UF Researchers Raced Against Helene To Deploy Storm-Monitoring Equipment Along Coast

In the final hours before deadly Hurricane Helene made landfall last month, research teams from the University of Florida scrambled up Florida’s west coast in a two-day blitz to set up storm-monitoring equipment that will provide valuable insights into environmental, structural, and human survival.

The day before Helene slammed into the Big Bend — about a dozen UF faculty members, staff, and graduate students from the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering arrived at Cedar Key’s beach to install a UF-developed storm-monitoring tower called a Sentinel. These 33-foot-tall devices collect data on wind, storm surge, waves, and water quality before, during, and after a hurricane makes landfall.

It reports data back to researchers in real-time. The goal is to analyze the data collected on wind, surge, and water impacts that could be used to mitigate coastal damage, property damage, and structural vulnerabilities that could endanger life.

This was the Sentinels’ first full deployment — a “landmark moment,” noted College of Engineering interim Dean Forrest Masters, who helped launch the program and design the Sentinels.

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