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

[beachbum_al]

hurricane ivan 2004

[Hurricane Freak PR]

Hey Michael...

Those damage pictures at your house does indeed look like cat-4 wind damage. The tree damage is characteristic of a cat-4 there, in fact that kind of tree damage looks very similar if not a little worst than that over portions of Northern Guam after typhoon Paka in 1997 were the over land 1-min sustained winds at the standard 10-m height were estimated from 135mph-145mph in portions of Northern Dededo and in Yigo...

Jose

[Derek Ortt]

Alabama also did not get cat 3 conditions from Ivan. Any cat 3 winds (if they even existed, which I am convinced they did not), were in extreme western Florida, between Pensacola and the Florida/Alabama border and confined to the immediate coastline, likely in the surge zone

[Hurricane Freak PR]

Hi to all...

The last cat-3 hurricane here was Georges in 1998 and what a blast it was...

Jose

[CrazyC83]

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

[HeatherAKC]

vmax135:

Great post! However, you just stirred up all of those horrible emotions again. I rode out Andrew near the Tamiami Airport and thought I was going to die...really! I can't imagine being farther to my south and east. How terrible. I do appreciate your analysis and pictures, though. I have some photos and some video and need to find and I'll post one day.

On topic: Andrew, 1992.

[Hybridstorm_November2001]

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

Never in the history of your area. Hmmm, where abouts do you live; the Great Plains, the Artic or over 100 miles inland?

[wxman57]

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.

[cajungal]

The last time my area experienced Cat 3 winds was with Hurricane Betsy in 1965. But, it was many years before I was born. There was recorded sustained winds at 130 mph and there was a recorded wind gust up to 165 mph. Betsy eye was rather large. 40 miles across. So, even areas well inland received up to Cat 3 winds. Winds up to 60 mph were even recorded as far north as Monroe. Pretty amazing!

[gtalum]

I don't think that Sarasota has ever recorded Cat 3 winds. Donna was pretty far inland by the time she got near.

[jdray]

Alabama also did not get cat 3 conditions from Ivan. Any cat 3 winds (if they even existed, which I am convinced they did not), were in extreme western Florida, between Pensacola and the Florida/Alabama border and confined to the immediate coastline, likely in the surge zone

That is true,
the damage at my wife's grandparents was not severe for Ivan (Brewton, AL) and all the damage I saw was mainly from the tornado that whipped across their yard.

[jdray]

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.

Well, some storms are hard to know of, especially the older ones.
1896 - Hurricane 4, Winds were estimated in Lake City Florida @ 110mph, with reports of 150mph.

Of course this storm hit a front and pulled a Charley and scooted off NE @ 30mph, but it only dropped 5 mph from Cedar Key to Lake City. Downtown Jacksonville had winds of 70mph from this storm 60 miles to the west.

This is probably one of the few times that a place this far inland can see sustained winds this high.

[Scorpion]

Hi to all...

The last cat-3 hurricane here was Georges in 1998 and what a blast it was...

Jose

I believe Georges made landfall as a Cat 2 in Puerto Rico.

[Scorpion]

Amazingly, the last hurricane to hit the US and bring true Cat 3 winds inland was Charley, and before that, Andrew. And those were two small systems known for their wind damage.

[Normandy]

Amazingly, the last hurricane to hit the US and bring true Cat 3 winds inland was Charley, and before that, Andrew. And those were two small systems known for their wind damage.

You dont think Katrina brought Cat3 winds to waveland and Pass Christian??? I wouldn't argue against that...

[Derek Ortt]

The cat 3 winds in Katrina were probably in the surge zone and if Wilma brought any, only the crocigators experienced them, so I am not sure if either of those two should be included.

Charley did, but only along the immediate coastline as it was badly sheared just after landfall. Iniki also likely caused true major hurricane conditions.

But most of the others, I call them TINOs, Threes In Name Only

[Hurricane Freak PR]

Hi to all...

The last cat-3 hurricane here was Georges in 1998 and what a blast it was...

Jose

I believe Georges made landfall as a Cat 2 in Puerto Rico.

Georges officially made landfall in Puerto Rico as a 100kts cat-3 hurricane.

For reference:

NHC:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1998georges.html

NWS San Juan:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/sju/public_report.html

Jose

[cycloneye]

Hi to all...

The last cat-3 hurricane here was Georges in 1998 and what a blast it was...

Jose

I believe Georges made landfall as a Cat 2 in Puerto Rico.

Georges officially made landfall in Puerto Rico as a 100kts cat-3 hurricane.

For reference:

NHC:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1998georges.html

NWS San Juan:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/sju/public_report.html

Jose

Jose,mira este impresionante radar que tiene todo el trajecto de Georges cuando cruzo Puerto Rico de costa a costa.

Jose,look at the radar loop of Georges when it crossed Puerto Rico from coast to coast.

[Hurricane Freak PR]

Hey Luis...

Eso es asi

Georges was on a deepening trend right before landfall in Puerto Rico as the structure reorganized with the outflow improving dramatically before landfall, during crossing and after emerging over the Mona Passage. In fact the hurricane barely weakened while crossing Puerto Rico and the eye remained filled up as normal when hurricanes make landfall over mountainous terrain and rapidly cleared up on satellite and radar rigth after emerging over water again. Georges had some of the deepest if not the coldest cloud tops of its lifetime while it crossed Puerto Rico being reflected by extremely strong gusts, specially when that eastern and southeastern eyewall crossed portions of Eastern and Central Puerto Rico. Those are still by far the strongest winds I've ever experienced, also ligthning was very frequent on that eyewall just to give the idea of how this storm was ready to explode back to cat-4 intensity, but it did'nt have time to do it because of land and we know the rest...

Jose

[loro-rojo]

Luis and Jose.. I too was living in Puerto Rico when Georges (Condado, San Juan), but I dont think that the hurricane brought the category 3 winds to the island. Maybe Vieques, Culebras or the very western municipalities (Humacao, Fajardo or Ceiba) experiened those winds, but for the most part, the whole island saw category 2 winds.

From what I remember of the damage in San Juan and surrounding areas, the damage was very consistant with what Wilma caused in Broward county (which is where I live now). Mostly trees, power posts were damaged. Structural damage was not consistant with cat 3 winds**.


**Although many people did loose their homes due to flooding in the mountain communities (Morovis, Orocobis and Naranjito) this was probably due to mud slides and severe rains from the hurricane. Also, homes in Puerto Rico (for the most part) are full concrete, including the roofs. So, unlike in the states, its much harder to tell wind speeds in Puerto Rico from only looking at structural damage.