Heavy rainfall occurred across Louisiana during March 8-19, 2016, as a result of a massive, slow-moving southward dip in the jet stream, which moved eastward across Mexico, then neared the Gulf Coast, funneling deep tropical moisture into parts of the Gulf States and the Mississippi River Valley. The storm caused major flooding in north-central and southeastern Louisiana. Digital flood-inundation maps for a 28-mile reach within the communities of Port Vincent, French Settlement, and Maurepas near the Amite River in Livingston and Ascension Parishes, LA was created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support response and recovery operations following a March 8-19, 2016 flood event. The inundation maps depict estimates of the areal extent and depth of flooding corresponding to 7 high-water marks (HWM) identified and surveyed by the USGS following the flood event.

A slow-moving area of low pressure and a high amount of atmospheric moisture produced heavy rainfall across Louisiana and southwest Mississippi in August 2016. Over 31 inches of rain was reported in Watson, 30 miles northeast of Baton Rouge, over the duration of the event. The result was major flooding that occurred in the southern portions of Louisiana and included areas surrounding Baton Rouge and Lafayette along rivers such as the Amite, Comite, Tangipahoa, Tickfaw, Vermilion, and Mermentau. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center operates many continuous, streamflow-gaging stations in the impacted area. Peak streamflows of record were measured at 10 locations, and seven other locations experienced peak streamflows ranking in the top 5 for the duration of the period of record. In August 2016, USGS personnel made fifty streamflow measurements at 21 locations on streams in Louisiana. Many of those streamflow measurements were made for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of the stage-streamflow relation at the associated gaging station. USGS personnel also recovered and documented 590 high-water marks after the storm event by noting the location and height of the water above land surface. Many of these high water marks were used to create twelve flood-inundation maps for selected communities of Louisiana that experienced flooding in August 2016. This data release provides the actual flood-depth measurements made in selected river basins of Louisiana that were used to produce the flood-inundation maps published in the companion product (Watson and others, 2017). Reference Watson, K.M., Storm, J.B., Breaker, B.K., and Rose, C.E., 2017, Characterization of peak streamflows and flood inundation of selected areas in Louisiana from the August 2016 flood: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2017–5005, 26 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20175005.

A slow-moving area of low pressure and a high amount of atmospheric moisture produced heavy rainfall across Louisiana and southwest Mississippi in August 2016. Over 31 inches of rain was reported in Watson, 30 miles northeast of Baton Rouge, over the duration of the event. The result was major flooding that occurred in the southern portions of Louisiana and included areas surrounding Baton Rouge and Lafayette along rivers such as the Amite, Comite, Tangipahoa, Tickfaw, Vermilion, and Mermentau. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center operates many continuous, streamflow-gaging stations in the impacted area. Peak streamflows of record were measured at 10 locations, and seven other locations experienced peak streamflows ranking in the top 5 for the duration of the period of record. In August 2016, USGS personnel made fifty streamflow measurements at 21 locations on streams in Louisiana. Many of those streamflow measurements were made for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of the stage-streamflow relation at the associated gaging station. USGS personnel also recovered and documented 590 high-water marks after the storm event by noting the location and height of the water above land surface. Many of these high water marks were used to create twelve flood-inundation maps for selected communities of Louisiana that experienced flooding in August 2016. This data release provides the actual flood-depth measurements made in selected river basins of Louisiana that were used to produce the flood-inundation maps published in the companion product (Watson and others, 2017). Reference Watson, K.M., Storm, J.B., Breaker, B.K., and Rose, C.E., 2017, Characterization of peak streamflows and flood inundation of selected areas in Louisiana from the August 2016 flood: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2017–5005, 26 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20175005.

A slow-moving area of low pressure and a high amount of atmospheric moisture produced heavy rainfall across Louisiana and southwest Mississippi in August 2016. Over 31 inches of rain was reported in Watson, 30 miles northeast of Baton Rouge, over the duration of the event. The result was major flooding that occurred in the southern portions of Louisiana and included areas surrounding Baton Rouge and Lafayette along rivers such as the Amite, Comite, Tangipahoa, Tickfaw, Vermilion, and Mermentau. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center operates many continuous, streamflow-gaging stations in the impacted area. Peak streamflows of record were measured at 10 locations, and seven other locations experienced peak streamflows ranking in the top 5 for the duration of the period of record. In August 2016, USGS personnel made fifty streamflow measurements at 21 locations on streams in Louisiana. Many of those streamflow measurements were made for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of the stage-streamflow relation at the associated gaging station. USGS personnel also recovered and documented 590 high-water marks after the storm event by noting the location and height of the water above land surface. Many of these high water marks were used to create twelve flood-inundation maps for selected communities of Louisiana that experienced flooding in August 2016. This data release provides the actual flood-depth measurements made in selected river basins of Louisiana that were used to produce the flood-inundation maps published in the companion product (Watson and others, 2017). Reference Watson, K.M., Storm, J.B., Breaker, B.K., and Rose, C.E., 2017, Characterization of peak streamflows and flood inundation of selected areas in Louisiana from the August 2016 flood: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2017–5005, 26 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20175005.

Heavy rainfall occurred across Louisiana during March 8-19, 2016, as a result of a massive, slow-moving southward dip in the jet stream, which moved eastward across Mexico, then neared the Gulf Coast, funneling deep tropical moisture into parts of the Gulf States and the Mississippi River Valley. The storm caused major flooding in north-central and southeastern Louisiana. Digital flood-inundation maps for a 28-mile reach within the communities of Port Vincent, French Settlement, and Maurepas near the Amite River in Livingston and Ascension Parishes, LA was created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support response and recovery operations following a March 8-19, 2016 flood event. The inundation maps depict estimates of the areal extent and depth of flooding corresponding to 7 high-water marks (HWM) identified and surveyed by the USGS following the flood event.

Heavy rainfall occurred across Louisiana during March 8-19, 2016, as a result of a massive, slow-moving southward dip in the jet stream, which moved eastward across Mexico, then neared the Gulf Coast, funneling deep tropical moisture into parts of the Gulf States and the Mississippi River Valley. The storm caused major flooding in north-central and southeastern Louisiana. Digital flood-inundation maps for a 13.5-mile reach within the community of South Shreveport near Wallace Lake in Caddo Parish and De Soto Parish, LA was created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support response and recovery operations following a March 8-19, 2016 flood event. The inundation maps depict estimates of the areal extent and depth of flooding corresponding to 4 high-water marks (HWM) identified and surveyed by the USGS following the flood event.

Digital flood-inundation maps for a 9.5-mile reach of the Meramec River at Arnold, Missouri, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District, Missouri Department of Transportation, Missouri American Water, Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 7, the City of Pacific, the City of Eureka, the City of Wildwood, and the City of Arnold. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site at http://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/, depict estimates of the areal extent and depth of flooding corresponding to selected water levels (stages) at the USGS streamgage on the Meramec River at Arnold, Missouri (station number 07019300). Near-real-time stages at this streamgage may be obtained on the Internet from the USGS National Water Information System at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ or the National Weather Service (NWS) Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service at http://water.weather.gov/ahps/, which also forecasts flood hydrographs at this site. Flood profiles were computed for the stream reach by means of a one-dimensional step-backwater model. The model was calibrated using the current stage-discharge relation at the Meramec River near Eureka streamgage and documented high-water marks from the floods of December 30, 2015. The hydraulic model was then used to compute 136 water-surface profiles for combinations of 8 different Mississippi River water surface elevations and flood stages at 1-foot (ft) intervals referenced to the streamgage datum and ranging from 22 ft or near bankfull to 51 ft, which exceeds the stage that corresponds to the maximum recorded peak flow. The simulated water-surface profiles were then combined with a Geographic Information System digital elevation model (derived from light detection and ranging (lidar) data having a 0.5-ft vertical accuracy and 3.28-ft horizontal resolution) to delineate the area flooded at each water level. The availability of these maps, along with Internet information regarding current stage from the USGS streamgage and forecasted high-flow stages from the NWS, will provide emergency management personnel and residents with information that is critical for flood response activities such as evacuations and road closures, as well as for post flood recovery efforts.

A slow-moving area of low pressure and a high amount of atmospheric moisture produced heavy rainfall across Louisiana and southwest Mississippi in August 2016. Over 31 inches of rain was reported in Watson, 30 miles northeast of Baton Rouge, over the duration of the event. The result was major flooding that occurred in the southern portions of Louisiana and included areas surrounding Baton Rouge and Lafayette along rivers such as the Amite, Comite, Tangipahoa, Tickfaw, Vermilion, and Mermentau. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center operates many continuous, streamflow-gaging stations in the impacted area. Peak streamflows of record were measured at 10 locations, and seven other locations experienced peak streamflows ranking in the top 5 for the duration of the period of record. In August 2016, USGS personnel made fifty streamflow measurements at 21 locations on streams in Louisiana. Many of those streamflow measurements were made for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of the stage-streamflow relation at the associated gaging station. USGS personnel also recovered and documented 590 high-water marks after the storm event by noting the location and height of the water above land surface. Many of these high water marks were used to create twelve flood-inundation maps for selected communities of Louisiana that experienced flooding in August 2016. This data release provides the actual flood-depth measurements made in selected river basins of Louisiana that were used to produce the flood-inundation maps published in the companion product (Watson and others, 2017). Reference Watson, K.M., Storm, J.B., Breaker, B.K., and Rose, C.E., 2017, Characterization of peak streamflows and flood inundation of selected areas in Louisiana from the August 2016 flood: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2017–5005, 26 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20175005.

A slow-moving area of low pressure and a high amount of atmospheric moisture produced heavy rainfall across Louisiana and southwest Mississippi in August 2016. Over 31 inches of rain was reported in Watson, 30 miles northeast of Baton Rouge, over the duration of the event. The result was major flooding that occurred in the southern portions of Louisiana and included areas surrounding Baton Rouge and Lafayette along rivers such as the Amite, Comite, Tangipahoa, Tickfaw, Vermilion, and Mermentau. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center operates many continuous, streamflow-gaging stations in the impacted area. Peak streamflows of record were measured at 10 locations, and seven other locations experienced peak streamflows ranking in the top 5 for the duration of the period of record. In August 2016, USGS personnel made fifty streamflow measurements at 21 locations on streams in Louisiana. Many of those streamflow measurements were made for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of the stage-streamflow relation at the associated gaging station. USGS personnel also recovered and documented 590 high-water marks after the storm event by noting the location and height of the water above land surface. Many of these high water marks were used to create twelve flood-inundation maps for selected communities of Louisiana that experienced flooding in August 2016. This data release provides the actual flood-depth measurements made in selected river basins of Louisiana that were used to produce the flood-inundation maps published in the companion product (Watson and others, 2017). Reference Watson, K.M., Storm, J.B., Breaker, B.K., and Rose, C.E., 2017, Characterization of peak streamflows and flood inundation of selected areas in Louisiana from the August 2016 flood: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2017–5005, 26 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20175005. First release: February 2017 Revised: April 2017 (ver. 1.1) Additionally, there is a revision history text file available on the main page that explains exactly what changed in the revision.