Hurricane Isaac (2012)
Hurricane Isaac made landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River in southeastern Louisiana on August 28, 2012, as a Category 1 hurricane. While Isaac’s peak winds were relatively modest, its expansive wind field, prolonged tropical storm conditions, significant storm surge, and heavy rainfall produced widespread impacts across the northern Gulf Coast.
Research & Analysis
IBHS partnered with the Texas Tech University Hurricane Research Team (TTUHRT) and the Digital Hurricane Consortium to support one of the most comprehensive hurricane landfall observation campaigns ever conducted. Researchers deployed a dense network of meteorological instruments that, together with NOAA aircraft and other observational assets, captured high-resolution measurements of Hurricane Isaac’s wind field, storm surge, and rainfall.
This report brings together those observations to document the storm’s evolution and hazards while providing valuable data to support catastrophe modeling, hurricane research, and a better understanding of how wind, storm surge, and rainfall combine to produce losses. By making these data and analyses available, IBHS helps insurers, researchers, and decision-makers improve risk assessment and strengthen community resilience.
To explore the complete storm analysis, observational datasets, and supporting resources:
