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Southwest Louisiana & Southeast Texas Hurricane 2020 SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA & SOUTHEAST TEXAS HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS GUIDE Introduction Index of Pages Fellow Citizens, On behalf of the National Weather Service in Lake About the Hurricane Charles, we are pleased to present the Southwest Page 3 Louisiana & Southeast Texas Hurricane Guide. Storm Surge This guide will provide you with excellent resources as you Pages 4-7 prepare for the 2020 hurricane season. Winds, Flooding, and Tornadoes Pages 8-9 Besides providing historical documentation on past Preparing Your Home, Business, hurricanes that have affected the region, information on the and Boat Pages 10-11 various hurricane hazards will be provided. Essential tracking charts and evacuation maps are also provided for your Special Needs and Pets Page 12 reference. Emergency Contacts and Your From August 25-31, 2017, Harvey moved very slowly from Disaster Supply Kit Page 13 Central Texas to Western Louisiana. During this time, Harvey produced 30 to 50 inches of rain, with isolated Insurance Tips Page 14 amounts near 60 inches, over several counties in Southeast Texas to western Calcasieu and Cameron Hurricane History Page 15 parishes in Southwest Louisiana, resulting in disastrous flooding. As we reflect on the impacts of Harvey, and past Hurricane Tracking Map hurricanes like Rita and Ike, let us take this opportunity to Pages 16-17 develop our hurricane plan. Hurricane Forecasts Page 18 This collaborative Hurricane Guide will serve as your road-map Final Checklists for action before and during a hurricane and will also act as an Page 19 instructional guide for recovery, continuity and resiliency Hurricane Rita after the storm passes. It is important to plan accordingly Pages 20-21 to meet your personal, family and business needs. In this Rip Current Safety manner, we are all working together for safer and better Page 22 prepared communities. Working together, we can safeguard College Student Preparation lives and protect property by taking the appropriate measures Page 23 and precautions outlined in this Hurricane Guide. Evacuation Page 24-25 NWS Lake Charles Webpage Guide content and re-design by: Page 26 Donovan Landreneau, WFO Lake Charles, LA Emergency Information Based on 2009-2011 design by: Texas Hurricane Guide Team Page 27 John Metz, WFO Corpus Christi, TX Jason Dunn, WFO Fort Worth, TX Returning Home Donovan Landreneau, WFO Lake Charles, LA Pages 28-29 About the Hurricane The Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1st, and lasts through November 30th. Tropical storm and hurricane formation increases significantly by August, with the peak of the season usually reached on September 10th. Activity begins to decline significantly towards the end of October. The peak threat for the Louisiana coast exists from August to the middle of October. The earliest tropical storm to strike the region was May 30, 1959, with the latest being Hurricane Juan on October 29, 1985; both coming ashore in South Central Louisiana. Left: GOES-16 1/2 kilometer resolution visible satellite image of Hurricane Harvey prior to making landfall across Central Texas at 6:45 PM CDT August 25, 2017. Since 1851, there have been 56 hurricanes to strike the Louisiana coast and 64 hurricanes to strike the Texas Coast. That is one in every three years on average. Right: Historical perspective of all tropical storm and hurricane landfalls since 1851. Definitions to Know TROPICAL DEPRESSION: An organized system TROPICAL CYCLONE: A general term used of persistent clouds and thunderstorms with to describe a tropical depression, tropical L a closed low-level circulation and maximum storm, or hurricane. winds of 38 mph or less. TROPICAL STORM: An organized system HURRICANE/TROPICAL STORM WATCH: of strong thunderstorms with a well defined Hurricane or Tropical Storm conditions are circulation and maximum sustained winds of possible in the watch area within 48 hours. 39 to 73 mph. HURRICANE: An intense tropical weather HURRICANE/TROPICAL STORM WARNING: system with a well defined circulation and Hurricane or Tropical Storm conditions are sustained winds of 74 mph or higher. expected in the warning area within 36 hours. Storm Surge STORM SURGE is the abnormal rise in sea level above the predicted astronomical tides before, during, and even after a tropical storm or hurricane approaches and makes landfall. Historically, storm surge used to claim 9 out of 10 lives. Over the last several decades, advancements in the science of hurricane forecasting and communications have lead to a marked decrease in this number. However, Katrina was a grim reminder that certain areas are still very susceptible to storm surge fatalities. Storm surge is extremely destructive to anything in it’s path, especially if the surge comes in with a significant speed. This is because water is extremely heavy. A cubic yard of water weighs nearly 1700 pounds! Remember, there is a reason why large steel ships and barges float. The height of the storm surge depends on the size and strength of the tropical cyclone. The larger and/or stronger the storm, the higher the storm surge. However, this is not the only factor that affects the height of the storm surge. The shape and slope of the continental shelf across the coastal waters is another big factor in determining the height of the storm surge. For example, a hurricane with 100 mph sustained winds (a category two) strikes the Southeast Florida Coast. Since this area of Florida has a steep continental shelf, the storm surge could be around 4-5 feet (illustrated in figures 1a & 1b below). Now if this hurricane with the exact same size and strength made landfall across the Louisiana or Upper Texas coast, the storm surge could be in the 9-10 foot range (illustrated in figures 2a & 2b below). This is due to the shallow continental shelf that extends over a hundred miles offshore, which typically piles the water higher and creates higher waves. As the illustrations show below, this made the difference between very little surge entering the beach house across the Southeast Florida Coast and the complete destruction of the beach house across the Louisiana or Upper Texas coast. 1a 1b Beach house along the southeast Florida coast The 4-5 foot storm surge before hurricane landfall. barely inundates the house. 2a 2b Beach house along the The 9-10 foot storm surge and Louisiana coast before crashing waves completely hurricane landfall. destroys the house. Storm Surge Here are 6 Tips to be Ready for STORM SURGE: 1. Storm surge flooding is often the greatest threat to life and property from a hurricane. It poses a significant threat for drowning. A mere six inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over an adult. It takes only two feet of rushing water to carry away most vehicles. 2. Storm surge can cause water levels to rise quickly and flood large areas in just minutes, and you could be left with no time to take action if you haven’t already evacuated as instructed. 3. Storm surge is not dependent on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Hurricane categories are based only on winds and do not account for storm surge. Any wind category can all cause life-threatening storm surge. 4. Many Gulf Coast areas are vulnerable to storm surge including areas many miles inland from the coastline depending on elevation of the coastal plain. Find out today if you live in an evacuation zone (see pages 6-7 in this guide). 5. Storm surge can occur before, during and after the center of the storm passes through an area, and can sometimes cutoff evacuation routes. The water can also rise well in advance of the coming storm, in some cases 36 hours or greater. When an evacuation is ordered, do not wait until the last minute to leave. 6. During the peak of a storm surge event, it is unlikely that emergency responders will be able to reach you if you are in danger. The National Hurricane Center provides other Storm Surge Resources at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/surge/resources.php Inundation Maps Storm Surge Inundation (SLOSH Maximum of Maximums) The following maps display a seamless near worst case storm surge flooding (inundation) scenarios using the National Weather Service (NWS) SLOSH model maximum of maximums (MOMs) product for different hurricane wind categories at a high tide. Higher detailed information can be attained at: http://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=d9ed7904dbec441a9c4dd7b277935fad&entry=1 Inundation Maps Flooding and Tornadoes Inland Flooding Inland freshwater flooding from tropical cyclones is a major threat to people inland from the coast. Rainfall varies with tropical cyclones, mainly due to speed of movement, duration, and interaction with other meteorological features. Two extreme examples: In 2017, Harvey produced 30-50 inches of rain, with isolated amounts near 60 inches, over several counties in Southeast Texas to western Calcasieu and Cameron parishes in Southwest Louisiana, resulting in disastrous flooding. In 2019, Imelda produced 30 to 44 inches of rainfall over some of the same areas of Southeast Texas. Left: Raw NOAA Multi-radar multi-sensor quantitative precipitation estimation (inches) for Harvey in southeastern Texas from August 25- September 1, 2017. Figure courtesy Jonathan Brazzell. Harvey’s rainfall was the most significant tropical cylone rainfall event from Southeast Texas to Southwest Louisiana, and United States history since reliable rainfall records began in the 1880s. The highest storm total rainfall report from Harvey was 60.58 inches near Nederland, Texas, with another report of 60.54 inches near Groves, Texas. Both of these values (and from five other stations) exceed the previously accepted United States tropical cyclone storm total rainfall record of 52.00 inches at Kanalohuluhulu Ranger Station, Hawaii, in August of 1950 from Hurricane Hiki.
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