Did you know that from your desk you can monitor the effect of Hurricane Katrina on Florida’s waterways?  The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) WaterWatch Web site can show you what’s happening to streams in your local area and show you the places most affected by heavy rains expected from the storm.

WaterWatch – Current Water Resources Conditions - Map of real-time streamflow for the day of the year (Florida)

From  the website http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/, click on Florida to select a gaging station on a local stream. You can produce customized graphs and tables showing stream level for the past 1-31 days.

The USGS operates a network of over 400 continuously-recording stream gages throughout Florida. Most of these sites utilize satellite telemetry to provide time-critical information to the National Weather Service for flood forecasting, emergency and regulatory agencies, and the general public. Throughout the year USGS scientists collect flow, gage height, and velocity data which are used to develop ratings that are entered in the USGS computer database. New information on gage height and velocity are continuously collected by electronic dataloggers in the field and transmitted to the USGS computer database via satellite. The USGS computer then uses these data with the stored ratings to compute flow which is displayed on the Here.

In many cases, the data are available online within minutes.

For more information on USGS flood-related activities, please see: http://water.usgs.gov/osw/

USGS Water Science Centers are located in each state. They can provide more detailed information on stream conditions and on the http://water.usgs.gov/district_chief.html

For more information on USGS storm-related activities, we suggest the following sites:

• USGS Hurricane and Extreme Storm Impact Studies 
• USGS Maps Coastal Vulnerabilities to Storms 
   

About the USGS - The USGS serves the nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life.

http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/
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http://water.usgs.gov/