Today is the start of hurricane preparedness week and in order to get prepared we have to think about lessons learned from past storms. The National Weather Service in Lake Charles has prepared an overview of hurricanes that have impacted Acadiana.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
800 AM CDT SUN MAY 25 2008
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…HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS ONE…
…HURRICANE HISTORY OF SOUTHERN LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS…
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THE LAKE CHARLES WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE SERVES THE COASTAL AREAS
FROM HIGH ISLAND TEXAS TO MORGAN CITY LOUISIANA.
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IN 2007…SOUTHEAST TEXAS WITNESSED THE QUICKEST STRENGTHENING
TROPICAL CYCLONE JUST BEFORE A UNITED STATES LANDFALL. HURRICANE
HUMBERTO STRENGTHENED FROM A 30 MPH TROPICAL DEPRESSION AT 4 AM
SEPTEMBER 12TH TO A 90 MPH HURRICANE AT LANDFALL JUST EAST OF HIGH
ISLAND BY 2 AM ON THE 13TH. FORTUNATELY…HUMBERTO WAS A EXTREMELY
SMALL STORM…MINIMIZING THE STORM SURGE TO UNDER 5 FEET ACROSS THE
IMMEDIATE COASTAL AREAS. MOST OF THE DAMAGE FROM HUMBERTO CAME FROM
MINIMAL HURRICANE FORCE WINDS JUST A FEW MILES WIDE FROM HIGH ISLAND
TO PORT ARTHUR AND ORANGE TEXAS.
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UNLIKE HUMBERTO…HURRICANE RITA BECAME THE NEW LANDMARK STORM FOR
SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS SEPTEMBER 23-24, 2005. EVEN
THOUGH RITA WEAKENED TO A 115 MPH HURRICANE AT LANDFALL…THE SIZE
OF THE STORM INCREASED…WHICH SPREAD HURRICANE FORCE WINDS FROM
INTRACOASTAL CITY LOUISIANA TO THE BOLIVAR PENINSULA TEXAS…AND
INLAND TO TOLEDO AND SAM RAYBURN RESERVOIRS.
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STORM SURGE EFFECTS WERE CATASTROPHIC ACROSS CAMERON AND VERMILION
PARISHES. WITH A STORM OF THIS SIZE…AND THE FACT THAT RITA WAS
ONCE A VERY STRONG CATEGORY FIVE STORM TWO DAYS EARLIER…A LARGER
THAN NORMAL STORM SURGE WAS GENERATED ALONG THE EXTREME SOUTHEAST
TEXAS AND LOUISIANA COASTLINES. STORM SURGE VALUES RANGED FROM 15-17
FEET FROM HOLLY BEACH TO CAMERON…12 TO 15 FEET ACROSS THE
REMAINDER OF CAMERON PARISH…AND 9 TO 12 FEET ACROSS VERMILION AND
IBERIA PARISHES…AS WELL AS EASTERN JEFFERSON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST
TEXAS.
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EVEN THOUGH THE RESULTS OF THE WIND AND STORM SURGE WERE DEVASTATING
…ONLY ONE FATALITY CAN BE DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED TO RITA ACROSS OUR
AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY. THIS LOW NUMBER CAN BE DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED
TO THE ADVANCES IN DETECTION AND EDUCATION OF HURRICANES …AS WELL
AS MUCH BETTER COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
AND THE AREAS EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND THE PUBLIC.
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THE OTHER LANDMARK STORM FOR THIS AREA IS HURRICANE AUDREY…THE
STRONGEST…DEADLIEST AND MOST DESTRUCTIVE JUNE HURRICANE TO HIT
THE UNITED STATES IN MODERN RECORD KEEPING. AUDREY MADE LANDFALL
NEAR SABINE PASS ON THE MORNING OF JUNE 27, 1957. AUDREY WAS ALSO
A LARGE STORM THAT INCREASED IN FORWARD SPEED BEFORE LANDFALL…
THE STORM SURGE WAS THE BIGGEST KILLER. TO THIS DATE…THE EXACT
NUMBER THAT PERISHED IS STILL IN QUESTION…BUT ESTIMATES ARE
OVER 500.
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FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING HURRICANE HISTORY OF SOUTHERN
LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS…PLEASE CHECK OUT PAGES 4-5 OF THE
2008 SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS HURRICANE AND MARINE
GUIDE…AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD FROM THE LAKE CHARLES WEBPAGE AT
(USE LOWER CASE):
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HTTP://WWW.SRH.WEATHER.GOV/LCH
Our weather this week stays hot and humid with a slight chance of showers each day, highs around 90 and lows around 70.
Enjoy your week!