Hurricane Laura (2020): peak water levels

56 river and stream gauges and 10 tide gauges · Beaumont–Port Arthur, Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana, Lafayette and Acadiana · August 25, 2020 to August 31, 2020

Against today's NWS flood stages, 7 of the 56 river and stream gauges here peaked at or above a flood stage (1 at major, 1 at moderate, 5 at minor). For 2 of them it is the highest peak in their comparable USGS record: Vermilion Bay near Cypremort Point, Mouth of Atchafalaya River at Atchafalaya Bay. The highest tide gauge reading was 9.24 ft above MHHW at Calcasieu Pass (Aug 27, 2020 at 1:00 AM CDT).

Tide gauges

Highest six-minute water level in the window, relative to mean higher high water (an ordinary high tide) on today's tidal datum.

River and stream gauges

Beaumont–Port Arthur

Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana

Lafayette and Acadiana

Highest gage height in the window: from USGS's 15-minute record where it exists, otherwise the gauge's USGS annual peak when that fell in the window (a date only). Flood stages are the National Weather Service's current ones, which can differ from those in use at the time. Peaks USGS records on an earlier datum are listed but not compared.

How this page is built

Each gauge's highest reading between August 25, 2020 and August 31, 2020 (the window runs past the rain because large rivers crest days later), from USGS and NOAA records, for the gauges this site carries today in Beaumont–Port Arthur, Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana, Lafayette and Acadiana. Gauges installed since are not listed; a gauge out of service at the time has no row. Harris County's own gauges are not included: this site has their readings only from September 2026. Readings only: this page says nothing about damage or what happened at any street or property.

Every historic flood on this site · Storms since September 2026