Flood of August 2016 in Louisiana

Heavy rainfall occurred across Louisiana in August, 2016 as a result of a slow-moving area of low pressure and a high amount of atmospheric moisture. The storm caused major flooding in the southern portions of Louisiana including areas surrounding Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Flooding occurred along the rivers such as the Amite, Comite, Tangipahoa, Tickfaw, Vermilion, and Mermentau. Over 31 inches of rain were reported in Watson just northeast of Baton Rouge, LA over the duration of the event. Streamflow gaging stations operated by the U.S. Geological Survey recorded peak streamflows of record at 6 locations, and 16 locations experienced peak streamflows ranking in the top 5 for the duration of the period of record. In August, 2016, U.S. Geological Survey hydrographers made over ## discharge measurements at over ## locations on streams in Louisiana. Many of those discharge measurements were made for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of stage-streamflow relations at gaging stations operated by the U.S. Geological. Following the storm event, USGS hydrographers recovered and documented 590 high water marks in Louisiana. Many of these high water marks were used to create 12 flood-inundation maps for selected areas of Louisiana that experienced flooding in August 2016.