Hurricane Alica News Coverage Clip

[Ptarmigan]

Here's a news footage of KTRK-TV coverage of Hurricane Alicia.

Hurricane Alicia

[vbhoutex]

Thanks. During Alicia we lost power at 2am with the first real strong squalls coming through and did not get it back for 7 days. That is the first time I have seen any coverage from a local station that was run during the storm. The eye passed right over our house in Spring Branch.

[Ptarmigan]

Thanks. During Alicia we lost power at 2am with the first real strong squalls coming through and did not get it back for 7 days. That is the first time I have seen any coverage from a local station that was run during the storm. The eye passed right over our house in Spring Branch.

I barely remember Alicia. My first hurricane was Gilbert and that scared everyone in Texas. The biggest I remember up til Rita.

[ROCK]

Sad to see Ed go and I wish him well. I did not know he wasn't a MET though. That was surprising. Smart guy none the less.....

[wxman57]

Those of you (us) in Houston who remember Alicia should know that we experienced a tropical storm across Harris County, not a hurricane. Alica had near Cat-3 winds over a small patch of water prior to the center moving across Galveston Island. Winds on Galveston Island were in the 90-105 mph range sustained (Cat 2) in some areas. But Alicia's winds dropped off very quickly as the center moved ashore into Galveston County. By the time the center moved into southern Harris County, there were no sustained 74+ mph wind reports. The eye went direcly over my apartment in southwest Houston around 9am or so the morning of the 18th of August. Winds were in the 40-60 mph range for much of the day. Could have been a few brief gusts near 74 mph, though.

Anyone remember the last time that downtown Houston likely experienced true hurricane-force winds? I believe that would be with the hurricane of 1949 that tracked across the isthmus of Mexico and then due north to Houston as a Cat 4. So it's been quite a while since Houston was really hit. Carla in 1961 struck about 125 miles down the coast of Galveston, well away from Houston. Most folks in and around Houston have no clue what a real hurricane will be like. Our area was hit 5-6 times from 1900-1950 by Cat 3-4 hurricanes and only by the relatively weak Alica between 1950-2006.

[Extremeweatherguy]

Those of you (us) in Houston who remember Alicia should know that we experienced a tropical storm across Harris County, not a hurricane. Alica had near Cat-3 winds over a small patch of water prior to the center moving across Galveston Island. Winds on Galveston Island were in the 90-105 mph range sustained (Cat 2) in some areas. But Alicia's winds dropped off very quickly as the center moved ashore into Galveston County. By the time the center moved into southern Harris County, there were no sustained 74+ mph wind reports. The eye went direcly over my apartment in southwest Houston around 9am or so the morning of the 18th of August. Winds were in the 40-60 mph range for much of the day. Could have been a few brief gusts near 74 mph, though.

Anyone remember the last time that downtown Houston likely experienced true hurricane-force winds? I believe that would be with the hurricane of 1949 that tracked across the isthmus of Mexico and then due north to Houston as a Cat 4. So it's been quite a while since Houston was really hit. Carla in 1961 struck about 125 miles down the coast of Galveston, well away from Houston. Most folks in and around Houston have no clue what a real hurricane will be like. Our area was hit 5-6 times from 1900-1950 by Cat 3-4 hurricanes and only by the relatively weak Alica between 1950-2006.

Wasn't there a 99mph gust at Hobby and 77mph gust at IAH during Alicia?

[wxman57]

Those of you (us) in Houston who remember Alicia should know that we experienced a tropical storm across Harris County, not a hurricane. Alica had near Cat-3 winds over a small patch of water prior to the center moving across Galveston Island. Winds on Galveston Island were in the 90-105 mph range sustained (Cat 2) in some areas. But Alicia's winds dropped off very quickly as the center moved ashore into Galveston County. By the time the center moved into southern Harris County, there were no sustained 74+ mph wind reports. The eye went direcly over my apartment in southwest Houston around 9am or so the morning of the 18th of August. Winds were in the 40-60 mph range for much of the day. Could have been a few brief gusts near 74 mph, though.

Anyone remember the last time that downtown Houston likely experienced true hurricane-force winds? I believe that would be with the hurricane of 1949 that tracked across the isthmus of Mexico and then due north to Houston as a Cat 4. So it's been quite a while since Houston was really hit. Carla in 1961 struck about 125 miles down the coast of Galveston, well away from Houston. Most folks in and around Houston have no clue what a real hurricane will be like. Our area was hit 5-6 times from 1900-1950 by Cat 3-4 hurricanes and only by the relatively weak Alica between 1950-2006.

Wasn't there a 99mph gust at Hobby and 77mph gust at IAH during Alicia?

I'm not sure about the peak gusts with Alicia across Houston. I was referring to the sustained 1-minute wind average as being below hurricane strength. I was about 10 miles west-northwest of Hobby airport during Alicia. Was in what was left of the eye for a bit. Didn't see anything that I thought reached hurricane strength around my area. Alicia was just a small taste of what a hurricane might do to the Houston area. A moderate to strong Cat 3 of average or larger size could push a 25-30 ft storm surge into NW Galveston Bay (and through downtown Houston0. Imagine all the refineries in the southeast parts of the city out of commission for months. No power across most of Harris County for days or weeks. Most homes along the west side of Galveston Bay (including league City, Webster, La Porte, Texas City, Clear Lake) severely damaged or destroyed. Would be quite a mess.

[Ptarmigan]

Those of you (us) in Houston who remember Alicia should know that we experienced a tropical storm across Harris County, not a hurricane. Alica had near Cat-3 winds over a small patch of water prior to the center moving across Galveston Island. Winds on Galveston Island were in the 90-105 mph range sustained (Cat 2) in some areas. But Alicia's winds dropped off very quickly as the center moved ashore into Galveston County. By the time the center moved into southern Harris County, there were no sustained 74+ mph wind reports. The eye went direcly over my apartment in southwest Houston around 9am or so the morning of the 18th of August. Winds were in the 40-60 mph range for much of the day. Could have been a few brief gusts near 74 mph, though.

Anyone remember the last time that downtown Houston likely experienced true hurricane-force winds? I believe that would be with the hurricane of 1949 that tracked across the isthmus of Mexico and then due north to Houston as a Cat 4. So it's been quite a while since Houston was really hit. Carla in 1961 struck about 125 miles down the coast of Galveston, well away from Houston. Most folks in and around Houston have no clue what a real hurricane will be like. Our area was hit 5-6 times from 1900-1950 by Cat 3-4 hurricanes and only by the relatively weak Alica between 1950-2006.

I know the October 1949 hurricane was a Category 4 at landfall. It dumped a lot of rain that it made October 1949 one of the wettest in Houston history. I know it made landfall on October 3rd, then on October 7th, nearly 10 inches of rain fell. I wonder if it was caused by a cool front that interacted with that hurricane's moisture. I know the hurricane already was far north at the time. It seems like Houston was directly hit by major hurricanes before 1950 and just once in 1983. Carla did effect Houston, even though it made landfall south of Houston. I think we are due for one soon. In 1886, Texas was hit by four hurricanes, including the Indianola Hurricane.

[Ptarmigan]

I'm not sure about the peak gusts with Alicia across Houston. I was referring to the sustained 1-minute wind average as being below hurricane strength. I was about 10 miles west-northwest of Hobby airport during Alicia. Was in what was left of the eye for a bit. Didn't see anything that I thought reached hurricane strength around my area. Alicia was just a small taste of what a hurricane might do to the Houston area. A moderate to strong Cat 3 of average or larger size could push a 25-30 ft storm surge into NW Galveston Bay (and through downtown Houston0. Imagine all the refineries in the southeast parts of the city out of commission for months. No power across most of Harris County for days or weeks. Most homes along the west side of Galveston Bay (including league City, Webster, La Porte, Texas City, Clear Lake) severely damaged or destroyed. Would be quite a mess.

Gees, if a major hurricane hits today, that would be really bad. It would make Katrina a walk in the park. Hurricane Gilbert was a close call in 1988. I don't want to even think about what would happen if Gilbert hit Houston. It sure caused a scare, considering at the time it was the most intense hurricane on record prior to Wilma. If I am correct, Gilbert was predicted to be a Category 5 in the Gulf of Mexico and hit Texas as one.