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http://www.1900storm.com/
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http://www.galveston.com/
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source:
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Howdy!
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Last update February 9, 2004
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1900 Galveston Storm
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"If you don't like the weather in Texas, wait
10 minutes and it'll change." |
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August 15, 2002
First Day of School, water covered street
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Tropical systems are no strangers to South-East Texas. Galveston to Beaumont, from Corpus Christi to San Antonio and
everything in between is subject to several storm producing systems during the course of any one season. The picture above is an example of "a little downpour," that completely flooded streets in Pasadena, TX on the first day of school 2002. Lucky for the students, it didn't start raining until after they were in class, so they only had to swim home. Just as quick as the rain moved in, it moved back out, and that's pretty normal for this knack of the woods.
No big deal.
Of course, had the rain started in the beginning of June people would have been a little more nervous. One year after the
devastating floods of Tropical Storm Allison, people were still recovering from its damages. Allison was and is the costliest storm to ever hit the Texas Coast.
Tropical Storm Allison flooded an estimated 70,000 homes and 95,000 vehicles. Many businesses like the Alley Theater
and Houston Medical Center suffered severe damage. Over 5 billion dollars worth in damages and 22 lives were lost. |
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Allison swept in as a mild Tropical Storm on June 5, 2001. Many homes in and around the Houston area reported power
loss. Flooding did occur, and people were just getting a handle on the situation when Allison doubled back, gained power and dumped over 30 inches of rain. Massive flooding occurred on that night of June 8, 2001. |
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Allison's name was retired in 2002, an action reserved for destructive hurricanes like Alicia (1983), Allen (1980), Celia (1970),
Beulah (1967), Carla (1961) and Audrey (1957). |
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Personal Account: I live in Pasadena and was awakened at about 2:00 a.m. by the sound of very heavy rain. Since the
disturbance cut my satellite signal, I had to go into my daughter's room, and turn on her television to check for weather updates. Sure enough, live reports were coming in of high water. I watched for a few minutes, and then ran for my phone to call my mother who also lived in Pasadena. Her house had taken in water on June 5, and I was worried that the house might flood while they were sleeping.
She answered, and I told her to check for water. She said that everything was fine, but I insisted. Sure enough, water had
already flooded the garage, the kitchen, the bathroom and the back bedroom where my brother was fast asleep.
She immediately got off the phone and yelled for everyone to get up. First thing, they began picking things up. Anything
that wasn't too heavy was placed as high as possible. Everything plugged in was unplugged. Within the hour, water covered the bottom of the whole house. drawers were taken out of their dressers, and placed on top of the beds. Once the water rose high enough to almost reach the outlets, the power was turned off. |
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My mother's house was a lucky one. The water only reached as high as the mattresses on the beds. Other homes
around Houston were completely covered with water.
The rain finally stopped, and it was a very long night. Just before daybreak, my mother and my brother swan through chest
deep water down the street to where my 76 year old grandfather lived. They had to walk down the middle of the street, because the water wasn't as deep, and also so as not to run into any underwater cars. They kept a constant eye out for snakes.
They arrived to find my grandfathers house in deeper water than theirs. My grandfather and his three small dogs were
sitting on the bed; the dogs were whining, and my grandfather was shaking his head. "At least your mother didn't live to see this," he told her.
It took several hours for the water to recede from their neighborhood, and I was surprised to see mine on t.v. the next day.
Apparently houses took on several feet of water only a few yards away from me. The corner store less than a mile away had only its rooftop above water. |
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Coincidentally, this was not the first major flood that my mother, or I technically had gone through. Tropical Storm
Claudette flooded many parts of South-East Texas during late July of 1979. In Alvin, 42 inches of rain fell in 24 hours. The neighborhood in which my mother and father lived was completely flooded. Many people were evacuated, but my parents being who they were decided to stick it out, and actually barbecued for the rest of the neighbors who stayed. I was less than a month old, and required formula and diapers. Well, my father swam to the nearest store, but they were out of everything. Defeated, he headed back when a woman stopped him and asked him what he needed. He told her, and she happened to have formula and diapers. I'm told that I practically slept though the whole thing, and that (and this may just be a family joke) that my father ended up sleeping in my abandoned crib. |
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Other Significant Storms to hit Texas:
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The biggest natural disaster in the history of America occurred on Saturday September 8, 1900. Since there were no high
tech gadgets to detect hurricanes in the early 20th century, a massive hurricane was able to sneak in and surprise the nearly 40,000 residents of Galveston, Texas. A category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of about 125 mph slammed into the Gulf Coast, and brought with it a storm surge of 20 feet above sea level. The island of Galveston was completely under water, before the eye of the hurricane even made it to the shore. An estimated 8,000 people lost their lives, and virtually every home and building was destroyed. An orphanage lost 90 of its 93 children, and all 3 nuns who worked there. |
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some of the orphans who perished
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Several houses simply vanished, presumably swept out to sea, as
did several people. Only about 4,900 bodies were identified.
Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross visited personally
to help with recovery efforts, and introduced a quick cash crop to Pasadena, TX, which was also hit hard by the hurricane. Strawberries. Pasadena became the strawberry capital of the South. |
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After the destruction of 1900, residents built a massive barrier 17 feet tall and 3 miles wide to protect them from future storm
surges. In 1915 another category 4 hurricane hit Galveston and took with it only 275 lives. |
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Tornados / Hail and Dust Storms
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April 12, 1927 -- An F5 tornado hit Rocksprings, Texas. The base was a mile wide, and caused 72 deaths.
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May 18, 1902 -- Tornado strikes Goliad, Texas and causes 114 deaths. Reportedly also took the roof off of
a courthouse building. |
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March 5, 1935 -- Hail storm with strong winds hit San Antonio and cause over a million dollars in damage.
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May 16, 1946 -- Severe hail storm in San Antonio. 5 million dollars in damage.
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April 28, 1953 -- An F3 and F4 tornado hit Bexar County. 3 deaths and 20 injured.
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September 1967 -- Hurricane Beulah causes major disruptions in weather. Spawned 115 tornados and
heavy rains. |
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April 15, 1973 -- Tornado at Pearsall was a category F4, 3/4 mile wide. 5 fatalities. Tornado also at
Medina. Category F2. |
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May 7, 1984 -- Hailstorm causes 5 million dollars damage in San Antonio.
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September 17, 1988 -- Tornados from Hurricane Gilbert cause 15 million dollars damage in Del Rio, and 35
million in San Antonio. |
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May 27, 1997 -- F5 tornado hits Jarrel, Texas. 27 deaths. Also, an F4 tornado hit Pedernales Valley, F3 hit
Cedar Park. This same system produced 2 F2 tornados, 5 F1, and 1 waterspout. 17 hail reports, 9 downbursts, and 7 flash floods. Kelly Air Force Base reported sustained winds of 122 mph. |
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Hurricane / Tropical Storm Score Card
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Unnamed -- September 1900 -- category 4 -- 8,000 (estimated) dead -- total damage
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Allison -- June 2001 -- tropical storm -- 22 dead -- $5 billion damage
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Alicia -- 1983 -- category 4 -- $3 billion damage
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Unnamed -- 1919 -- category 4 -- 600 deaths
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Audrey -- 1957 -- category 4 --390 deaths
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Allen -- 1980 -- category 3 -- $600 million damage
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Allison -- 1989 -- tropical storm -- $500 million damage
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Unnamed -- 1915 -- category 4 -- 275 deaths
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Carla -- 1961 -- category 4 -- 46 deaths -- $408 million damage
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Celia -- 1970 -- category 3 -- $453 million damage
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Claudette -- 1979 -- tropical storm -- $400 million damage
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Beulah -- 1967 -- category 3 -- $200 million damage.
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Record High's and Lows
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February 1899 -- Arctic blast settles into Texas. Record low of 4 degrees was set in San Antonio. Galveston Bay
(except for the main channel) was covered by a thin layer of ice. Low of -16 in Amarillo. Reports of -30 came from Texas panhandle. |
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August 19, 1986 -- High of 108 in San Antonio
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January 31, 1949 -- new low set for San Antonio of 0 degrees.
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www.tdi.state.tx.us/commish/hsplash.html
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www.srh.noaa.gov/ewx/html/wxevent/1999/cen/100.htm
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www.houstonchronicle.com
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Information about Hurricane Claudette
(2003) will be posted soon. |