New Publication: August 2016 South-Central Louisiana Rainfall Event

SCIPP researchers at Louisiana State University Dr. Vincent Brown and Dr. Barry Keim recently published a paper focused on the historic August 10-14, 2016 rain event that struck south-central Louisiana. The manuscript titled “How Rare Was the August 2016 South-Central Louisiana Heavy Rainfall Event?”, was published in the April 2020 issue of the Journal of Hydrometeorology. The spatiotemporal pattern of precipitation produced by the August 2016 extreme rainfall event is examined. Brown and Keim used the Storm Precipitation Analysis System (SPAS), a software product owned by Applied Weather Associates (AWA), and found that an area roughly 5000 mi2 received approximately 18.3 inches of precipitation in only 96 hours. SPAS also revealed that one location likely received over 34 inches of rain during the event, aligning well with a measured gauge value of 31.39 inches that occurred in 48-hours, a record for Louisiana. The manuscript details the synoptic setting of the event and uses recurrence intervals to help place the storm in a historical context. For example, two areas north and northeast of Baton Rouge, Louisiana received 6-hour rainfall amounts that corresponded to a greater than 1000-yr event.

Total storm rainfall isohyets generated by the Storm Precipitation Analysis System (SPAS) across southern Louisiana during August 10-14, 2016 (Brown and Keim, 2020).
Total storm rainfall isohyets generated by the Storm Precipitation Analysis System (SPAS) across southern Louisiana during August 10-14, 2016. Source: Brown and Keim (2020).
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