Talk:Hurricane Alicia
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[edit] Damages inconsistency
In the article, it says Alicia "caused $2 billion in damage ($3.9 billion in 2005 dollars)." while in the summary pane on the right, it says "Damages $4.5 billion (2005 dollars)"
I don't know which is right, but they can't both be. Don Don 16:51, 5 October 2005 (UTC)
- It's neither. $2 billion is the correct uninflated number. Inflated to 2005 figures, that would equel $3.8 billion, so the one in the article was the closest. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
- E. Brown, Hurricane enthusiast - Squawk Box 02:48, 18 October 2005 (UTC)
[edit] NWS article
there's a good summary here, from the national weather service - http://www.usatoday.com/weather/huricane/history/walicia.htm is it okay to just copy and paste from that? ffangs 04:57, 21 September 2005 (UTC)ffangs
- i'll just copy it here for reference at least, in case it ever disappears from the usatoday site. ffangs 22:10, 18 October 2005 (UTC)ffangs
Hurricane Alicia, 1983
The text below is from the National Weather Service office for Houston/Galveston
Alicia, in August 1983, was the first hurricane to make landfall on the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Allen hit South Texas on Aug. 9, 1980.
After forming just south of Louisiana on the Aug. 15, 1983, Alicia 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 Aug. 18.
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.
Twenty-three 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.
Twenty-one persons died as a result of Alicia. 25 others were hospitalized and 3,094 were injured or became ill. The Red Cross provided 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 homes.
The Corps of Engineers estimated that the Galveston seawall prevented $100 million in additional damage. The corps 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.
Tidbit - Although 30% of Galveston's population evacuated the island when Hurricane Allen (1980) threatened the Texas coast, only 10% of the population living behind the seawall decided to leave when Alicia came ashore.
[edit] Todo
Better intro, more impact. Jdorje 21:49, 11 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Impact
Added storm total rainfall for Alicia thegreatdr 13:48, 8 April 2006 (UTC)
Not much info for a storm that did alot and was retired,My article on Tammy has more info then this--68.223.194.157 02:31, 11 April 2006 (UTC)
Agree with the previous comment. Alicia was a major storm for the Upper Texas Coast. However, it should be stressed that it was a low-end Category 3 storm and that hurricane force winds only affected a relatively small area - 60 to 70 miles of the coast. Also, the mention of a drought prior to the storm - this is partly incorrect. While the Southern Plains had been in a drought, the summer of 1983 had been quite wet and mild in southeastern Texas. One of the most memorable and substantial events with Alicia was the sheer number of trees blown down by the storm. According to the National Weather Service, "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'" (source: USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/weather/huricane/history/walicia.htm) The reason such a huge number of trees were blown down by this storm was because of the pre-existing wet ground conditions. tdon 11:35, 18 August 2006 UTC
