Hurricane Alicia
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| Category 3 hurricane (SSHS) | ||
|---|---|---|
 Hurricane Alicia shortly after landfall |
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| Formed | August 15, 1983 | |
| Dissipated | August 21, 1983 | |
| Highest winds |
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| Lowest pressure | 963 mbar (hPa; 28.45 inHg) | |
| Fatalities | 21 direct | |
| Damage | $2.6 billion (1983 USD) $5 billion (2006 USD) |
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| Areas affected |
Eastern Texas (particularly around Houston) and Louisiana | |
| Part of the 1983 Atlantic hurricane season |
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Hurricane Alicia was the third cyclone and the only major hurricane of the inactive 1983 Atlantic hurricane season. It hit southeast Texas, becoming the first hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Allen in September 1980. The time between the two storms totaled out to three years and eight days (998 days). The streak was the longest since a period of almost three years occurred from September 1929 to August 1932.[1]
Alicia formed from a meso-scale low on August 14 in the Gulf of Mexico. The low strengthened into the third tropical depression of the 1983 season the next day, becoming a hurricane by the August 16. However a ridge of high pressure was established north of the storm and persisting until August 17. During this time anti-cyclone had formed with Alicia causing the storm to strengthen to a Category 3 hurricane, peaking at 115 mph (180 mph) winds with a pressure of 963 mbar. Alicia made landfall as a major hurricane in the Texas coast early on August 18. Alicia weakened over land and lost its identity on August 21 over Nebraska. Rainfalls were spread around many states ranging from one inch in five states to 10+ inches in Texas.
Damage from Alicia got to $2.6 billion (1983 USD ($5.27 billion 2006 USD)) with 21 deaths. Alicia became the worst Texas hurricane since Hurricane Carla in the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season. Carla hit a less populated area as where with Alicia hit a more populated area. Had Alicia been the size or strength of Carla, damage could've easily doubled or tripled. Troubles ensued after Alicia, which caused two hearings to occur in September checking the National Weather Service's actions, had people taken them and the damage recovery effort in Alicia's wake.
This was the first storm to make landfall in the Houston area since Tropical Storm Danielle in 1980, but the first hurricane since Hurricane Carmen in the 1974 Atlantic hurricane season. Texas would be hit again by Hurricane Barry later in the season.
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[edit] Storm history
A meso-scale low formed off the Alabama and Mississippi coasts on August 14 with a weak frontal trough that had formed off of New England. Pressures were high in the Gulf of Mexico, causing the low to strengthen into Tropical Depression 3 on August 15.[1] A ship located within 100 miles of the depression reported a pressure of 1015 mbar and was upgraded into Tropical Storm Alicia. With the high Gulf pressures, Alicia was unable to gain size, staying very small, but generated faster winds. Steering currents were weak during Alicia's lifetime over water. A new frontal ridge had formed on August 17 which caused Alicia to drift into westerly direction.[1]
Alicia continued west until the frontal ridge had subsided to the east.[2]
Alicia turned to a more northerly direction on August 18 towards Port Arthur, Texas. During that time, a new anti-cyclone had formed which caused Alicia to gain strength at about 1 mbar an hour, peaking at 963 mbar with winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) on the morning of the 18th. An anti-cyclone is a weather phenomenon in which there is a descending movement of the air and a high pressure area over the part of the earth's surface affected by it. Just before landfall, Alicia exhibited a rare "double eye" feature for several hours.[3] Alicia made landfall in Texas as a category 3 hurricane at about 1:45 a.m. CDT on Thursday, August 18.[1] Alicia weakened rapidly after landfall, losing tropical characteristics and accelerated to the northwest. Alicia finally lost its identity in the southeast tip of Nebraska on August 21.[1]
[edit] Preparations
- See also: Tropical cyclone warnings and watches
Several watches and warnings were issued in association with Alicia. The first ones were a gale warning and a hurricane watch issued the area of Corpus Christi to Grand Isle, Louisiana issued on August 16.[4] Both were discontinued 24 hours later.[4] On August 17, a hurricane warning was issued for Corpus Christi to Morgan City, Louisiana and for Port Arthur and southward, all being discontinued the next day.[4] Galveston governor Gus Manuel ordered evacuation of the whole island.[3] 30 percent of Galveston's population evacuated the island when Hurricane Allen threatened the eastern Texas coastline, only 10 percent of the population living behind the seawall chose to leave when Alicia came ashore. Not all the people were able to make it to the mainland in time.
[edit] Impact
[edit] Texas
Galveston reported 7¾ inches of rain, Liberty reported 9½ inches, Greens Bayou reported almost 10 inches of rain. Centerville reported over 8 inches with Normangee and Noxia reporting over 7 inches.[5]Maximum rainfall in the Houston area in Harris County was about 10-11 inches. 8 inches of rain was reported in Leon County and 9 inches in the Sabine River area. High gusts were reported throughout Texas with a gust of 125 mph reported in Buttonwood.[3] Pleasure Pier reported tides of 8.67 feet with Pier 21 reported a little over 5½ feet. Baytown, Texas reported 10-12 feet tides, and 12.1 feet at Morgan City, the highest recorded by Alicia.[5]
Twenty-three tornadoes were reported in association with Alicia, fourteen of those were located in the Galveston and Hobby Airport area. The other nine were concentrated around Tyler to Houston, Texas, ranging around F2 on the Fujita scale.[6] A major oil spill occurred around Texas City with over sixty gallons having to be cleaned up by the National Weather Service and an ocean-going tugboat capsized 50 miles of the Sabine Pass coast.[7] The ship ARISTA weathered Alicia with half of the crew remaining aboard. ARISTA afterwards helped sending food and supplies to residents for about 52 hours.[8]
The Galveston NWS office (temporarily) lost its radar.[9] Houston suffered billions of dollars in damage. Thousands of glass panes in downtown skyscrapers were shattered by gravel blown off of rooftops.[10] Although Alicia was a small Category 3 hurricane, a total of 2297 dwellings were destroyed by Alicia with another 3000+ experiencing major damage. Over ten thousand dwellings had minor damage.[6] Houston Lighting and Power reported that about 750,000 homes were without electricity after Alicia hit. Many stores had to stay closed for days afterward due to risks of falling glass in the area.[11]
In Galveston, the western beach had its public beach boundary shifted back about 150 feet.[12]An entire wall of Galveston's Hotel Galvez collapsed. About 5 feet of sand was scoured, leaving beachfront homes in a natural vegetation state. The beachfront homes after Alicia were in violation of the Texas Open Beaches Act and the Attorney General's office forebade the repair or rebuilding of those homes.[12] The Corps of Engineers stated that if the Galveston Sea Wall was not there, that another $100 million dollars in damage could have occurred.[12] Also, if Alicia was the size of Hurricane Carla from 1961, damage could have easily double or possibly tripled.[12] Alicia also did damage to chemical and photochemical plants in Houston.[13]
[edit] Other states
Heavy amount of rainfalls were recorded with 8-14 centimeters in the south-central part of the state from a curved swath. Rains reached up to 5 inches in the same area, however rainfall was limited to that area. Kansas only got 1-3 inches which were recorded in the eastern to central parts of the state. The southeast tip of Nebraska received one inch of rain from Alicia's remnants. Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Louisiana and Wisconsin all received one inch of rainfall. [14]
Alicia brought beneficial rains to the Southern Plains, which had been suffering from a drought for much of the Summer of 1983. In the end, Alicia killed 21 people and caused $2 billion in damage ($5.27 billion in 2006 USD).
[edit] Aftermath
The Red Cross had to provide food and shelter to 63,000 people in the hurricane's wake, costing to about 166 million dollars.[6][12] FEMA gave out $32 million (1983 USD) to Alicia's victims and local governments. $23 million of that was to go picking up debris spread after Alicia.[15] More than 16,000 people sought help from FEMA's disaster service centers. The Small Business Administration, aided with 56 volunteers, interviewed over 16,000 victims, and was predicted that about 7000 loan applications would be submitted. The Federal Insurance Agency had closed over 1318 flood insurance cases from Alicia's aftermath, however only 782 received final payment.[15]
On September 23 and September 24, 1983, in the wake of Alicia, two subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives held hearings in Houston. The hearing on September 23 were to examine the primary issues of the National Weather Service during Alicia, the effectiveness of the N.W.S in current procedures, and the use of the National Weather Service. The second hearing, which occurred on September 24, was to discuss the damage and recovery efforts during Alicia.[15]
On the September 23 hearing, witnesses agreed that the National Weather Service did well before and during the emergency caused by Alicia. N.W.S. forecaters also testified in which they said they gratified themselves that their predictions were well "on target" and that the local emergency plans worked so well, which saved many lives. Mayor Gus Manuel on Galveston claimed that the NWS did an excellent job during Alicia. He was also very impressed about their landfall predictions on August 17, before Alicia made landfall.[15]
On the September 24 hearing, evidence was brought upon which demonstrated the need improving to the readiness to cope with disasters, such as Alicia. Mayor Manuel mentioned that his town needed stronger building codes, which were under review.[15]
[edit] Retirement
- See also: List of retired Atlantic hurricanes
The name Alicia was retired in the spring of 1984, becoming the 30th storm name to be retired and will never again be used for an Atlantic hurricane. It was replaced with Allison in the 1989 season. The name Allison was retroactively retired after doing major damage to the same the area in 2001.
[edit] Trivia
- Hurricane Alicia became the last major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) to strike Texas until the stronger Hurricane Bret in 1999 made landfall.
- Alicia was the first storm for which the National Hurricane Center issued landfall probabilities.[4]
- Alicia became Texas' first billion-dollar storm.[16]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e National Hurricane Center (1983). Hurricane Alicia Prelimary Report - Page 1 - Storm History. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ Robert Case and Harold Gerrish (1984). 1983 Monthly Weather Review. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ a b c U.S. Army (2007). STORM DEVELOPMENT AND HISTORY. U.S. Army. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ a b c d National Hurricane Center (1983). Hurricane Alicia Prelimary Report - Page 4 - Strike Probs - Watches/Warnings. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ a b National Hurricane Center (1983). Hurricane Alicia Prelimary Report - Page 5 - Meteorological Effects. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ a b c National Hurricane Center (1983). Hurricane Alicia Prelimary Report - Page 2 - Impact I. National Hurricane Center. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ National Weather Office - Lake Charles, LA (2007). Texas Hurricane History: Late 20th Century. NOAA. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ U.S. Military (2007). Houston Coast Guard. U.S. Military. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ U.S. Army (2007). Warnings. U.S. Army. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ U.S.A. Today (2007). Hurricane Alicia, 1983. U.S.A. Today. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ Unknown (2007). Bayside hurricane's Alicia page. Geocities. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ a b c d e National Weather Office - Houston-Galveston, TX (2007). Upper Texas Coast Tropical Cyclones in the 1980s. NOAA. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ Mark Levitan (2007). Are Chemical Plants Really Safe?. Louisiana State University. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ David Roth (2007). Tropical Cyclone Rainfall: Hurricane Alicia. Hydrometeorogical Prediction Center. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ a b c d e Subcommittee on Natural Resources, Agriculture Research and Environment (1983). Hurricane Alicia - Prediction, Damage, and Recovery Efforts. Subcommittee on Natural Resources, Agriculture Research and Environment. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ Texas State Library (2007). Texas Governors. Texas State Library. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
[edit] External links
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