TAMU-G-75-001 C2

on the Coast

Description and Climatology

TEXAS ABcM UNIVERSITY ~ A SEA GRANT COLLEGE TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword, p. 3

I I. Acknowledgments, p. 3

III. The IVIostDestructive Weather Phenomenon Known, p. 4

IV. Description of the Hurricane, p. 6

V. A Brief Resume'of a Few Texas Hurricanes, p. 10

VI. Climatological Data, p. 13

VII. What's the Probability?, p. 13

Appendix I, p. 18

Appendix II, p. 22

References,p. 27

Future Booklets, p, 27 on the Texas Coast

Description and Climatology l. FOREWORD

When a hurricane, regardlessof its size or intensity, strikes the coast of Texas and travels inland, it affects the lives of thousands and possibly millions of Texans. Besides the obvious physical damagesdue to , high winds, and high tides, which are usually restricted to the area near the coast, there are also damagesdue to large amounts of rainfall that may extend inland for many hundreds of miles. This rainfall sometimes helps to relieve drought, but more otten it causeswidespread - ing, harmful erosion, and ruined crops. This booklet is the first in a seriesof three prepared by Texas A&M's Center for Applied Geosciencesfor publica- tion by the University's Sea Grant Prograin. The series is designed to help Texans understand, prepare for, and re- cover from the harmful effects of hurricanes. This publica- tion describes various types of tropical cyclones and hurricanes. The characteristics of hurricanes and their frequency of occurrence over sections of the Texas coast also are analyzed. The second booklet in this series deals more specifically with hurricane damage due to flooding, either by storm surge or heavy rains, and wind and hazards. The final booklet discussesprecautions and actions that may be taken to minimize hazards and to save lives,

Il. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We extend our most sincere appreciation to Dr. Robert H. Simpson,former Director of the National Hurricane Center, , , for his timely comments and assistance on the final draft of this book- let. We wish to thank Dr. ] ames R. Scoggins, Director of the Center for Applied Geosciences,Texas A&M University, for his continuedguidance and support throughout this project, Thanksalso are givento Dr. DennisM, Driscoll for his assistanceon the many drafts of this volume. Also, we would like to acknowledgethe help of Mr. joseph Pelissier of the National Hurricane Center, who furnished back- ground information, and Ms.Teena Conklin of the Texas HighwayDepartment for assistancein obtaining many of the photographs used in this study. Special thanks are extendedto Ms. Polly Luther for the professionaltyping of the many drafts. III. THE IVIOST DESTRUCTIVE WEATHER dangerously high water and exceptionally high waves, PHENOMENON KNOWN even though winds expected may be less than hurri- cane force,

Whatis a hurricane? It is an immense, cyclonically Hurricane Watch: The first alert when a hurricane poses counterclockwise!swirling storm systemcovering thou- a possible, but as yet uncertain, threat to a certain sands,sometimes hundreds of thousandsof squaremiles, coastal area, or when a tropical storm threatens the Peak wind gusts near the center of the hurricane may ex- watch area and has a 50-50 chance of intensifying in- ceed200 m.p.h. Due to its size,intensity, and duration, to a hurricane, Small craft advisories are issued as part the hurricane is the most destructive weather phenomenon of a hurricane watch advisory. known to man, The English word "hurricane" probably comes from Land Subsidence: The sinking of the land, caused mainly the Spanish word "Huracan," which was derived from by the withdrawal of underground water from wells either Hunraken, the Mayan storm god, or Hurakan, supplying cities and industries This phenomenon may the Quiche god of thunder and lightning. The word hur- cause coastal areas to become more vulnerable to ricane designateslarge cyclonic storms occurring in the tropical storm flooding. western hemisphere. Similar storms are known as typhoons in the western Pacific, cyclones in the Indian Local Action Statement: A public releaseprepared by a Ocean, and Willy-Willys near Australia. Weather Service Office in or near a threatened area giving specific details for its area of responsibility on weather conditions, evacuation notices, and other A HURRICANE GLOSSARY precautions necessaryto protect life and property.

Major Hurricane: A with maximum winds Bulletin: A public releasefrom a Weather Service Hur- of 101 m.p.h. to 135 m.p.h. 88 to 1 I7 knots! and a ricane Warning Office issued at times other than those minimum central pressure of 28.01 to 29.00 inches Hg when advisories are required. A bulletin is similar in I 1.45to 736,60 mm Hg or 948.53 to 982.05 mb!. form to an advisory but includes additional general newsworthy information. Seiche: A series of fast-moving waves that sometimes are superimposed upon the storm surge. This phenomenon Cautionary Advice to Small Craft: When a hurricane is may cause total destruction and great loss of life. within a few hundred miles of a coastline, small craft operators are warned to take precautions and to avoid entering the open sea, Storm Surge: An abnormal rise in the level of the sea produced by the hurricane. This inundation is usually Cyclone: A closedsystem of cyclonic counterclockwise responsible for the greatest loss of life and destruction direction! circulation characterizedby low pressure of property. and inclement weather. Storm Warning: A notice addedto srnal!craft advisories Extreme Hurricane: A tropical cyclone with maximum when winds of 56-73 m,p.h, are expected. Both gale and winds of 136 m.p.h. 18 knots! or higher and minimum storm warningsindicate the coastalarea to be affected central pressureof 28.00 inchesHg 11.20 mm Hg or and the expected intensity of the disturbance. 948,19 mb! or less. Tornado: A violently rotating column of air, nearly always ; The roughly circular areaof comparativelylight observable as a . winds and fair weather at the center of a hurricane, Tornado Forecast information: An advisory stating that : A notice added to small craft advisories conditions are such that tornadoes may occur. when winds of 38-55 m.p.h. are expected. TornadoWarning: An advisorystating that a tornado Hurricane: A tropical cyclone with sustained winds actually has been sighted by human eye or indicated of 74 m,p.h, 4 knots! or greater, by radar.

Hurricane Warning; A warning that within 24 hours or TropicalCyclone: A generalterm for the nearly circular lessa specifiedcoastal area may be subjectto a! sus- cyclonesthat originateover tropical oceans.It includes tained winds of 74 m.p.h. 4 knots! or higher and/or tropical storms,tropical depressions,and all types of b! dangerouslyhigh water or a combinationof hurricanes, Trop/ca/Cyc/one///err/cane Advisories; Messagesissued simultaneouslyby the HurricaneV/arning Offices and the National Hurricane Center in Miami every six hours describing the storm its position, anticipated rnovefnent, and pf'ospectlve threat.

Tropica/Depression: A tropical cyclonewith sustained windsof lessthan 39 m.p.h.4 knots!,

Tropica/Storm: A tropical cyclonewith sustainedwinds of 39 to 73 m,p.h, 4 to 63 knots!.

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Fig. /, A sate/iite view America, takerIon September4197 3, at /649 Greenwich/i/can Time by A T53. Tropica/ Storm Delia is /ocated tern roast of Texasand Tropj'ca/5to rm Christine is near . Photo courtesy of NOAA.NESS. Fig. 2. I he remains of a bLtiidt'rtgafter the waifs mere coiiopscd by winds of Hurrt'crzrjeCeit'~. Photo by Texas Highway Department.

Rainfall forms in cumulonimbus clouds; The clouds' location with respert to the eye is shown schcmaticalfy in Fig, 5. Rainfall is showeryand quite variable,As the Tropical cyclones form and grow over warm water. rain cloudsmove past, rain startsand stops.Rain clouds ! hose which approach the Texas coast form over the Guff spin around the storm like a large pinwheel whife the of , the Sea, or the tropical areasof the center of the piriwheel also is moving, Thus, the move-. Ncrth Atlantic Ocean, These areas are under the influence ment of any'onc showeris difficult to illustrate, Rain of the trade winds, which are on the sauth side of'the .is not uniformly distributed about the eye, with most Azores-BermudaHigh tseeFig. 3!. Qn orcasiona low falling in the area of maximum winds. Rain squaffs may pressure al'ea.forms in the bioacl flow of II'le tra le winds! extend out from the eyc for 20 to 200 miles. and a few of these-low»develop into tropical cyclones, Low scud clouds accompany areas of rain. Cirrus cfouds When a low intensities, winds blow counterclockwise cover lhe cyclone and extend outward from it. Prior to the around it, an extensive cloud layer forms, and rain showers . usc of radar and aircraft reconnaissance,cirrus clouds develop,If meteorologicalconditions are favorable,a were the first sign that a storm was approaching. The tropical cycfonemay developthrough the stagesof tropical satellite photo, Fig, 6, shows cloud cover, but rain bands depression, tropical storm, hurrican, and even to an extreme are partially hidden by cirrus clouds. An example of a hurrirane. shower area is shown in the radar picture, Fig. 7. It is important fo realize that each hurricane is different, The descriiption that follows is general and might nol. apply Hurricanes cause destrudtion in several ways'. in alf aspects to a specific hurricane. The eye of a hurricane i» the teature which makes it Strortri vzittCkmay destroy some structures, as shown .unique fram cyclonic storms of the more northern latitudes, in Fig. 2, Thc cye is a,somewhat circular ai'eaof comparativelyfight winds. It is usually rain-free and may vary from four to 5torrrl afric can level structures and f foal.houses ancl more than 40 miles in diameter. Diameters of I 2 to 20 miles boatsfrom their foundationsand moorings.Figs. g arc common.The eye is the focal pc int of the hurricane. and 9 show the aftermath of the storm surge. As ran be seenin Fig, 4, hurricanewinds are not sym- metriical about thc cyc, When facing the direction in which Heavy wins may'cause flooding in the flood plains. the hurricane is moving, the strongest winds will usually be to the right of' the eye and may approach a speed of forrtQQo6's al e often associated with hurrfcanes. 200 m.p.h, The radius af hurricane forre winds may bc 50 miles, but it varies from ten miles in small huriicanes Residual probiemssuch as displacement of snakes to a hundred miles in larger storms. The strength of the from their usual habitats, disruption of communica- wind decreasesin relation to the distance from the eye tions, and destructionof utilities, may ariseafter the as shown in Fig. 4. At 200 miles from the eye the winds passageof a hurricane. Public health measuresmust may bc gafe force and gusty. be taken to preventillness and epidemics. mE 0m I 0 m0 0'00 m EX 0 P@ !0 0 0! m 0 0 .- 0 0!I m g I! 0 e m I A tm I ltl mmmmmm 0 0 CE 0 me - 8 m ~0 0 0 tm 0mm m0 0 0 m f '00 P 0 v 0 w 8Emum0

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j g$gb, Fig. 4, A schematic representation of the wind distribution around the eye of an extreme hurricane. The large arrow pointing to the upper leftindicates the direction of the hurricane movement. The smaller arro wsindicate the wind direction within the hurricane, The light hatchingindicates the area of hurricane strength winds. The darAer hatchingindicates the area of winds greater than 136 miles per hour, The graphs belowindicate the variation of wind strength along the lines A-B and C-O. Fig.5. A schematicplane view and side view of therain clouds of thesame generalized hurricane in Fig.4. Theheavy arrow indicates the direction of thehurricane movement. The rain clouds are arranged in spiral bands.Clouds along cross sections about the di rection of movementare indicated in theside view. C!oud typesshown are cumulonimbus CB!, altostratus AS!, stratus S T!, and cirrus CC!. Cirrus clouds cover theentire storm, and low stratus scud!clouds hide the upper cloud structure from theground. Flq, 6, A sate/// te picture of //urricane 8euiah, /he eyeis easy toidentify, just be/om the +. Wote that the eyeis not in the center of the c/oud ness. Ne spire/ bands of c/ouds can be seen around the eye, Photo courtesy of the National Hurricane Centel;

ln one respect.hurricanes are like snowf lakes-no two On September 16, 1875 a hurricane hit lndianola, are exactly alike. HurricaneS CdnfOrm anymhere frum the Texas, The storm surge carried away three-fourths of the Cape Verde islands off the west coast of Africa to about town and killed 'l76 people, Eleven years later, on August '150 miles off the coast of Texas. Those affecting Texas 20, 1 886, 1 ndianolawas struck again, This time thc storm can form anytime from June through Ortobcr, Other surge carried away or left uninhabitable every house in the characteristics, such as rainfall distribution, tornado occur- town. Indianola was never rebuilt and today the area is a rence, storm surge, and wind intensities, also are extremely state park. Thc lndianola experience clearly illustrates thc variable. destruction duc to storm surges, The costliesthurricane in termsof liveslost' everto , August 2-5, 1970, destroyed dn hit the Texas coast was the Great Galveston Hurricane of estimated f500 million worth of property and became September 8-101900, More than 3,600 homes were the costliest hurricane to Strike the Texas coast in terms of copnp/Pter razed as storm surge udes of 15 to 20 feet property damage. Weather Wise, a publication of the swept the first two to five blocks of the east, south, and American Meteorological Society, describes some of'Cclia's west sections of the city. People were advised to leave the uniquecharacteristics. First, nearly all damageresulted island prior to hurricane , and an estimated 12,000 from wirid 'Fig.10! andnot floodingor stormsurge. people did so. Nevertheless, an estimated 6,000-8,000 peo- Second! the highest wInds occurred !n the fedf Icfthdnd ple died, making this thc worst weather disaster in U,S. quadrant rather than in the right front quadrant as would history. Only 10 to 15 percent of thc people who remamed be expected and came in streaks spaced about 1,5 miles on the island during the storm survived, apart. 8etwecn these streaks almost no damage resulted,

10 evento the frailest of structures.Third, Celia intensified explosively just prior to landfall, The heaviest rains from Cclia amounted to only 6.50 inches at Aransas Passadd 6,38 inches at Cocpus Christi, The towns of Pcarsalland j ourdanton,located just 30 to 40 miles north of the eyc of the hurricane, experienced no rainfall at all. The highest storm surgesoccurred Bt Port Aransas Beach and Port Aransas Jetty and measuredonly 9.2 and 9.0 feet above mean sea level, respectively, Celia.demonstrated two categoriesof wind damagethat may accompany an extreme hurricane. First, many build- ings collapsed duc to pressure from rampaging, rain-laden winds. Thc pressUrccxcl'tcd OAB surfaceincicBses as B function of thesquareof the wind speed.This meansthat buildingsWhich Can WithStand WindS Of 60 m.p.h, may buckle under windsof 180 m.p.h. becausethe pressureon their surfaceshas increased by B factorof 9. Second,on the lee sideof largebuildings the dynamiceFfect of the F7Q.8, 8oat carr/eo h7/Qnd/7y the storn7 surqe OfH urrfcane wind tends to create B partial vacuum, The force due to Car/a.Photo by the TexasState HighwayDepartment, this vacuum may be strong enough to cause windows to be blown outv Brd, iVind enteringthe building from the windward siclc BugmcAtsthis pressul8 dNcrencc Bnd Beulahwas another unique Texas hurricane. Not only increasesthe possibility of windowsbeing blcwn outward, did shc clfcnch the state with the greatest amouAts of rain- A persontaking shelterbehind a largebuilding could be fall, but shealso spawned more tornadoes morc than I 00! showeredwith falling glass,Some high-rise buildings'in than any hurricane on i ecord. Almost the entire Brea from CorpUsChristi lost their windowsand cloorsdUring Matagorda Bay northwestward to San Antonio and south- Celia 970j becauseof this pheriomenon. waid to Larcdo received at least 'I0 inches of rain between the 19th and the 23rd of September196/. This partially was due to'her unique track, first moving northward, then recufviAg southwestward ancl cntcling Mexico soUth of Laredo.Many areasreceived deluges in'excess of 20 inches, and a fewareas were inundatedwith up to 30 incI7csof rain. Many stationsccceived more rain in four daysthan they normally would receive in B year. Thesetorrential rains set off majorflooding of every river and stream south of San Antonio, The San Antonio river' sct ncw flood records wheA it crcstccl at 18.4 feet above its flood stage of 35 0 feet The Nueces River crestedat 46 feet2 Feetabove its previousall-time high. The I avaca River crested at 5.2 feet above its flood stageof 21.0 feet. The NavidadRiver, which alsohas a flood stage of 2I.0 feet near the town of Ganado, crested at 31.9feet. Much to thechagrin of localresidents, oily residuescarried from oil fields by flood waterswere depositedon buildings,thus leaving distinctive high eater marks. Beulah's more than 100 tornadoes broke Hurricane Carta'»record of 26 in September'1961. Usually, tornadoes produced by hurricanes have a diameter and ground path length of about half the magnitude ol tornadoes formed on the .The reducedmagnitude of these F/r/, 7, A raoQr prc1ure of Ce/ia talre77from t/7e GQ/fveston hurricane"associated twistcrs coUICI bc onc of the reasons radar /245 Greenw/ch Mean Time, August 3, /970. Ceh'a why only five people died due to Beulah's tornadoes. was not a rainy hurricane, but the spira/ bands ofrain c/ouds do show. The eyeis the NacA hoie be/ow the center Beulah's winds achieved hurricane force but weakened of the radar picture, between the second and third rh7gs. after landfall so that during the heavyrainfall period she Photo courtesy of the National Hurricane Center. degenerated into a tropical depression. Not all hurricanes are as unique as Celia and Beulah, Carla, like. most hurricanes which slam the Texas coast, waspredictable. But this did not diminish her potential for damage,Carla, an extremehurricane, ravaged Central Texas from Victoria to Dallas and caused $300 million damage,She continued northward into the Dakota»causing heavyrains. ln termsof monetarydamage she is second only to Celia.Port l avacatook the brunt of the storm surgeand measured tides < 8.5feet. above normal. Rainfall rangedfrom 2,82 inchesat Paris,in EastTexas, to a torrential 16.23 inchesat the Galvestonairport. Carla's maximum winds peaked at an estimated 175 m.p,h. Carla was the largest hurricane in rerorded history'to strike Texas,even larger than the Great GalvestonHurricane of' l 900. Yet with $300 million damage,.only 34 people died during the storm. Massevacuation of over 250,000 peoplefrom the central and uppercoastal cities resultedin the low death toll, Fig. io The M/indand rain of Harricane Cei/a, Photo by the Texas State Highway Department,

gaia.9, Hot/ses fioateg f/0m the/r foblnQatlons 6p' the Stornt »L/vgaano then &iowan6p the Hvtl6 to IN' iocatlons ai Paiacios,Texas, by HurricaneCa/ya. Photo by the TexasParks and wildlife Department, VI. CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA Climatological frequencies are usually accepted as probabilities for the future. In this case, with approximately a hundredyears of records871-1973! available,some Christopher Columbus encountered the first hurricane reliance can be placed upon the determined climatological reported in the New World during his second voyage. On frequencies and they may be interpreted as probabilities. J une 16, 1494, he experienced a violent storm in the In Fig. 'I2, the coastline is divided into 50-mile segments vicinity of Santo Domingo, which caused him to declare, and the probability of tropical storm and hurricane occur- "Nothing but the service of God and the extension of the rence during any one year period is computed for each seg- monarchy should induce him to expose himself to such ment to show variability along the coast and to estimate dangers." That same summer he encountered two more frequency of damage. The computed segment percentages violent storms. are smaller than those given for the entire Texas coast During the 103-year period, 1871-1973, 43 hurricanes becauseof the much shorter coastline involved. Probability made landfall in Texas, Ten more came close enough to data for each coastal section is presented in terms of three the coast to causedamage. During the same period 25 classesof storms: ! tropical cyclones,excluding tropical tropical storms entered the Texas coast and 12 side- depressions;! all hurricanes;and ! only extremehurri- swiped the area. For a complete listing of these storms canes. A 20 percent chance indicates one occurrence in see Appendix t of this booklet. five years. Note: This type of data may vary becauseof On the averagethe Texas coast experiences a hurricane the differing criteria establishedby variousauthors.! every other year and a tropical storm every third year. If a tropical storm makes landfall in any one of the However, no real uniformity exists becausesome years 50-mile segments, it is considered to affect the segment to have two or more tropical cyclones while others ex- the right. A hurricaneis consideredto affect all segments perience none. within 50 miles of the eye. An extremehurricane influences Tropical cyclones form only during certain seasons the area 100 miles to the right and 50 miles to the left of of the year and only in certain regions of the oceans. Since the eye, Tropical storms which come within 50 miles of 187 I, which is as far back as our records extend, no the coast without making landfall also are considered to tropical cyclone has hit the coast of Texas before June or affect coastal segrnents. after October. This does not mean that they cannot form Fig. 13 showsthe averagenumber of yearsbetween or strike Texas during other months, becausenew weather tropical cyclonesof different intensitiesfor eachcoastal records are established almost every day. Tropical cyclones segment. At first look, there appears to be a discrepancy have formed as early as February and as late as December, betweenFigs. 12 and 13. This occursbecause more than but for Texas the seasonof vulnerability has been from one cyclone may hit during a season,and when this occurs Junethrough October. Fig. 11 showsthe earliestand latest it usually is counted in two or moresegments. One cyclone occurrences of tropical cyclones for 50-mile segments of during one summerand one the next summerwould be the Texas coast. counted as one year. An occurrence every other year The path of the eye differs in each tropical cyclone. would be two years. Appendix II presents the partial tracks of cyclones entering More than one tropical cyctone can occur during any Texas or coming close to Texas for the years 't871 to1973. seasonwithin any 50-mile segments. Fig. 14, based on data from 1871 to 1973, shows the probability that two or more tropical storms or hurricanes will affect the same segment during the same year. A particular segment of coast wilt be hit twice during a seasonon the averageof one year VII. WHAT'S THE PROBABILITY? out of 20. Al! the information shown here is presented as averages. The reader must be aware that hurricanes do not under- On the average,one tropical storm or one hurricane standaverages and eachbehaves as it wisheswithout regard occurs every year. However, none occurred during half the to the actions of previous cyclones. Each has its own years between 1871 and 1973. No tropical storm activity individual pattern. Nevertheless,the concept of using at all was reported from 1903 to 1908. Therefore, the climatological averagesas probabilities for the future is averageoccurrence of hurricanes and tropical storms has a standard procedure and, with a hundred years of data, little meaning when applied to any one year. these values may be considered a reliable guide. The Texas coast is long, and considering the size of any hurricane, it can be seen that one storm may not affect the entire coast. The storm tracks show that, in general, stormsapproach the coastat right angles Appendix II!. However, in some unusual casesstorms may travel par- allel to the coast causing damage along almost the entire coast of Texas. 13 IIAEX [CO

Fi'g. 1 1.The earliest and latest dates that a tropicalcyclone has ever affected specified 50mile segmentsof the Texascoast during the years 1871-1973. Fig. 12. Probability in percent of tropical storms and hurricanes affecting specified 50-mile segments of the Texascoast during any one year,

15 Fig 13. A aeragenumber of years betweenthe occurrenceof tropical cyclonesin specified50-mile segments of the Texas coast based on data fiom 1871-1973. Fig, 14. Thepercent of years that two or more tropical cycloneshave affected the sameSO-mile segment during one season based on data from 1871-1973,

17 APPENDIX I

A chronological listing of the Tropical Cyclones which affected Texas from 1871-1973 is given in Table 1. Table 2 gives a summary by month of the data presented in Table 1.

TABLE 1

A list by date of hurricanesand tropical storms which madelandfall on the TexasCoast, carne close enough to affect it, or entered Texas through Mexico or :

1871 June 4 Tropical Storm made landfall near Galveston June 9 Tropical Storm made landfall near Galveston October 2 Hurricane passednear central Texas coast

1874 July 4 Hurricane made landfall near Indianola August 4 Tropical Storm passednear lower Texas coast

1875 September 16 Hurricane decimated Indianola

1877 September 16 Tropical Storm passednear entire Texas coast

1879 August 22 Tropical Storm moved inland near High Island

1880 June 24 Hurricane moved inland near Victoria August 12 Hurricane passednear lower Texas coast

1881 August 13 Hurricane made landfall near Corpus Christi

1885 September 18 Hurricane passednear lower Texas coast

1886 June 14 Tropical Storm passednear central and upper Texas coast August 20 Hurricane decimated Indianola, town never rebuilt September 22 Hurricane moved inland near Brownsville October 12 Hurricane moved inland near Beaumont

1887 September 21 Hurricane made landfall near Brownsville

'I 888 June 16 Hurricane made landfall near Matagorda Juiy 5 Tropical Storm made landfall near Matagorda

1891 July 5 Hurricane moved inland near Matagorda

1895 August 29 Hurricane moved inland near Brownsville October 6 Tropical Storm moved inland near Galveston

1897 September 12 Hurricane moved into Texas from Louisiana

1898 September 27 Tropical Storm moved inland from Galveston

1900 September 8, Hurricane decimated Galveston, worst weather disaster in U.S. history

1901 July 'IO Tropical Storm moved inland near Victoria

18 1902 June 26 Hurricane made landfall near Victoria

1909 June 30 Tropical Storm moved inland between Corpus Christi and Brownsville July 21 Hurricane made landfall south of Galveston August 27 Hurricane made landfall south of Brownsville

1910 August 31 Tropical Storm made landfall south of Brownsville September l4 Hurricane made landfall between Corpus Christi and Brownsville

1912 October 16 Hurricane made landfall between Corpus Christi and Brownsville

l913 June 27 Hurricane made landfall between Corpus Christi and Brownsville

1914 September 19 Tropical Storm moved into Texas from Louisiana

1915 August 17 Hurricane made landfall near Matagorda

1916 August 18 Hurricane made landfall near Corpus Christi

1918 August 6 Hurricane made landfall east of Beaumont in Louisiana

1919 September 15 Hurricane moved inland just south oftCorpus Christi

1921 June 22 Hurricane made landfall near Victoria

1925 September 6 Tropical Storm moved inland near Brownsville

1926 August 27 Tropical Storm moved into Texas from Louisiana September 22 Tropical Storm moved into Texas from Louisiana

1929 June 28 Hurricane moved inland between Victoria and Corpus Christi

1931 June 27 Tropical Storm moved inland near Corpus Christi

1932 August 13 Hurricane moved inland near Galveston

1933 July 22 Tropical Storm made landfall near Matagorda August 4 Hurricane moved inland near Brownsville September 4 Hurricane moved inland near Brownsville 1934 July 25 Hurricane moved inland near Corpus Christi August 27 Hurricane passed near entire Texas coast

1936 August 27 Hurricane made landfall near Corpus Christi September 13 Tropical Storm moved inland near Brownsville

1938 August 14 Hurricane moved into Texas from Louisiana October 17 Tropical Storm made landfall near Matagorda

1940 August 7 Hurricane made landfall at Texas-Louisiana border September 23 Tropical Storm passednear upper Texas coast

1941 September 14 Tropical Storm made landfall near High Island September 23 Hurricane moved inland near Matagorda

1942 August 21 Hurricane moved inland at Galveston August 29 Hurricane moved inland at Corpus Christi

19 1943 July 27 Hurricane made landfall at Galveston September 27 Hurricane passednear lower Texas coast

1945 July 21 Tropical Storm movedinland south of CorpusChristi August 27 Hurricane moved inland near Victoria

1946 July 16 Tropical Storm moved inland near Beaumont

1947 August 1 Tropical Storm movedinland nearBrownsville August 24 Hurricane made landfall at Galveston September 19 Tropical Storm movedinto Texasfrom Louisiana

1949 October 3 Hurricane made landfall near M atagorda

1954 June 25 Hurricane Alice made landfall south of Brownsville and moved up the July 29 Tropical Storm Barbaramoved into Texasfrom Louisiana

1955 August 2 Tropical Storm Brendamoved into Texasfrom Louisiana August 27 Tropical Storm moved into Texas from Louisiana

1957 June 27 HurricaneAudrey madelandfall just eastof the Texas-Louisianaborder August 9 Tropical Storm Berthamade landfall at the Texas-Louisianaborder

1958 June 15 Tropical Storm Alma madelandfdl south of Brownsvilleand movedup the Rio Grande August 6 Tropical Storm Ella madelandfall nearCorpus Christi

1959 July 25 moved inland at Galveston

1960 June 24 Tropical Storm movedinland nearCorpus Christi

1961 September 11 moved inland near Victoria

1963 August 17 made landfall near High Island

1964 August 7 Tropical Storm Abby movedinland nearMatagorda

1967 September 20 moved inland between Brownsville and the mouth of the Rio Grande

1968 June 23 Tropical Storm Candy madelandfall nearCorpus Christi

1970 August 3 Hurricane Celia moved inland at Corpus Christi September 16 Tropical Storm Felicemoved inland nearGalveston

1971 September 10 Hurricane Fern moved near IVIatagorda September 14 passednear entire Texas coast

1973 September 5 Tropical Storm Delia movedinland betweenGalveston and Matagorda

20 TABLE 2

Table2 containsthe total number by monthof hurricanesor tropical storms that hit theTexas coast, moved into Texasfrom Mexico or Louisiana,or affectedthe Texas coast as they passed through the Gulf of Mexicoduring the period from 187] to ]973:

june J uiy August September October Hurricane 8 6 ]3 ]3 3

Tropical Storm

Hurricane carne close

Tropical Storm carne close

Numberof yearswithout a tropical cyclone: 44

21 22 23 24 25 J I U OC

4J I C'J Z: V Y z Ch z

OC 0 Y 0 I-

C! mID EO.

26 REFERENCES

Bodine, B. R. Technical Memorandum No. 26, Hurricane Sugg, A. L. & Pelissier, J. M. The Hurricane Seasonof Surge Frequency Estimated for the Gulf Coast of Texas. 1967. Monthly Weather Review, Vol, 97, No. 3. U. S. Army Coastal Engineers ResearchCenter, April 1968. Washington, D. C. February 1969. Tannehill, I. R. The Hurricane. U. S. Department of Boone, C, F. et al, and Celia tVasHer Name. Boone Commerce, Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C. Publications, Inc., Lubbock, Texas. 1970. 1956.

Carr, John T. Report 49, Hurricanes Affecting the Texas Hurricanes. Princeton University Press, Gulf Coast. Texas Water Development Board, Austin, Princeton, New Jersey. 1945. Texas, June I967. Tread wel I, M. E. Hurricane Carla, U. S. Government Grozier, R. U, et al. Report 83, from Hurricane Printing Office, Washington, D. C. 1962, Beulah in South Texas and Northeastern Mexico, September-October 1967, Texas Water Developmen t Board, Austin, Texas, September 1968 Hurricane,The GreatestStofm on Earth, U. S. Depart- ment of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmos- Harris, D. L. Technical Paper No. 48, Characteristics of pheric Administration, Washington,D. C. 1971. the Hurricane Storm Surge. U. S. Department of Commerce, Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C. 1963. Technical Paper No. 55, Tropical Cyclones of the North Atlantic Ocean. U. S. Department of Commerce, Hill, E. L, et al, Tornadoes Associated with Cyclones of Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C. 1965. Tropical Origin-Practical Features. J ournal of Applied Meteorology, Vol. 5, No. 6. December 1966, Report on Hurricane "Beulah, "8-21 September 1967. U. S. Army Engineer District, Galveston, Texas. Hogan, W. L. Hurricane Carla: A Tribute to the News September 1968. Media, I earnan-HoganCompany, , Texas. 1961.

Report on Hurricane "Carla, " 9-12 . Simpson, R. H. & Lawrence, M. B. NOAA Technical U. S. Army Engineer District, Galveston, Texas, Memorandum N WSSR-58, A danti c Hurricane J anuary 1962. Frequencies Along the U. S. Coastline, U. S. Depart- ment of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, , Southern Report on Hurricane "Celia, "30 July - 5 August 1970. Region Headquarters, Fort Worth, Texas. June 1971. U. S. Army Engineer District, Galveston, Texas. February 1971. Simpson, R. H, & Hope, J, R. Season of 1971. Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 100, No. 4. April 1972.

Simpson, R, H, & Pelissier, J, M. Atlantic Hurricane FUTURE BOOKLETS Seasonof 1970. Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 99, No. 4. April 1971. This series will include two more booklets. Volume I I Sugg, A. L. ESSA Technical Memorandum WBTM SR-49, will deal with the principle types of damage that may A Mean Storm Surge Profile. U. S. Department of accompany a tropical storm or a hurricane such as: storm Commerce, Environmental Science Services Ad- surge, high winds and tornadoes, and heavy rains. Some ministration, Weather Bureau, Southern Region recent Texas hurricanes will serve as examples to show how Headquarters, Fort Worth, Texas. December 1969. types of damage can vary from hurricane to hurricane. Volume III will describe the precautions that individuals Sugg, A. L. & Hebert, P, J, The Atlantic Hurricane Season may undertake to minimize hurricane hazards, I t will of 1968. Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 97, No. 3. outline actions governmental agenciesmay take to March 1969. help before, during, and after a hurricane strikes.

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