GCOOS Monitors Ocean Conditions in Real Time During Hurricane Isaias

12 October 2026
Edited By: Haley McQueen

During Hurricane Isaias, the Gulf of America Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) tracked data from monitoring stations and autonomous vehicles in real time and near real time to improve forecasting ahead of the storm.

DISL installed a Sofar Spotter buoy in 2025 off the Alabama coast. (Image credit: Dauphin Island Sea LaB)

Uncrewed systems, high-frequency radar, buoys, webcams, and other platforms that operate even in dangerous conditions gather and transmit critical ocean temperature data in near real time, which hurricane modelers use immediately to predict how and where storms move and how intense they could become. Buoys and radar also track wave heights—important information for monitoring coastal flooding. These factors are critically important for protecting lives in the face of destructive hurricane-force winds and storm surge.

Experts predict that a small spotter buoy operated by GCOOS partner Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama was in the direct pathway of the storm. In addition to collecting data used in real time during storm tracking, forecasters and modelers use data like these for post-storm analyses that help to improve future forecasts.

GCOOS’s mission is to provide timely, reliable, and accurate information on the open ocean and coastal ocean waters of the Gulf to ensure a healthy, clean, productive ocean and resilient coastal zone. It works with governmental and nongovernmental organizations, universities, research laboratories, and emergency managers throughout the Gulf of Mexico to collect and share data.

“Within the last two years, GCOOS has worked with our partners in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida to increase instrumentation in the northern Gulf,” said GCOOS Executive Director Dr. Jorge Brenner. “These data are now streaming online for forecasters, emergency management professionals, and the public to use to help determine ocean conditions and track storms. Now, with Hurricane Isaias bearing down on the northern Gulf, these tools are more important than ever.”

Autonomous Vehicles

Two Oshen C-Star autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) operated by NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML). These 4-foot-long vehicles are wind-propelled with solar-powered sensors, and transmit real-time data on wind speed and direction, sea surface temperature, air temperature, air pressure, and relative humidity via satellite for forecasters and scientists. C-Stars are also equipped with electric motor thrusters to improve positioning to intercept a hurricane or when winds are weak.
Two Saildrones operated by NOAA. These wind- and solar-powered uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) are gathering data on wind speed and direction, gusts, air temperatures, significant wave heights, and barometric pressure.
A Seaglider operated by the University of Southern Mississippi. This autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is gathering data on water temperatures at depth and salinity. Users can also compare the actual data the Seaglider is collecting to the conditions predicted by key oceanic/weather models.

View the data from these assets at GCOOS’s Piloting Decision Support Tool: https://gandalf.gcoos.org

GCOOS created a dashboard that lets pilots of uncrewed vessels track their vehicles and automatically plot incoming data. The lines on the map show the paths of the vehicles that GCOOS is currently hosting, including two C-Stars, two Saildrones, and a Seaglider, that were in or near the projected path of Hurricane Isaias. See the data online at https://gandalf.gcoos.org

Buoys

Sofar Spotter buoys off the Alabama and Pensacola coasts are operated by the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL). These small buoys were installed at the request of the National Weather Service to help track rip currents, but the information these buoys gather includes data on waves, weather, and sea surface temperature. The Alabama buoy is moored about 10 miles from shore, and the Pensacola buoy is moored about two miles from shore. These buoys are part of the DISL-operated Alabama’s Real-Time Coastal Observing System (ARCOS), a collection of weather stations gathering data in and around Mobile Bay.

View the data from these assets and other moorings at https://data.gcoos.org

DISL installed a Sofar Spotter buoy in 2025 off the Alabama coast. That buoy was in the path of Hurricane Isaias.

High-Frequency Radar (HFR)

GCOOS sponsors HFR data from Singing River, Gulfport Harbor Pier, and Pass Christian Yacht Club in Mississippi and Henderson Beach State Park in Florida, operated by the University of Southern Mississippi. HFR measures the speed and direction of ocean surface currents in near-real time—providing accurate and timely information as quickly as possible to people who depend on the data. HFR data is particularly important for US Coast Guard search-and-rescue operations, emergency response to oil, gas, and other hazardous chemical spills, and for the National Weather Service’s marine forecasts.

View the data from these assets at https://data.gcoos.org/hfradar/

Web Cameras

GCOOS also operates four web cams installed as part of the national Webcam Coastal Observation System (WebCOOS). The cameras are both east and west of the landing path and hosted by the Tidewater Beach Resort at Panama City Beach, Florida, and Phoenix Gulf Towers in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

View the live feeds from these assets at https://webcoos.org

Looking for wave heights in specific areas? These six stations are in the path of Hurricane Isaias. To view the data, click the link, then choose “Plot Data” to view wave data transmitted to GCOOS.