Audrey Anniversary

[LaBreeze]

I just do not want the date to pass without remembering - 56 years ago today Hurricane Audrey struck and took my baby sister and our family home. My recollection of that horrible night and the days that followed are still quite clear. It was a long time ago and yet it still feels like just a short while back. Thankfully, we have improved dramatically the way we track these storms and the warnings that are posted for the population. I just wanted the day to be remembered.

[BigB0882]

That is so awful, sorry to hear that. May I ask what happened to your sister? Was it storm surge? I am sure this is a tough day for you and your family. Thought coming your way!

[LaBreeze]

My uncle was holding her and he lost his grip and she slipped into the water as we were on the roof - the house had broken apart and we were floating in the dark. I remember the roof hitting the top of an old oak tree and I believe that's when she slipped away. It was so dark and the wind and rain were so strong. I don't think that my uncle ever got over that. Thanks for the thoughts - we should never forget that horrible Category 4 storm, although it was so long ago.

[Alyono]

My uncle was holding her and he lost his grip and she slipped into the water as we were on the roof - the house had broken apart and we were floating in the dark. I remember the roof hitting the top of an old oak tree and I believe that's when she slipped away. It was so dark and the wind and rain were so strong. I don't think that my uncle ever got over that. Thanks for the thoughts - we should never forget that horrible Category 4 storm, although it was so long ago.

more like a cat 1 based upon the 2007 Jarvinen study

[LaBreeze]

My uncle was holding her and he lost his grip and she slipped into the water as we were on the roof - the house had broken apart and we were floating in the dark. I remember the roof hitting the top of an old oak tree and I believe that's when she slipped away. It was so dark and the wind and rain were so strong. I don't think that my uncle ever got over that. Thanks for the thoughts - we should never forget that horrible Category 4 storm, although it was so long ago.

more like a cat 1 based upon the 2007 Jarvinen study

If you lived through it you would know.

[Blown Away]

My uncle was holding her and he lost his grip and she slipped into the water as we were on the roof - the house had broken apart and we were floating in the dark. I remember the roof hitting the top of an old oak tree and I believe that's when she slipped away. It was so dark and the wind and rain were so strong. I don't think that my uncle ever got over that. Thanks for the thoughts - we should never forget that horrible Category 4 storm, although it was so long ago.

A day worth remembering!! That's why folks in low lying areas need to heed the warnings, unfortunately these systems were not as good 56 years ago or your experience likely would have been different. I can't imagine the guilt your uncle lived with!

[Alyono]

My uncle was holding her and he lost his grip and she slipped into the water as we were on the roof - the house had broken apart and we were floating in the dark. I remember the roof hitting the top of an old oak tree and I believe that's when she slipped away. It was so dark and the wind and rain were so strong. I don't think that my uncle ever got over that. Thanks for the thoughts - we should never forget that horrible Category 4 storm, although it was so long ago.

more like a cat 1 based upon the 2007 Jarvinen study

If you lived through it you would know.

emotion has nothing to do with data. It is ESSENTIAL that we know just how strong these past storms are... so we can be better prepared for the future.

If it is confirmed that Audrey was a cat 1, that should serve as a wake up call for EVERYONE (as if Sandy was not enough of one) that even a cat 1 can be very destructive

[dl20415]

140 mph Cat 4

[Alyono]

140 mph Cat 4 !

Read the study

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Landsea/12Tides.pdf

I personally believe that it is believable based upon what we have seen in recent storms. Very low pressures, low peak winds, large area of wind coverage. This leads to the very high tidal surge.

Cat 1 with 80 KTS is very reasonable

[dl20415]

Read the report


http://hurricanescience.org/history/sto ... 0s/audrey/

[tolakram]

I think you misunderstand the idea it might have been a cat 1, and it's worth thinking about. Categories do so little to help people prepare for storms, and even cat 1's can do a ton of damage, especially if they bring a lot of flooding. Katrina was a similar issue, cat 5 surge in a cat 3 storm. Ike also similar, due to size, etc.

I don't think the intent was to minimize how bad Audrey was.

[angelwing]

I am sorry LaBreeze:(

[LaBreeze]

140 mph Cat 4

Exactly, thank you. There is a huge difference between 85 mph winds and 140 mph winds when you have actually felt it - emotions aside.

[LaBreeze]

http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WEATHER/10/ ... index.html

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastint.shtml

[Alyono]

140 mph Cat 4

Exactly, thank you. There is a huge difference between 85 mph winds and 140 mph winds when you have actually felt it - emotions aside.

This is EXACTLY what kills people in hurricanes! You THINK you went through something much stronger than you did! Then when a cat 2 comes... people say they survived a "4" so they wont leave for this one. Many have died due to this dangerous thinking.

And the CNN stuff you linked is meaningless. It is just a regurgitation of HURDAT (that is so corrupted that the reanalysis project was required)


I am sorry it was a bad storm for you. However, the evidence simply does not indicate you went through a 4. Use that study to be better prepared for the next one Audrey being weaker than a 4 has been known for 6 years.

Also, saying Audrey was "just a 1" does not downplay it. Was Isaac "just a 1"? Of course not. What Isaac did, however, was produce a very similar tidal surge as did Audrey. That should be something for ALL residents to consider and is why they need to drop the line of thinking "stay for a 1-2, leave for a 3-5"

[Hurricaneman]

http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WEATHER/10/03/major.hurricanes/index.html

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastint.shtml

http://ann1az2.hubpages.com/hub/Ten-Mos ... in-HIstory
Number 8 - Hurricane Audrey
In June 1957, Hurricane Audrey reached Category 4 strength in the Gulf of Mexico, however it was discovered later that the wind gauge at Lake Charles, Louisiana broke at 180 mph, well into a Category 5. The storm made landfall on the Texas/Louisiana border, killing 431 people. Because of the devastation left by Audrey, the name was retired and will not be used again for a storm in the Atlantic.

http://www.wunderground.com/education/audrey.asp - read the article - Audrey intensified rapidly overnight just as she was making landfall.

The wind gauge was probably faulty and that reading rendered erroneous but who knows as it was a bad hurricane just the same

[LaBreeze]

I apologize for my inadequacies. I was only trying to keep the memory of my sister and what we went through .

[Hurricaneman]

I apologize for my inadequacies. I was only trying to keep the memory of my sister and what we went through. Obviously, I was wrong and have been so told .

I will say this, its really sad what happened to you June 27 1957, I can't even imagine that kind of pain

[Alyono]

what you went through labreeze is horrible

What I want to make sure is that NOBODY else has to experience that. I've seen far too many hurricane deaths in my career. Each one saddens me greatly. I simply want no more hurricane deaths and to achieve this, better education is required as the vast majority, unfortunately, are preventable

[HurricaneBill]

I'm wondering if Audrey was similar to Hurricane Alex in 2010.