LaPlace — Recently, NOAA filled a gap in observations of Lake Pontchartrain that will help LaPlace and surrounding area be more resilient in the face of severe storms by installing a water level station that uses new microwave water level measurement technology and a meteorological station that will help emergency managers plan for and respond to flooding.

This station provides continuous real time measurements before, during, and after a storm event. The station is built to withstand winds of up to 110 miles per hour and will provide real-time data for accurate lake modeling, storm surge predictions, and emergency planning and evacuation orders.

The data collected includes tide, temperature, humidity, rain, barometric pressure, and wind. The tower is one of kind as a special rail system was created to get all the critical components high enough on the tower to survive storm surge from hurricanes.

The new storm hardened water levels and storm surge station is now in place and operating in real time in LaPlace. The use of sensors, removes any contact of equipment from the water and reduces any possible damage to equipment.

Nearby, the new NOAA real time weather station, a second element to the real time coastal observations and intelligence system to serve the LaPlace and northwest Lake Pontchartrain area, is in operation and providing observations continuously throughout the day.

The parish will commemorate and dedicate the real-time weather station — at 10 a.m. Sept. 23 at the station on Peavine Road in  LaPlace near the boat launch — which serves St. John, the only one of its kind in the region and state.