Louisiana, 2008

Tropical Storm and Storm Surge in Louisiana, August 3 to 5, 2008

August 3 to 5, 2008 · NWS LIX · 10 events in 6 counties and zones

Tropical Storm Edouard formed over the north central Gulf of Mexico on the afternoon of August 3rd. Edouard moved east northeast offshore the south Louisiana coastline before making landfall on the upper Texas Coast on Tuesday August 5th.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
10

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS LIX wrote it up.

Tropical Storm Edouard formed over the north central Gulf of Mexico on the afternoon of August 3rd. Edouard moved east northeast offshore the south Louisiana coastline before making landfall on the upper Texas Coast on Tuesday August 5th. The affect on the southeast Louisiana were minimal and confined to the coastal areas west of the Mississippi River. Tropical storm force winds, primarily in gusts, occurred along the coast. Tides were generally 1 to 3 feet above normal with a few low lying roadways having minor flooding. Lowest pressure recorded was 1009.2 mb at the LUMCON facility at Cocodrie. Maximum sustained winds at the LUMCON-Tambour Bay site were 34 knots and a peak wind of 38 knots. At the LUMCON-Cocodrie facility a wind gust of 34 knots was observed. A maximum storm tide of 3.2 feet NAVD88 was observed at the LUMCON Cocodrie site. Storm total rainfall was less than an inch. Maximum storm total rainfall was 0.86 inches at the LSU Ag Station near Houma.

A 34 year old man was lost overboard and presumed dead when he apparently fell off of a commercial shrimp boat in rough seas about two miles south of the Southwest Pass during the evening of August 3rd.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS New Orleans, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 3, 3:37 PM CST, 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 3, 3:37 PM CST, 23 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 3, 10:54 AM CST, 5 hours 6 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
1154 AM CDT SUN AUG 3 2008

GMZ530-LAZ034>040-046>050-056>070-MSZ068>071-077-080>082-041700-
LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN AND LAKE MAUREPAS-POINTE COUPEE-WEST FELICIANA-
EAST FELICIANA-ST. HELENA-TANGIPAHOA-WASHINGTON-ST. TAMMANY-
IBERVILLE-WEST BATON ROUGE-EAST BATON ROUGE-ASCENSION-LIVINGSTON-
ASSUMPTION-ST. JAMES-ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST-UPPER LAFOURCHE-
ST. CHARLES-UPPER JEFFERSON-ORLEANS-UPPER PLAQUEMINES-
UPPER ST. BERNARD-UPPER TERREBONNE-LOWER TERREBONNE-
LOWER LAFOURCHE-LOWER JEFFERSON-LOWER PLAQUEMINES-
LOWER ST. BERNARD-WILKINSON-AMITE-PIKE-WALTHALL-PEARL RIVER-
HANCOCK-HARRISON-JACKSON-
1154 AM CDT SUN AUG 3 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY...ESPECIALLY WEST OF
INTERSTATE 55. ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE
POSSIBLE BY LATE AFTERNOON. THE MAIN THREATS FROM THESE STORMS
WILL BE VERY HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING.

A COASTAL FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT TONIGHT FOR COASTAL AREAS FROM
SOUTHERN JEFFERSON PARISH TO HANCOCK COUNTY. EASTERLY AND
SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS GENERATED BY A WEAK DISTURBANCE IN THE
NORTHERN GULF WILL BEGIN TO PILE WATER INTO THE EAST AND SOUTH
FACING SHORELINES OF SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND HANCOCK COUNTY
MISSISSIPPI.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY
ORGANIZED HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE WEEK. A
FRONTAL SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO SETTLE ACROSS THE AREA BY NEXT
WEEKEND. THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FRONT MAY BE STRONG.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED.

GMZ550-555-570-575-041700-
COASTAL WATERS FROM THE SOUTHWEST PASS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
TO LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER LA OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM PASCAGOULA MS TO THE SOUTHWEST PASS OF THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER OUT 20 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM THE SOUTHWEST PASS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
TO LOWER ATCHAFALAYA RIVER LA FROM 20 TO 60 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM PASCAGOULA MS TO THE SOUTHWEST PASS OF THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER FROM 20 TO 60 NM-
1154 AM CDT SUN AUG 3 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COASTAL WATERS OF
SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT
STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT THE COASTAL WATERS
TODAY AND TONIGHT. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORMING IN RESPONSE TO
A WEAK DISTURBANCE OVER THE NORTHERN GULF WHICH WILL CONTINUE TO
BE MONITORED FOR DEVELOPMENT. HAZARDOUS WEATHER WITH THESE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCLUDE STRONG WINDS UP TO 50 KNOTS...VERY
ROUGH SEAS...WATERSPOUTS AND CONTINUOUS LIGHTNING.

DUE TO THE GULF DISTURBANCE...A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN
EFFECT OVERNIGHT. ADDITIONAL WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES MAY NEED TO
BE ISSUED TONIGHT AND MONDAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY EVENING. THESE
WILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE DISTURBANCE IN THE GULF. STRONG TO
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY ALSO CONTINUE OVER THE WATERS WEST OF THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER ON MONDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 3, 1:48 PM CST, 2 hours 12 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Aug 3, 2:57 PM CST, 1 hour 3 minutes before
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Local storm report, Aug 3, 3:18 PM CST, 42 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Aug 3, 3:50 PM CST, 10 minutes before
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Event by event

6 tropical storm, 4 storm surge/tide. Local standard time, as filed.

Tropical Storm, Upper Lafourche

When
August 3, 4:00 PM CST to August 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Upper Lafourche forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations

Tropical Storm Edouard formed over the north central Gulf of Mexico on the afternoon of August 3rd. Edouard moved east northeast offshore the south Louisiana coastline before making landfall on the upper Texas Coast on Tuesday August 5th. The affect on the southeast Louisiana were minimal and confined to the coastal areas west of the Mississippi River. Tropical storm force winds, primarily in gusts, occurred along the coast. Tides were generally 1 to 3 feet above normal with a few low lying roadways having minor flooding. Lowest pressure recorded was 1009.2 mb at the LUMCON facility at Cocodrie. Maximum sustained winds at the LUMCON-Tambour Bay site were 34 knots and a peak wind of 38 knots. At the LUMCON-Cocodrie facility a wind gust of 34 knots was observed. A maximum storm tide of 3.2 feet NAVD88 was observed at the LUMCON Cocodrie site. Storm total rainfall was less than an inch. Maximum storm total rainfall was 0.86 inches at the LSU Ag Station near Houma.

Storm Surge/Tide, Lower Terrebonne

When
August 3, 4:00 PM CST to August 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Lower Terrebonne forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager

Storm surge of 1 to 3 feet above normal was experienced along the southeast Louisiana coast as Tropical Storm Edouard moved across the northern Gulf of Mexico. Minimal impact was felt along the coast with only minor flooding of a few coastal roadways. Maximum storm tide was 3.2 feet recorded at the LUMCON-Cocodrie facility.

Tropical Storm, Upper Terrebonne

When
August 3, 4:00 PM CST to August 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Upper Terrebonne forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager

Tropical Storm Edouard formed over the north central Gulf of Mexico on the afternoon of August 3rd. Edouard moved east northeast offshore the south Louisiana coastline before making landfall on the upper Texas Coast on Tuesday August 5th. The affect on the southeast Louisiana were minimal and confined to the coastal areas west of the Mississippi River. Tropical storm force winds, primarily in gusts, occurred along the coast. Tides were generally 1 to 3 feet above normal with a few low lying roadways having minor flooding. Lowest pressure recorded was 1009.2 mb at the LUMCON facility at Cocodrie. Maximum sustained winds at the LUMCON-Tambour Bay site were 34 knots and a peak wind of 38 knots. At the LUMCON-Cocodrie facility a wind gust of 34 knots was observed. A maximum storm tide of 3.2 feet NAVD88 was observed at the LUMCON Cocodrie site. Storm total rainfall was less than an inch. Maximum storm total rainfall was 0.86 inches at the LSU Ag Station near Houma.

Tropical Storm, Lower Jefferson

When
August 3, 4:00 PM CST to August 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Lower Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations

Tropical Storm Edouard formed over the north central Gulf of Mexico on the afternoon of August 3rd. Edouard moved east northeast offshore the south Louisiana coastline before making landfall on the upper Texas Coast on Tuesday August 5th. The affect on the southeast Louisiana were minimal and confined to the coastal areas west of the Mississippi River. Tropical storm force winds, primarily in gusts, occurred along the coast. Tides were generally 1 to 3 feet above normal with a few low lying roadways having minor flooding. Lowest pressure recorded was 1009.2 mb at the LUMCON facility at Cocodrie. Maximum sustained winds at the LUMCON-Tambour Bay site were 34 knots and a peak wind of 38 knots. At the LUMCON-Cocodrie facility a wind gust of 34 knots was observed. A maximum storm tide of 3.2 feet NAVD88 was observed at the LUMCON Cocodrie site. Storm total rainfall was less than an inch. Maximum storm total rainfall was 0.86 inches at the LSU Ag Station near Houma.

Tropical Storm, Lower Lafourche

When
August 3, 4:00 PM CST to August 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Lower Lafourche forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations

Tropical Storm Edouard formed over the north central Gulf of Mexico on the afternoon of August 3rd. Edouard moved east northeast offshore the south Louisiana coastline before making landfall on the upper Texas Coast on Tuesday August 5th. The affect on the southeast Louisiana were minimal and confined to the coastal areas west of the Mississippi River. Tropical storm force winds, primarily in gusts, occurred along the coast. Tides were generally 1 to 3 feet above normal with a few low lying roadways having minor flooding. Lowest pressure recorded was 1009.2 mb at the LUMCON facility at Cocodrie. Maximum sustained winds at the LUMCON-Tambour Bay site were 34 knots and a peak wind of 38 knots. At the LUMCON-Cocodrie facility a wind gust of 34 knots was observed. A maximum storm tide of 3.2 feet NAVD88 was observed at the LUMCON Cocodrie site. Storm total rainfall was less than an inch. Maximum storm total rainfall was 0.86 inches at the LSU Ag Station near Houma.

Tropical Storm, Lower Plaquemines

When
August 3, 4:00 PM CST to August 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Lower Plaquemines forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations

Tropical Storm Edouard formed over the north central Gulf of Mexico on the afternoon of August 3rd. Edouard moved east northeast offshore the south Louisiana coastline before making landfall on the upper Texas Coast on Tuesday August 5th. The affect on the southeast Louisiana were minimal and confined to the coastal areas west of the Mississippi River. Tropical storm force winds, primarily in gusts, occurred along the coast. Tides were generally 1 to 3 feet above normal with a few low lying roadways having minor flooding. Lowest pressure recorded was 1009.2 mb at the LUMCON facility at Cocodrie. Maximum sustained winds at the LUMCON-Tambour Bay site were 34 knots and a peak wind of 38 knots. At the LUMCON-Cocodrie facility a wind gust of 34 knots was observed. A maximum storm tide of 3.2 feet NAVD88 was observed at the LUMCON Cocodrie site. Storm total rainfall was less than an inch. Maximum storm total rainfall was 0.86 inches at the LSU Ag Station near Houma.

Tropical Storm, Lower Terrebonne

When
August 3, 4:00 PM CST to August 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Lower Terrebonne forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations

Tropical Storm Edouard formed over the north central Gulf of Mexico on the afternoon of August 3rd. Edouard moved east northeast offshore the south Louisiana coastline before making landfall on the upper Texas Coast on Tuesday August 5th. The affect on the southeast Louisiana were minimal and confined to the coastal areas west of the Mississippi River. Tropical storm force winds, primarily in gusts, occurred along the coast. Tides were generally 1 to 3 feet above normal with a few low lying roadways having minor flooding. Lowest pressure recorded was 1009.2 mb at the LUMCON facility at Cocodrie. Maximum sustained winds at the LUMCON-Tambour Bay site were 34 knots and a peak wind of 38 knots. At the LUMCON-Cocodrie facility a wind gust of 34 knots was observed. A maximum storm tide of 3.2 feet NAVD88 was observed at the LUMCON Cocodrie site. Storm total rainfall was less than an inch. Maximum storm total rainfall was 0.86 inches at the LSU Ag Station near Houma.

Storm Surge/Tide, Lower Jefferson

When
August 3, 4:00 PM CST to August 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Lower Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations

Storm surge of 1 to 3 feet above normal was experienced along the southeast Louisiana coast as Tropical Storm Edouard moved across the northern Gulf of Mexico. Minimal impact was felt along the coast with only minor flooding of a few coastal roadways. Maximum storm tide was 3.2 feet recorded at the LUMCON-Cocodrie facility.

Storm Surge/Tide, Lower Lafourche

When
August 3, 4:00 PM CST to August 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Lower Lafourche forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations

Storm surge of 1 to 3 feet above normal was experienced along the southeast Louisiana coast as Tropical Storm Edouard moved across the northern Gulf of Mexico. Minimal impact was felt along the coast with only minor flooding of a few coastal roadways. Maximum storm tide was 3.2 feet recorded at the LUMCON-Cocodrie facility.

Storm Surge/Tide, Lower Plaquemines

When
August 3, 4:00 PM CST to August 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Lower Plaquemines forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations

Storm surge of 1 to 3 feet above normal was experienced along the southeast Louisiana coast as Tropical Storm Edouard moved across the northern Gulf of Mexico. Minimal impact was felt along the coast with only minor flooding of a few coastal roadways. Maximum storm tide was 3.2 feet recorded at the LUMCON-Cocodrie facility.

What these are

Tropical Storm
A tropical cyclone with sustained winds of 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph).
Storm Surge/Tide
Water pushed ashore above the normal tide by a storm’s winds and low pressure.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Louisiana in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, August 2008The 2008 hurricane season

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 134037, 134038, 134201, 134202, 134203, 134204, 134205, 134207, 134209, 134210.