Monitoring the Storm Tide of Hurricane Wilma in Southwestern , October 2005

Introduction Hurricane Wilma Storm Tide Data Residents in the southeastern United States were still recovering Abstract Measurable storm tide occurred at all temporary stations from Captiva Island south to City (figs. 6 and 7). Storm from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita when Hurricane Wilma appeared, the tide was also detected at all USGS real-time coastal monitoring stations in southwestern and third category 5 storm of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season and, at its Temporary monitoring stations employing nonvented pressure transducers were used to augment an existing U.S. Geological northeastern (fig. 8). A storm tide of about 1 ft was observed at the northernmost stations in the peak, the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic Survey coastal monitoring network to document the inland water levels related to the storm tide of Hurricane Wilma on the and . A storm tide of 1.5 to 2.0 ft was observed at bridges along Highway U.S. 41 over tributaries to Estero Bay. The Basin (fig. 1). The intensity of Wilma was reduced considerably by its highest storm tide occurred at stations directly south of Marco Island (where Hurricane Wilma made landfall), with a maximum travel over the Yucatán Peninsula on October 21-22, 2005, but southwestern coast of Florida. On October 22, 2005, an experimental network consisting of 30 temporary stations was deployed storm tide of 5.67 ± 0.5 ft above NAVD 88 recorded at Everglades City (WS_30). Storm tide was 4 to 5 ft at major coastal rivers reintensified into a category 3 storm as it moved into the Gulf of over 90 miles of coastline to record the magnitude, extent, and timing of hurricane storm tide and coastal flooding. Sensors were along the southwestern coast of Everglades National Park, decreasing to 1 to 2 ft above NAVD 88 as the storm tide traveled Mexico and approached Florida. Maximum sustained winds increased inland. Storm tide of about 3 ft was measured along the coastal creeks of northeastern Florida Bay. to 115 mi per hour and hurricane-force winds extended outward 85 mi programmed to record time, temperature, and barometric or water pressure. Water pressure was adjusted for changes in from the center (Pasch and others, 2006). A storm surge of 9 to 17 ft barometric pressure and salinity, and then converted to feet of water above the sensor. Elevation surveys using optical levels 6 5 8 8 8 above normal tide levels was predicted for the southwestern coast of 8

EXPLANATION EXPLANATION D D

were conducted to reference storm tide water-level data and high-water marks to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 V Florida and areas south of the projected storm path. WS_16 COCONUT POINT V 4 CHATHAM RIVER A 5 A N

N MCCORMICK CREEK

WS_19 O O T

(NAVD 88). Storm tide water levels more than 5 feet above NAVD 88 were recorded by sensors at several locations along the T

On October 20, 2005, a team from the U.S. Geological Survey WS_30 EVERGLADES CITY E E 3 V V I

4 I

(USGS) in Ruston, Louisiana, was dispatched to Fort Myers, Florida, T T A southwestern Florida coast. Temporary storm tide monitoring stations used for this effort have demonstrated their value in: (1) A L L E with enough pressure transducers (sensors) and housings to establish 30 0 500 1,000 MILES E 2 R R

T 3 T

0 500 1,000 KILOMETERS Lake E temporary stations along the southwestern Florida coast where landfall furthering the understanding of storm tide by allowing the U.S. Geological Survey to extend the scope of data collection beyond E E

Okeechobee E F F

STUDY AREA 1 N N

was expected. Prior to team arrival, USGS employees in Fort Myers I I

, that of existing networks, and (2) serving as backup data collection at existing monitoring stations by utilizing nearby structures ,

Florida Bay N 2 N

determined deployment locations for these stations based on preexisting O O I I T

T 0 A that are more likely to survive a major hurricane. A

structures, such as dock and bridge pilings. The monitored area V Figure 1. Path of Hurricane Wilma during October 2005 (modified from Pasch V E E L 1 L E E

and others, 2006). Filled and open circles represent the approximate eye extended from Boca Grande Pass, at the entrance to Charlotte Harbor, -1 E E D D I

position of Hurricane Wilma, respectively, at midnight and noon UTC I

south to Everglades City at the northern edge of Everglades National T T

82°00´ 81°30´ 81°00´ 80°30´ 82°00´ 81°30´ 81°00´ 80°30´

(Coordinated Universal Time) on the dates shown. Local time (Eastern Daylight M

0 M

R -2 Park. An existing USGS real-time coastal hydrologic monitoring DESOTO DESOTO MARTIN R O Time) is UTC time minus 4 hours. SARASOTA HIGHLANDS MARTIN SARASOTA 41 HIGHLANDS O T 17 COUNTY COUNTY COUNTY COUNTY T COUNTY COUNTY S network extends from Everglades City south into Florida Bay and, COUNTY COUNTY S therefore, was already in place to monitor storm tide in that region (fig. 27°00´ 27°00´ -1 -3 31 Lake 31 Lake 10/23/2005 10/23/2005 10/24/2005 10/24/2005 10/25/2005 10/25/2005 10/26/2005 10/26/2005 10/27/2005 10/21/2005 10/22/2005 10/23/2005 10/24/2005 10/25/2005 10/26/2005 10/27/2005 10/28/2005 10/29/2005 10/30/2005 10/31/2005 WS_3 74 74 0:00 12:00 0:00 12:00 0:00 12:00 0:00 12:00 0:00 0:00 0:00 0:00 0:00 0:00 0:00 0:00 0:00 0:00 0:00 0:00 2). Where possible, sites were positioned to create a transect from the WS_2 Okeechobee Okeechobee GLADES <0.4 GLADES DATE AND TIME DATE AND TIME coast to interior estuarine bays and rivers. CHARLOTTE COUNTY CHARLOTTE COUNTY Figure 7. Hurricane Wilma storm tide elevations at selected temporary stations. Figure 8. Hurricane Wilma storm tide elevations at selected real-time stations in Everglades r COUNTY r COUNTY o o b b All temporary stations were installed by October 22, 2005. Less than 48 hours later the hurricane made landfall r r 78 National Park. a 78 a 75 H 75 Boca H WS_4 Boca south of Marco Island, where the magnitude, extent, and timing of the storm tide were recorded by the sensors. e Grande tte Grande tt lo 41 lo 41 12 r River ar <0.4 River Pass ha WS_6 Pass h The temporary stations used for this effort and for Hurricane Rita have allowed the USGS to (1) extend the scope of C HENDRY C HENDRY WS_1 <0.4 8 The maximum recorded water levels occurred at N. LEE LEE 8 Fort COUNTY Fort COUNTY data collection beyond that of existing networks, and (2) backup data collection at existing monitoring stations by WS_7 COUNTY 29 1.02 COUNTY 29 D Myers Myers V , Spring Creek, and Imperial River (fig. 6). These

WS_10 A 10

utilizing nearby structures that are more likely to survive a major hurricane, such as bridge pilings. Data from this N Captiva permanent stations are located on tributaries to Estero Bay Captiva O

WS_9 T monitoring effort, conducted under severe conditions, can be used to improve the current understanding and Island PALM BEACH Island 1.63 PALM BEACH WS_14 E upstream from tidal effects under normal conditions. The

COUNTY COUNTY V WS_8 2.35 I 8 prediction of storm tide. 26°30´ WS_17 26°30´ 0.74 1.57 T 82 0.97 82 A magnitude of the water levels observed was influenced by the L

N Estero 11.34 E

WS_11 R S Estero 1.01 5.70 elevation of the streams at that point. Water levels increased WS_13 846 846 T Estero Imperial E Spring Estero 0.38 10/24/2005 E 6 Bay 10/24/2005 F sharply at all three stations (fig. 9), with the smallest increase 8.52 WS_15 Bay 0.97

08:00 EST N

08:00 EST I

WS_16 9.03 Purpose and Scope 29 1.58 29 , of 2.79 ft occurring at Spring Creek and the greatest increase

WS_18 1.90 2.44 N

WS_21 O This report documents the procedures used to collect storm WS_19 I 4 T EXPLANATION of 4.64 ft occurring at N. Estero River. Water levels in these 27 1.97 27 A WS_20 V N. BRANCH ESTERO tide data for Hurricane Wilma in southwestern Florida. Storm E streams increase rapidly during significant rain events, as G G L S. BRANCH ESTERO E

Naples Naples U tide elevation data are presented for the 23 of 30 stations where U 10/24/2005 75 10/24/2005 75 R 2 SPRING CREEK occurred during the passing of Hurricane Wilma. The WS_23 E L 06:00 EST L 5.84 06:00 EST T IMPERIAL RIVER

2.20 A storm tide was observed (arbitrary water-level data from the F F maximum water levels are likely more a function of flooding WS_22 BROWARD W O COLLIER BROWARD O COLLIER remaining 7 stations is made available but is not discussed). Data WS_25 COUNTY 2.19 2.18 COUNTY COUNTY and stream elevations than storm tide. A similar increase in F COUNTY F 0 WS_24 WS_28 10/22/05 10/23/05 10/23/05 10/24/05 10/24/05 10/25/05 10/25/05 10/26/05 10/26/05 collected include date and time, temperature, and pressure M M water levels was observed at S. Estero River (fig. 6). 26°00´ 26°00´ 1.60 12:00 0:00 12:00 0:00 12:00 0:00 12:00 0:00 12:00 E 3.22 E WS_26A WS_29 (barometric and water), as well as all data used to adjust pressure X X 2.39 DATE AND TIME WS_26B 4.79 I I data from inundated sensors to water-level elevation above C Marco C Marco Figure 9. Water elevations at selected inland real-time stations. O MIAMI-DADE O Island Island 4.93 5.67 WS_27 MIAMI-DADE 41 COUNTY NAVD 88. At one station where storm tide was substantial Everglades City 41 COUNTY Everglades City enough to leave a high-water mark, direct measurements of its Goodland Goodland WS_30 6 14.8 H Lopez 3.52 8 C elevation are compared to peak water levels measured at a 8

N D I

V MONROE E

nearby sensor. Storm tide data detected by the USGS real-time MONROE A 4.88 High water R N

COUNTY A COUNTY 5 14.6

Chatham mark U coastal monitoring stations in southwestern Everglades National EXPLANATION O T Q

S

EVERGLADES E Figure 3. Water-level sensor deployed at WS_26A Marco Island Bayside. EVERGLADES EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK

Up Lostmans V Park and northeastern Florida Bay are also presented. R 1.90 I NATIONAL E The reference mark at site WS_30 was lost prior to NATIONAL T P A HURRICANE WILMA STORM TRACK 14.4

PARK L 4 Up Broad PARK 1.76 1.23 S Broad E the elevation survey due to construction activity at the site, This report uses the term "storm tide” in place of "storm surge." As defined by the National Ocean and ROAD D R

25°30´ 25°30´ N T U CANAL E so its elevation had to be estimated based on photographs

Atmospheric Administration, "storm tide" refers to the total water level above a datum generated by a storm. "Storm 5.06 O Harney E F P

TEMPORARY EXISTING REAL-TIME 3 ELEVATION 14.2 N N taken at the time of deployment. The maximum storm tide I surge" refers to the component of the storm tide over and above the predicted astronomical tide (Jelesnianski and EXPLANATION STORM TIDE ELEVATION I

, 0.70 ,

STATION STATION E Shark Up North 4.17 N LOWEST RECORDABLE EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK R recorded at WS_30, however, agreed well with the 5.62-ft others, 1992). Additional information is available at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/English/storm_surge.shtml and O I North Oregon Maximum storm tide elevation, in feet ELEVATION U T S A HURRICANE WILMA STORM TRACK 2.35 2 14.0 S elevation of the high-water mark (rated excellent) found at http://www.asp.ucar.edu/colloquium/1988/Houston.jsp. above NAVD 88 1.12 V HIGH-WATER MARK E E R ROAD West L 0.7 - 1.0 P 2.62 E East < 0.4 2.59 BAROMETRIC PRESSURE Up Taylor Hwy 1.83 near the station (fig. 10). C E CANAL Hwy I D

1.1 - 2.0 R 0.4 - 1.0 3.53 I T

McCormick T

13.8 TEMPORARY STATION AND NUMBER Trout 1.1 - 2.0 2.1 - 3.0 2.87 1 E M WS_29 M R

3.37 O

Mud O Pressure Transducer Deployment and Retrieval 2.1 - 3.0 3.1 - 4.0 R 0.76 T A

EXISTING REAL-TIME STATION S Pressure transducers (or sensors) were programmed prior to deployment to measure and record time, Jewfish 3.1 - 4.0 4.1 - 5.0 B Chatham AND NAME Florida Bay 0 13.6 Florida Bay 4.1 - 5.0 5.1 - 6.0 10/23/2005 10/23/2005 10/24/2005 10/24/2005 10/25/2005 10/25/2005 10/26/2005 temperature, and pressure every 30 seconds during the storm and for several days after passage of the storm. Sensors 25°00´ 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 25°00´ 5.1 - 6.0 6.1 - 11.3 were deployed in 1.5 × 18 in. metal pipes and strapped to permanent objects, such as piers and power poles. Water- DATE AND TIME Figure 10. Hurricane Wilma storm tide elevations at WS_30 Everglades City, including level sensors were deployed at elevations considered susceptible to storm tide inundation and barometric-pressure Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data 0 10 20 MILES Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data 0 10 20 MILES Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 17, Datum NAD 27 high-water mark. sensors were deployed at elevations considered not susceptible (figs. 3 and 4, respectively). During deployments, Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 17, Datum NAD 27 reference marks, consisting of driven nails or chiseled lines in concrete were created near each water-level sensor, 0 10 20 KILOMETERS 0 10 20 KILOMETERS Data from WS_25 agreed well with data from the South Florida Water Management District BCB Hendersen Creek and the vertical distance from the reference mark to the sensor (offset) was recorded (fig. 5). All sensors were Figure 2. Temporary and real-time monitoring stations used in this study. Figure 6. Storm tide measured at temporary and real-time monitoring stations. monitoring station located 10 ft downstream from the US-41 bridge (fig. 11). Data from WS_15 agreed well with data from the retrieved less than 4 days after Hurricane Wilma passed, and offsets were checked to verify that the sensors had not University of South Florida Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Observation System (COMPS) Big Carlos Pass station located about moved relative to the reference mark. Data Corrections Acknowledgments 800 ft away near the center of the pass (fig. 12). The increased variability in the data from the temporary station in comparison to Pressure data from inundated sensors were corrected for changes in barometric pressure The authors wish to thank the USGS personnel for their dedication in making this the COMPS station is due to the shorter data collection interval (30 seconds, compared to 6 minutes) at the temporary station, and using data from barometric-pressure sensors and the following formula: monitoring effort possible, including Ben McGee and Burl Goree (Ruston, Louisiana), because the COMPS station has a stilling well that substantially dampened the wave action during the storm. In addition, the Pw - Pb= Pc Kevin Hubbs and Ray Dupuis (Tampa, Florida), Gene Krupp, Sara Hammermeister, Craig COMPS water-level data represent a mean value of 3-minute data collected at 1-second intervals. where: Thompson, Jessica Flanigin, and Eduardo Patino (Fort Myers, Florida), Scott Prinos (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), and Robert Mason (Reston, Virginia). The authors also wish to thank 2.5 1.5 8 Pw is water pressure, in pounds per square inch 8 8 8

EXPLANATION D Kim Swidarski (USGS, Fort Lauderdale, Florida) for preparing the illustrations and GIS D EXPLANATION V Pb is barometric pressure, in pounds per square inch V 2.0 SFWMD STATION BCB 1.0 TEMPORARY STATION A A

N COMPS STATION N

Pc is corrected water pressure, in pounds per square inch maps used in this poster and accompanying report. The authors would also like to thank Cliff TEMPORARY STATION O O 0.5 T T

1.5 E Merz from the University of South Florida for providing data from the Coastal Ocean E V V I I T Monitoring and Observation System, as well as Tim Howard from the South Florida Water T 0 A If a barometric-pressure sensor was not co-located with a water-level sensor, the data A L L 1.0 E E R R

from the nearest barometric-pressure sensor was used to correct the water-level data. Water- Management District Big Cypress Basin for providing data from their monitoring network. -0.5 T T E E 0.5 E E F level data from sensors also were corrected for salinity (water density) as: F

-1.0 N N I I

, (Pc × 144) / Dw = Hw , 0 N N O O -1.5 I where I T Hurricane Wilma Data Series Report and data files available at T A A -0.5 V V E 144 is a conversion factor to compute pounds per square inch to pounds per cubic foot E -2.0 L http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2007/294 L E E

E Dw is water density in pounds per cubic foot E -1.0 D D -2.5 I I T T

Hw is water height above the transducer in feet M M -1.5 R R -3.0 O O T For more information please contact: T S S Corrections for salinity were based upon the location of the sensor in proximity to the Lars Soderqvist -2.0 -3.5 10/23/2005 10/23/2005 10/24/2005 10/24/2005 10/25/2005 10/25/2005 10/26/2005 10/23/2005 10/23/2005 10/24/2005 10/24/2005 10/25/2005 10/25/2005 10/26/2005 coast. In general, sensors located at the coast were categorized as saltwater (density of [email protected] 0:00 12:00 0:00 12:00 0:00 12:00 0:00 0:00 12:00 0:00 12:00 0:00 12:00 0:00 saltwater is 63.9887 lb/ft3), and sensors located at estuarine bays and tributaries were DATE AND TIME DATE AND TIME Figure 11. Comparison of Hurricane Wilma storm tide elevations at Hendersen Creek as measured categorized as brackish (density of brackish water is 63.0522 lb/ft3). Figure 12. Comparison of Hurricane Wilma storm tide elevations at Big Carlos Pass as measured Figure 4. Barometric-pressure sensor deployed at Figure 5. Water-level sensor deployment at WS_30 Everglades City. US Geological Survey Fort Myers by South Florida Water Management District station BCB and U.S. Geological Survey temporary by the University of South Florida COMPS station and U.S. Geological Survey temporary station WS_19 Imperial River. Florida Integrated Science Center station WS_25. The BCB data were obtained from the DBHYDRO database. WS_15. Data for the COMPS station are from University of South Florida Department of Marine Science (undated).

U.S. Department of the Interior March 6, 2008 U.S. Geological Survey