microSWIFT Ocean Surface Wave Data, in NHCI: Hurricane Francine 2024 - Observations

These observational datasets were taken as Hurricane Francine (2024) made landfall along southwestern Louisiana. The data was collected, created or utilized for the NOPP Hurricane Coastal Impacts (NHCI) program. From Moskiatis et al. (2025): "Francine originated from the interplay of a tropical wave and a midlatitude front in the Bay of Campeche, which caused a closed surface circulation to form there by 18 UTC 7 September 2024 (at which point NHC began issuing forecast advisories for a potential tropical cyclone). Deep convection became established near the center the next day, and the system was designated Tropical Storm Francine at 12 UTC 9 September, with a 45 kt intensity. Soon thereafter, Francine turned NE and headed toward the Louisiana coast. Francine intensified slowly at first, but once it got to the northern Gulf and began interacting with a midlatitude trough it rapidly intensified up to 90 kt (Category 2 on the SSHWS) at landfall, which was its lifetime maximum intensity. The storm made landfall at 22 UTC 11 September 2024, at a location 25 n mi SSW of Morgan City, LA. It had a radius of maximum winds of 25 n mi at landfall, which is on the large side for a 90 kt storm.” Francine was a difficult to forecast storm as it formed near the coast and rapidly intensified. It made landfall in a marshy region, causing storm inundation of 3-8 ft. These observational datasets from Hurricane Francine includes measurements from observational wave buoys: A-size and full size Directional Wave Spectra Drifters (A-DWSDs), microSWIFT buoys, and Spotter buoys, as well as nearshore sensors and remotely sensed satellite measurements. The wave buoys and nearshore sensors were deployed 1-2 days prior to the hurricane landfal. A full description of the storm, observations, and model assets are found in the NHCI Data and Storm Catalog: Moskaitis, J., R. Luettich, J. Thomson, M. Bilskie, J. Davis, j. veeramony, Z. Cobell, D. White, R. de Goede, A. van Dongeren, M. Schonau, C. Sherwood, J. Brown, M. Amini, N. Mumtaz, J. Dietrich, I. Houghton, R. Romeiser, J. Doyle, D. Gesch, A. Clark, S. Fraser, S. Beninati, L. Centurioni, G. de Boer, P. Smit, D. Cox, M. Olabarrieta, J. Warner, S. Klepac, A. Subgranon (2025). NHCI: NOPP Hurricane Coastal Impacts. DesignSafe-CI. https://doi.org/10.17603/ds2-y6nc-p158.