Hurricane Floyd is expected to bring significant amounts of rain to Massachusetts and Rhode Island on Thursday and Friday. During this storm event the U.S. Geological Survey will have 8 teams in the field making high-flow measurements at USGS stream-gaging sites on 30 rivers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. This information will be used to ensure that the most accurate measurements possible of the amount (discharge) and height (stage) of water in swollen streams are measured at these stations.

During Hurricane Floyd the USGS will be operating and maintaining 102 gaging stations throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island where water level and flow will be monitored continuously. Fifty-four of these stations are equipped with instrumentation that allows the USGS to monitor remotely the current water level and flow of the rivers at 15 minute intervals. This streamflow information is relayed to the National Weather Service (NWS) and other State and Federal agencies, such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). This discharge and stage information is used by flood forecasters and water resources managers at these agencies to warn the public of impending floods and also manage water levels at locks and dams, levees, and diversions.

This information about Massachusetts and Rhode Island streamflows may be found on the USGS Massachusetts--Rhode Island District home page:
http://ma.water.usgs.gov/

Hurricane preparedness information from the USGS may be found at:
http://www.usgs.gov/

Other USGS information related to the 1999 Hurricane Season and USGS hurricane and severe storm research projects information may be found at:
http://ma.water.usgs.gov/hurricane_season_99.htm

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Contact: Roy Socolow
rsocolow@usgs.gov
508-490-5059
United States Geological Survey
16-Sep-1999