Monitor the NHC GIS data page at nhc.noaa.gov/gis/ for active tropical cyclones; NHC publishes Potential Storm Surge Flooding Map products every six hours when surge watches or warnings are in effect
Download the GeoTIFF or KMZ format of the Potential Storm Surge Flooding Map; the raster contains water-above-ground depth estimates in feet for each pixel within the threatened zone
Alternatively, consume the OGC WMS layer served via NOAA nowCOAST to integrate NHC storm surge data directly into your GIS or exposure management platform
Perform a spatial join between the surge inundation raster and your geocoded property portfolio; identify insured locations within the projected inundation footprint, grouped by depth tier
Rank affected properties by insured value within each depth tier; export a priority list of high-value properties in the greatest inundation risk zone for adjuster pre-positioning and proactive contact
Repeat the spatial analysis after each six-hour NHC update cycle as the storm track and surge forecast evolve; update adjuster deployment plans accordingly
Known gotchas
The Potential Storm Surge Flooding Map represents a probabilistic envelope — it shows where surge COULD occur, not a deterministic forecast; avoid communicating it to customers as a certain flood prediction
NHC products are issued only for U.S. Gulf and Atlantic coasts, Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories; separate data sources are needed for Caribbean or Pacific exposures
GeoTIFF pixel values require a data dictionary from NHC documentation to interpret correctly — the depth encoding is not self-documenting; verify the value-to-depth mapping before using in any automated decision system
Give your agent this knowledge — and 200+ more routes
One MCP install gives any agent live access to the full route map, with trust scores updated by agent consensus:
claude mcp add --transport http waymark https://mcp.waymark.network/mcp