When Was the Last Time Your Area Has Experienced a CAT 3+?

[Recurve]

Betsy in 1965 -- center of eye directly over my location. But it had a wide eye I understand, and worst winds may have been in NE quad up by miami. I haven't found any direct evidence of wind or surge damage from back in 1965, before most local development.
1935 Labor Day Hurricane was centered about 35 miles south of here, but with its extremely tight windfield, I don't know what winds Key Largo got. I wasn't here for either one

[Cryomaniac]

Never even a Category 1 here, let alone a Category 3...

Me niether (although i live in england... lol) I have experienced high TS force winds though, during various windstorms, and they did a small amount of damage, but were pretty cool in the most part.

[Janie2006]

There seems to be a bit of confusion with the original question. It asks when the last tme your area experienced Cat 3+ wind conditions, not whether you've been on the fringes of a Cat 3 hurricane. Very few inland locations have ever seen true 111+ mph 1-minute sustained wind, even with a Cat 3 making landfall. Frictional effects reduce the wind speeds to below Cat 3 almost immediately upon landfall, so only some beach areas might see spotty Cat 3 winds with a Cat 3-4 making landfall.

For example, if we look at the downtown Houston area, then the last Cat 3+ hurricane to strike just south of us and track across the city was Alicia in 1983, but Alicia's winds weakened so rapidly inland that even Galveston Island barely got Cat 2 winds. Winds across Houston were below hurricane force (1 minute sustained). The last major hurricane to strike just south of Houston prior to Alicia was the 1949 Cat 4. That hurricane likely produced sustained Cat 1 winds across Houston, and possibly some Cat 3 winds on the beach around Galveston/Freeport. But Houston has not experienced Cat 3+ winds with any hurricane landfall in recorded history.

With few exceptions, most of the replies on this thread are from people who've only experienced the fringes of a Cat 3+ hurricane - mostly in the TS-force wind field. Andrew's swath across south Florida was an exception, of course, but there was a sharp gradient north of the track. Ivan and Dennis didn't produce any Cat 3+ winds over land, so you can't count those two hurricanes. Perhaps the only semi-recent hurricanes that may have actually produced Cat 3+ winds inland were Andrew, Camille in 1969, and possibly Carla of 1961. So perhaps the title question needs to be re-worded.

You've raised some excellent points. I'm not at all certain that I personally experienced Cat 3 winds during Katrina, but I'd say it was close in any case. So, if that is true, then I'd have to say Hurricane Camille in 1969. I don't remember it (I was a 1 year old living a bit off the coast), but the family never rode out another hurricane afterwards! Camille was rather small, "bobcat-sized" as people said then, while Katrina's windfield expanded greatly before making landfall.

[weatherrabbit_tx]

ya I agree Hurricane Alicia wimped out, in the area that I grew up would be Hurricane Carla, September 11,1961, going on 46 years!!!!

[gatorcane]

interesting discussion on this topic so far....

[Derek Ortt]

Camielle was not that small at landfall. It was slightly larger than averaged.

However, compared to storms such as Carla and Betsy, it was small

[baygirl_1]

I'm not sure if we experienced 111+mph winds in Frederic. Checking some of the online reports, I noted that the airport and Civil Defense Office recorded 101 mph winds. The airport is located in the west part of the county and the Civil Defense Office is in the central part, both well inland. At that time, we lived in the southeastern part of the city not far from Mobile Bay (but just outside the evac zone). I can't seen to find any winds reports close to where we lived. I was pretty young, but I remember the way that wind sounded all night long. And I remember the damage it did to our city. My father, who was a meteorology buff, always remarked that Frederic was a "dry storm" - not much rain and surge considering it's windspeed and pressure. The wind did most, if not all, of the damage. At least it did at our house. It even blew the mortar out from between the bricks in our chimney! So, if we didn't experience Cat 3 winds in Frederic, I don't ever, ever want to experience Cat 3+ winds. Ever.

[Chacor]

The NHC just issued a 2007 version of deadlist, costliest and most intense U.S. TCs, and it includes a list of populated coastal communities and the last time a major hurricane passed within 75 nm of it.

[Hurricane Freak PR]

Saludos Loro...

In fact most of Puerto Rico did experience cat-1 and cat-2 sustained winds with much higher gusts during hurricane Georges. But there are actual measurements of borderline or cat-3 sustained winds during that storm on the mainland of Puerto Rico, those were measured in Fajardo at 5:15pm in the Civil Defense with 110mph. Then again they measured 110mph sustained 15 minutes later at 5:30pm. Gusts were of 130mph measured there. There is also a report of 113mph sustained from Fajardo too. This were the basis of making Georges a cat-3 over Puerto Rico, because of the actual land measurements, also the location of the Civil Defense there is not right on the water which logically tells that higher sustained winds were likely in the areas right in front of the ocean and with onshore winds. These areas were beaches with onshore winds at Luquillo and Fajardo at that point. Also the NWS Doppler Radar at Cayey measured sustained winds of 100kts/115mph when the storm was over Puerto Rico.

The interesting fact is that the eastern eyewall of the storm was significantly stronger and that portion of the eyewall never hit Fajardo, it blasted directly the locations from Naguabo southward to Guayama and inland well until the Caguas Valley which has more exposure to the E and ESE. That portion of the eyewall was the more likely to have the strongest winds and that's the part of the eyewall that I experienced after 8pm that night. You're right about San Juan being under mostly cat-1 or 2 sustained winds as the northern eyewall was a lot weaker at that point than when it passed over Fajardo-Rio Grande and the wind damage decreased dramatically west of those localities into the San Juan Metro Area. The wind damage 15 miles south and east of San Juan (the Caguas Valley) was significantly worst and the worst wind damage at sea level and on coastal locations that I saw in the island was at the cities of Humacao and Yabucoa in the east coast, those were the areas that got the eastern eyewall directly first.

Also I have to mention you that there were sustained cat-2 winds measured from locations far west of the landfall point and when the hurricane had already being more 6 hours over land. One of these reports was at Isabela in the NW coast of the island with a sustained wind of 102mph and a gust to 164mph. This was the highest gust measured on the island during the storm and it shows how the ratio of sustained wind/gust is much more dramatic when there is friction than over water. The other report was at the west coast of Puerto Rico in Rincon with a sustained wind of 100mph with a peak gust of 130mph at 1245am september 22nd when the northern eyewall blasted the area. This is interesting as the wind measurement is from the east and east of that location very near or at sea level are about 105 miles of mountains (many over 2000-3000ft with a peak of 4390ft) and rugged terrain, anyway not taking this in mind we have and offshore 100mph sustained wind with moutains to the east. There was also a report of a 109mph sustained wind at the Arecibo Radio Telescope inland in Arecibo and at a couple thousand feet high but that was'nt included in the reports.

All across the mountain range of Puerto Rico there was experienced that several radio and tv transmision towers collapsed due to the very strong winds of the storm. Many of those were certified to withstand 200mph winds. Also high voltage transmision towers of the electric company collapsed at areas at sea level in Yabucoa and several other places near sea level or at mountains and those were certified according to people from the company to 150mph winds (do'nt have and idea if sustained or gust but I'm almost sure that gust). Some of those were twisted like toys. One of the big radio towers collapsed about 4 miles northeast of my house at an altitude of about 1680ft and that was on the eastern eyewall as it collapsed right after eye passage. There were also damage surveys that estimated sustained ~120kts winds in areas at over 1000ft on the Trujillo Alto area, that was certified by engineers that analyzed the structural damage on houses and infrastructure in the area.

I live about 10 miles inland but at about 300ft high, with more wind exposure from the east and southeast and the highest winds in my area certainly were from the ESE/SE based on damage patterns. I also tend to think that sustained winds were probably right around sustained cat-3 intensity here but that is more likely associated to acceleration of winds having a mountain range of 1500-1800ft to my north and at an orientation from WNW to ESE helping to accelerate those winds, that was the case at the Caguas valley were damage indeed looked very similar to that of Humacao and Yabucoa, also I have to mention that wind damage in those two locations was a little bit more severe than in the Fajardo-Luquillo area were the damage was very bad still. I was surprised to see that wind damage in San Juan was a lot less than on these areas but it seemed logical as they got well protected by the moutain range to the south, still it was solid hurricane conditions there.

Wind gusts in the area were likely on the 150mph area in areas like Humacao and Yabucoa and in Caguas-Gurabo, also significantly stronger winds at high elevations exposed directly to the wind all across the island. This is due to what I mentioned on wind damage and also how convective the storm was at landfall. This helped cause strong downbursts which combined with the fact that the storm was deepening again made the ride on that eastern eyewall a very violent one and unforgettable. The island of Saba had a report of a 175mph gust at 700ft when the storm was approaching Puerto Rico. Also lightning was very frequent in the eyewall which is not very common during hurricanes and is mostly seen when they are on deepening phases. There are so many stories about how strong it was an all, but something I remember very clearly was how in the eyewall the winds and rain were so intense that they actually picked up mud from the ground and carried it across the miami windows in my house at a height of about 8 feet with entire tree leaves passing almos untouched trough the windows which were needed to be open with the help of three other people after the storm because they were basically sealed. Also paint was ripped of the walls of many of the houses in the area, I'll show some pics of the wind damage below:


With some images you can notice that a lot of cleanup had already being done.

Humacao, Puerto Rico (october 1998):

[Ptarmigan]

The NHC just issued a 2007 version of deadlist, costliest and most intense U.S. TCs, and it includes a list of populated coastal communities and the last time a major hurricane passed within 75 nm of it.

I remember Hurricane Jerry in 1989. That was a small hurricane right there. All I remember was that there some clouds and winds. Nothing much.

[Hurricane Freak PR]

More damage pictures from Humacao PR (october 1998), notice in the second one the severe damage to all kind of vegetation, also evident by the trees in the background.





Gurabo PR (september, october 1998)

The first image was taken the morning after the storm and it shows my grandmother's house (in front of mine which ca'nt be seen) which lost the entire front garage roof. Part of the roof landed near my house and the other half was never found. The other debris came from somewhere, also notice the severe tree damage in the area, that area had very thick vegetation before the storm and that was all left.




The common image along many places in Puerto Rico was the huge amount of concrete poles that were broken by the hurricane along with many others of wood. In some areas there were miles of poles down. These were the smaller ones, others which were more thick were also broken in half or fallen completely.

[Hybridstorm_November2001]

Two of my area cat 3 storms, the third Edna of 1954 (which based upon weather archives from Maine and NB likely had a central pressure of 960 mb at landfall on the Maine Coast) hasn't been fully studied yet. Sorry no pics LOL:

* 1. "Great September Gale of 1869":

Boose et al. (2001) analyzed this hurricane as a Category 3 at U.S. landfall,
based upon widespread reports of wind-caused Fujita-scale 2 damage in
New England. Additionally, their reconstructed damage work analyzes a RMW of
30 nmi at landfall, which is substantially smaller than the earlier estimate of
40 nmi from Ho (1989). Ho's 963 mb central pressure estimate suggests
88 kt from the northern wind-pressure relationship. With a RMW slightly
smaller than that expected climatologically (around 34 nmi) for that central
pressure and latitude (Vickery et al. 2000), winds somewhat higher than
what the wind-pressure relationship suggests should be used. Additionally,
the extremely rapid forward motion of the hurricane (around 40 kt) would
also argue for higher winds than is usual on the right semi-circle of the
hurricane. Based upon all of these points, the estimated maximum sustained
winds at landfall are increased from 90 kt (Category 2) to 100 kt (Category 3),
making this a major hurricane landfall in New England. (No changes were
needed for the 6 hourly intervals within HURDAT.)
Additionally, as the first Kaplan and DeMaria inland decay model was utilized
for this hurricane, it was appropriate to review the results with the inland
decay model explicitly designed for New England landfalling tropical
cyclones (Kaplan and DeMaria 2001). This model does decay systems faster
and suggests a downward revision to the winds at 06Z on the 9th, which is
reflected in the revised HURDAT.

* Saxby Gale of 1869:

Boose et al. (2001 and personal communication) analyzed this hurricane as a
Category 2 impact in Massachusetts and Category 3 impact in Maine during
its U.S. landfall. The original HURDAT had this hurricane listed as being
a high end Category 2 as it made U.S. landfall (90 kt), but with the RMW
staying offshore near Massachusetts. Given the low number of reports
utilized in the reconstructed versus actual damage in their damage-based
empirical wind modeling work for this case, a boost to the winds at landfall
to this extent is does not have enough substantiation. However, estimates
of winds at landfall are increased moderately, though this does not
necessitate any changes to the 6-hourly HURDAT itself. Boose et al. (2001)
also estimated a RMW of 30 nmi at landfall, which does suggest a slightly
higher central pressure to match the 90 kt given a slightly smaller than
usual RMW for this windspeed and latitude (Vickery et al. 2000).
Additionally, as the first Kaplan and DeMaria inland decay model was utilized
for this hurricane, it was appropriate to review the results with the inland
decay model explicitly designed for New England landfalling tropical
cyclones (Kaplan and DeMaria 2001). This model does decay systems faster
and suggests a downward revision to the winds at 06 and 12Z on the 5th, which
is reflected in the revised HURDAT.


* In both of these storms I've found Newspaper reports from the Woodstock area (which is about 65 miles inland) indicating at least minimum hurricane force winds. Leading me also to believe that these were very strong storms along the coast.


Source: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/metadata_5110.html

[cajungal]

The NHC just issued a 2007 version of deadlist, costliest and most intense U.S. TCs, and it includes a list of populated coastal communities and the last time a major hurricane passed within 75 nm of it.

I am surprized that they did not include Betsy on that list. She still killed a lot of people mainly from drowning. And Grand Isle saw winds up to 155 mph.

[AJC3]

I am surprized that they did not include Betsy on that list. She still killed a lot of people mainly from drowning. And Grand Isle saw winds up to 155 mph.

That's simply because that chart lists the most recent occurrence of a major hurricane landfall within 75NM of each county, and Katrina is the most recent occurrence in that area.

[cajungal]

Sorry, I am still half asleep this morning.

[jdray]

I am surprized that they did not include Betsy on that list. She still killed a lot of people mainly from drowning. And Grand Isle saw winds up to 155 mph.

That's simply because that chart lists the most recent occurrence of a major hurricane landfall within 75NM of each county, and Katrina is the most recent occurrence in that area.

Thats an eye opening chart.
NE Florida is well overdue according to that chart.
Major return rate of 28-33 years, last major was before 1880
Hurricane return rate of 8-9 years, last was 1964 (43 years ago)

Just shows how cyclical these things are. Pensacola went 70 years without a hit, then came their barrage!

Gotta love mother nature, she does what she wants.

[Ptarmigan]

That's simply because that chart lists the most recent occurrence of a major hurricane landfall within 75NM of each county, and Katrina is the most recent occurrence in that area.

I read the 1941 hurricane that hit Houston was not a Category 3 hurricane. Now, it's being classified as one.