSU Coastal Emergency Risks Assessment (CERA) visualization tool was recently listed by The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority as one of their frequently used sites in a CPRA Board Meeting presentation.

CPRA LA uses CERA as an emergency assessment tool to view the impacts of modeled storm surge for hurricanes and tropical events delivered by the ADCIRC Surge Guidance System (ASGS). The ASGS was developed by Seahorse Coastal Consulting, a long-term partner of CERA.

Additionally, compound flooding guidance will become operational to CPRA for the upcoming 2021 hurricane season through the Compound Flood Inundation Guidance System (CFIGS) developed by CE Hydro. The CFIGS model will capture combined influences of storm surge and precipitation for watersheds in Louisiana that are of particular interest to CPRA for emergency response tasks. The CFIGS model results will be presented on the CERA interface through inundation animations (depth of water above ground) and hydrographs for water level comparison to model prediction (50 stations from USGS, USACE, and NWS).

One lesson learned from the 2020 hurricane season was that it is difficult to identify the areas of highest risk based solely on inundation mapping. CFIGS will therefore also introduce a new flood hazard layer to quickly identify areas during an event with a high risk of structural flooding.

Thanks to LSU CCT, LA Sea Grant, Seahorse Coastal Consulting, CE Hydro, and CPRA for this joint effort to serve the State of Louisiana!

Welcome to the Hurricane Season 2021

On May 22, the National Hurricane Center started issuing advisories for subtropical storm Ana that had formed near Bermuda – the first storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season which officially starts on June 1.

Subtropical storm ‘Ana’ displayed on the CERA website at https://cera.coastalrisk.live

The Coastal Emergency Risks Assessment (CERA) Group at Louisiana State University provides storm surge and flood inundation guidance through its interactive visualization portal all season. Please check our CERA storm surge tool at cera.coastalrisk.live for updates and get connected with our partners through Seahorse Coastal Consulting at LinkedIn.

Thanks to Louisiana State University Center for Computation and Technology (CCT), Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, NOAA Coast Survey Development Lab, LSU HPC & LONI High Performance Computing , UT Austin, Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) , and CE Hydro for partnership and support.

Please also visit us on LinkedIn.

NOAA predicts another active Atlantic hurricane season

On May 20, NOAA issued it’s 2021 hurricane seasonal outlooks for the Atlantic and East Pacific basins. For the Atlantic, an active season is predicted.

According to NOAA, several climate factors that favor increased activity are reflected in this outlook, including:
– the ongoing high-activity era that is in place since 1995
– ENSO Neutral or LaNina (will not suppress hurricane activity)
– warmer-than-average sea-surface temperatures
– reduced vertical wind shear
– weaker Atlantic tropical trade winds
– an enhanced African monsoon.

“Forecasters predict a 60% chance of an above-normal season, a 30% chance of a near-normal season, and a 10% chance of a below-normal season. However, experts do not anticipate the historic level of storm activity seen in 2020.”

More details at http://bit.ly/2021AtlanticHurricaneSeasonOutlook

‘Average’ Atlantic hurricane season to reflect more storms

According to a statement released by NOAA on April, 9 2021, the Atlantic hurricane season averages have changed.

“Beginning with this year’s hurricane season outlooks, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) will use 1991-2020 as the new 30-year period of record. The updated averages for the Atlantic hurricane season have increased with 14 named storms and 7 hurricanes. The average for major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5) remains unchanged at 3. The previous Atlantic storm averages, based on the period from 1981 to 2010, were 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes.”

See the full NOAA statement here.

CERA release for 2021 hurricane season

The CERA Group at Louisiana State University is pleased to announce a release of the CERA storm surge and flood visualization tool for the 2021 hurricane season.

CERA 2021 release

  • NEW: Download capability for time series at specific location as requested by user feedback
  • NEW: Open time series chart through search by coordinates
    If you would like to learn more about these features, please visit this blog entry.

The CERA release also includes the following new features for all models:

  • Vector graphics for a polished look
  • Google Maps background map in black and white, putting emphasis on storm surge information visibility

The following new CERA features are for specific storm surge/flood models:

ADCIRC Surge Guidance System (ASGS):

  • Update of USGS, USACE, NOAA water level stations to reflect latest agency adjustments
  • Download of inundation GeoTiffs for storms as requested by user feedback
  • Gage stations show water levels of the previous storm advisory for comparison with the current storm advisory as requested by user feedback

Extratropical Storm Surge and Tide Operational Forecast System (ESTOFS):

  • CERA visualizes NOAA’s new ESTOFS-Global mesh including water height and wind; additional features will follow

Compound Flood Inundation Guidance System (CFIGS):

  • CFIGS combines influences of precipitation and storm surge/tidal fluctuations developed by CE Hydro, LLC. Results are generated for selected watersheds in Louisiana
  • CFIGS will go operational for the 2021 hurricane season and displayed on the CERA website

New download and search functionality for time series

CERA visualizes time series for water levels, wind, and significant wave height for any location on the map. To use this feature, click on the time series button on the left of the map, then click on the desired location on the map.

CERA’s 2021 release now allows downloading the selected time series as a .json file. The download link is in the top right of the time series chart.

If finding a time series for a specific coordinate point is desired, click on the time series button, then click on the location search button on the left of the map. If you already have a chart open, the coordinate pair is pre-filled in the search box. If you would like to find another place, enter the coordinate as [latitude, longitude]. CERA will open the time series chart automatically.

Location search and download link

Louisiana model prototype Compound Flood Inundation Guidance System

What is the Compound Flood Inundation Guidance System (CFIGS)? CFIGS is a compound flood prediction system developed at CE Hydro, capable of predicting flooding due to the combined influences of precipitation and storm surge/tidal fluctuations. It provides flood inundation guidance to promote understanding of the timing and extent of flooding before the event.

With CERA’s headquarters at the Louisiana State University (LSU), the team is excited to include this local and unique model prototype on immediate display for users to view and operate. View it here on CERA.

CFIGS as viewed on CERA

CFIGS was made possible with the support from Coastal Protection Restoration Authority (CPRA), Louisiana SeaGrant, Louisiana State University (LSU), Seahorse Coastal Consulting and Freese and Nichols, Inc (FNI).