In planning an extensive field program along the coast of Louisiana,
it would be important to be able to estimate how many days a month are
weather conditions likely to restrict our ability to get out in the
boats and do the field studies.  Can you find a source of information
that would tell me for multiple locations along the Louisiana coast
how many days a month the weather conditions (weather
advisories)historically have been such that boats would not have been
able to go out?  thanks

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 05 Aug 2004 19:11 PDT

I found a database that lists all significant storm events (and other
extreme weather events, such as drought conditions) anywhere in the
state of Louisiana, for the period 1950-2004.

The data can be accessed on a county-by-county basis, for any time
period of your choosing.

For instance, for the Orleans Parish, for the period of January
2002-April 2004, there were 28 significant events listed, including
high winds, hail, tropical storms, urban flooding, flash flooding,
heavy rains, storm surges, tornados, etc.

Two typical records look like this:


========== 

Event: Tropical Storm 
Begin Date: 14 Sep 2002, 12:00:00 AM CST 
Begin Location: Not Known 
End Date: 14 Sep 2002, 06:00:00 PM CST 
End Location: Not Known 
Magnitude: 0 
Fatalities: 0 
Injuries: 0 
Property Damage: $ 0.0  
Crop Damage: $ 0.0  
 State: Louisiana
Zones
affected: Jefferson, Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, Plaquemines, St.
Bernard, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John The Baptist, St. Tammany
 

Description:
Hanna developed out of a broad area of disturbed weather and low
pressure in the Gulf of Mexico. A tropical depression formed from the
disturbance late on September 11th in the central Gulf of Mexico and
meandered slowly across the central Gulf before becoming a tropical
storm on the 13th about 255 miles south southwest of Pensacola,
Florida. Tropical Storm Hanna moved northwest and then north and
passed over extreme southeast Louisiana near the mouth of the
Mississippi River early on the 14th and made landfall near the
Mississippi and Alabama border midday on the 14th with 50 mph winds.
Tropical Storm Hanna was an asymmetrical storm with the strongest
winds confined to the east of the center. As a result, no tropical
storm force winds were observed at any land locations. Rainfall
amounts were less than 1 inch and no significant flooding occurred
from high tides.

==========

Event: High Wind 
Begin Date: 12 Dec 2002, 06:34:00 PM CST 
Begin Location: Not Known 
End Date: 12 Dec 2002, 06:34:00 PM CST 
End Location: Not Known 
Magnitude: 45 knots 
Fatalities: 0 
Injuries: 0 
Property Damage: $ 0.0  
Crop Damage: $ 0.0  
 State: Louisiana

Zones
affected: ORLEANS  
 

Description:
A non thunderstorm wind gust of 52 mph was recorded at the New Orleans
Lakefront Airport.
 
==========

Would this type of information meet your needs?  Let me know.


pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by wetland2-ga on 06 Aug 2004 12:52 PDT

Thanks...I don't believe what you have found will be sufficient.  I
really would like the records of small craft advisory records which
could include a number of days that were not severe storms but would
still keep people from going out on boats.  The data also should cover
the whole coast of Louisiana.  Thanks for your question.

tom