Hurricane Alicia 30 Year Anniversary

[Katdaddy]

August 18, 1983 Hurricane Alicia made landfall on the west end of Galveston Island. It was my first and only experience of a major hurricane.

From the Houston-Galveston NWS:

Alicia was the first hurricane to make landfall on the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Allen hit South Texas in August 1980. The three year and eight day period was the longest since 1886 that the continental United States had gone without a hurricane landfall.After forming just south of Louisiana on the 15th, the storm drifted westward and intensified quickly into a Category 3 hurricane before making landfall on the west end of Galveston Island in the early morning hours of the 18th The highest winds recorded on land were 96 mph sustained, and gusts were up to 127 mph. The lowest barometric pressure recorded on land was 28.55" at the Alvin weather service office. Rainfall amounts exceeded 5 inches in most places, and the east side of Houston received almost 11 inches. The highest storm surge was a 12' reading at Seabrook on Galveston Bay. On the gulf side of Galveston Island, tides were 7.5', and on the bay they were 8'. Baytown, on the north shore of Galveston Bay, recorded a 10.7' tide which put water on the rooftops in the Brownwood subdivision. Severe freshwater flooding was minimized by Alicia's fast movement inland, and most damage was the result of wind and storm surge or a combination of the two.

23 tornadoes were reported during Alicia. 14 occurred between Galveston and Houston as the storm made landfall, and the other 9 touched down the next day between Houston and Tyler. All but 2 of these were small, with winds between 40-72 mph. The strongest tornado occurred near Tyler, in Northeast Texas, with winds in the 113-157 mph range.

21 persons died as a result of Alicia. 25 others were hospitalized and 3,094 were injured or became ill. The Red Cross provide shelter or food for 63,000 people. A total of 2,297 dwellings were destroyed and another 3,008 suffered major damage. 18,660 families suffered losses from Alicia. The $2 billion in damages made Alicia the costliest hurricane in Texas history.

Some memorable features of Alicia included the final destruction of the Brownwood subdivision, a victim of subsidence, which had experienced almost annual flooding. The hurricane provided the opportunity for FEMA to "buy-out" the homes there and forego future flood insurance and disaster payments.

Also, the loss of trees in the Houston area was staggering. The area had received soaking rains during the previous week and the soil was so saturated that the trees were easily blown down by the high winds. It is estimated that the trees and limbs blown down by the storm would have covered a football field to a height of 1,200'.

In downtown Houston, shards of glass became deadly missiles when hundreds of window panes were broken out of skyscrapers by gravel blown from nearby rooftops. The windows were designed to withstand hurricane winds but not impact from debris. The result was huge piles of broken glass in the streets below.On Galveston's West Beach, Alicia moved the public beach boundary back an average of 150'. The storm surge scoured up to 5' of sand from the beach and left several homes in front of the natural vegetation line and technically on the public beach. Thus, the homes were in violation of the Texas Open Beaches Act and the Attorney General's office forebade the repair or rebuilding of those home.

The Corps of Engineers estimated that the Galveston seawall prevented $100 million in additional damage. The corp said that without the seawall, Alicia would have created a swath of destruction one to two blocks into the city behind the seawall.

Although Alicia cost Texans $2 billion, it is estimated that a hurricane the size of Carla would have doubled or tripled the damage. Aircraft observations indicated that only a 60 mile section of the coast, extending northeastward from Freeport, experienced hurricane force winds.

[Karen]

What I remember about Alicia is how HOT is was afterwards.

[wxman57]

That was my 4th year as a meteorologist here in Houston. I remember going to purchase tickets to Simon & Garfunkle (concert in the Astrodome) a few weeks before but at the last second decided not to buy the tickets because I concluded the sound in the Astrodome would not be good. The concert was set for the evening of August 18th. It never happened.

As a hurricane, Alicia's winds were weaker than Ike's across Harris County. There were no reports of hurricane force sustained winds (1 min average) in Houston from Alicia. So don't judge "major hurricanes" by Alicia's winds and damage. The eye passed over SW Houston around mid morning and I remember rushing to the convenience store down the street for some ice during the calm. Winds were generally 40-50 mph (lower-end TS) in SW Houston. Only lost power for 2-3 days.

1983 was also the year of the major spring squall line that raced east from SAT/AUS at 50-60 mph and caused extensive damage in NW Houston. And 1983 was the year of the big freeze. Very busy weather year.

[JamieP]

I remember Hurricane Alicia. I was a small child living in a wood frame house with my parents in Alvin. I remember my Dad boarding up the windows and the winds picking up late that evening (of the 17th). I remember waking up in the middle of the night and it was dark (no power) and very loud. My neighbor's mobile home was split open during the storm, so they ended up staying with us. Shortly after the neighbors arrived, we all had to go into my bedroom (the smallest room in the house). A tornado was going through my back yard. It was so loud, I'll never forget that sound. We saw a distinctive debris path the next day (the tornado took out a few more mobile homes, trees, roof damage). Thankfully, our house was not damaged. Two of the trees in our yard were twisted like corkscrews. It seemed like forever before the power came back on and it was very hot. From that day on, I always had an interest in weather! My Dad still tells me to this day to always, always be prepared (and I am). This storm formed so fast and there was no time to get out.

[Ptarmigan]

That was my 4th year as a meteorologist here in Houston. I remember going to purchase tickets to Simon & Garfunkle (concert in the Astrodome) a few weeks before but at the last second decided not to buy the tickets because I concluded the sound in the Astrodome would not be good. The concert was set for the evening of August 18th. It never happened.

As a hurricane, Alicia's winds were weaker than Ike's across Harris County. There were no reports of hurricane force sustained winds (1 min average) in Houston from Alicia. So don't judge "major hurricanes" by Alicia's winds and damage. The eye passed over SW Houston around mid morning and I remember rushing to the convenience store down the street for some ice during the calm. Winds were generally 40-50 mph (lower-end TS) in SW Houston. Only lost power for 2-3 days.

1983 was also the year of the major spring squall line that raced east from SAT/AUS at 50-60 mph and caused extensive damage in NW Houston. And 1983 was the year of the big freeze. Very busy weather year.

The winter of 1982-1983 was a strong El Nino. There were many storms in the spring of 1983 and including a tornado outbreak on May 20, 1983. Spring 1983 was dry, while Summer 1983 was wet.

[srainhoutx]

Excellent article on chron.com asking what were you doing this morning 30 years ago? There are many color and B & W photos that give an account of what those of us that experienced Alicia were going through at this hour 30 years ago.

What were you doing the morning of Aug. 18, 1983? Assuming you were living here or even alive then, of course.

It was then when Hurricane Alicia came ashore southwest of Galveston, packing winds of 115 mph. From there, the eye of the Category 3 storm tracked north-northwest through Houston. When all was said and done the storm was responsible for 21 deaths, $2.6 billion in damages, 23 tornadoes and the end of Brownwood subdivision in eastern Harris County.

Unlike Hurricane Ike, Alicia wasn’t one of these storms that formed weeks before and moved across the Atlantic and Caribbean before targeting the Texas coast. This storm formed on Aug. 15 south of New Orleans in the north-central Gulf and tracked to the west-northwest until landfall.

Generally, the National Weather Service received high marks for its response to the hurricane. As it neared the Texas coast, the weather service, for the first time, issued probability forecasts for landfall.

http://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/ ... a/#15034-2

[Ptarmigan]

Here is KTRK's Alicia, Her Story from 1983. It was made not too long after Alicia came crashing in. Shows many footages that I have never seen before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKwMrdyCubc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isM0XrVlnUc