Poll what was the worst gulf coast hurricane since 1950?

[Jim Cantore]

Man I thought Ethel had a good chance

[Ivanhater]

well i voted ivan, but you probably guessed that by the name

[Jim Cantore]

Someone should make an "Ivan for president" banner

[dwg71]

Voted Allison, though it was not a hurricane..

[BamaMan]

One thing to remember too is that if anyone goes by "costliest", every thing costs much more now than in 1969 (Camille) or 14979 (Frederick) so picking Ivan due to being the costliest is a bit misleading. No doubt, Imho, Camille would have to top every list of worst since 1950 to hit the Gulf Coast

[Jim Cantore]

Thats why Camille aint there because the pick would be too easy

I added Allison because dispite the not being a hurricane factor it caused more damage then alot of major hurricanes in the past

[Shoshana]

I said Audrey because of the loss of life. I was kinda confused by the question - the topic and question are different ... 1970 or 1950? But the storms listed are since 1950.... and 'worst' in what way?

Strongest? I'd say Carla and Ivan are neck and neck ... they both were Cat 5's at one time in their existance, but I think Carla was actually stronger at landfall. Well Allen was stronger, but not as strong at landfall.

Storm surge.... After Carla went thru, there were trees 30-40 feet tall with debris at the top and the Brazoria County Courthouse was completely underwater - except for the top of the radio antenna. The courthouse was 5 stories tall..

Carla caused damage to the entire Texas coast and inland all the way to Dallas.

Costliest? Ivan.

[BamaMan]

Lets put it this way, hopefully there won't be any like the aforementioned for the rest of this season.

[Jim Cantore]

Yea hopefully I dont have to add any more candidates

[Derek Ortt]

This is an eays one, even if Camielle were included

AUDREY

Deadliest storm in like the last 50 years for the USA. Enough said as for what storm was the worst

Also, why is Agnes even on the list? It was retired for what it did during second landfall on the EC

[jasons2k]

I said Carla, maybe I have a TX bias. It was the largest US evacuation to-date. Not just intensity, but also her sheer size. I know people in Angleton, over 100 miles away and 10 miles inland, who lost everything with a storm surge to the rooftops.

If she had hit 50 miles more up the coast it would easily be #1 beyond us Texans.

Edited - correct mileage

[Jim Cantore]

Actully Floyd was the largest evacuation to date

They shut disneyworld down and evacuated Miami up to Cape Hattaras

[jasons2k]

Actully Floyd was the largest evacuation to date

They shut disneyworld down and evacuated Miami up to Cape Hattaras

Yes, maybe I should have clarified, Carla was THEN (when she struck) the largest evacuation to-date.

[Jim Cantore]

At one point texas had a cat 5 comin at them so naturally theres going to be a mass exodus

[beachbum_al]

I was wondering where Camille was. Okay since I couldn't pick Camille I had to go with last year's Ivan. Due to the size of Ivan and the miles of destruction he left behind I had to pick that storm.

[jasons2k]

I found this article about Carla:

http://montgomerystudio.com/lonestar/lsd_pg19.htm

This quote sticks out to me the most "Robert told me that he thought he was miles out in the Gulf of Mexico — because he was surrounded by water. He said he even saw a buoy with a red light on top. What he actually saw was the radio antenna above the Brazoria County Courthouse. The courthouse is five-stories tall.

In 1962, I was working with a survey crew for the Texas Highway Department in Angleton. One job took us to the salt-grass prairie near Bastrop Bayou and where the Dunn family home had been. There were several tall trees in the area, probably 30 to 40 feet in height. Each one of them still had debris from Hurricane Carla hanging from the very tops.

There were beds, refrigerators, stoves, boats, personal items, etc. It was a scary feeling to stand on the ground and realize that the water had actually been that high."


Guys, that's 10 miles inland and approx. 120 miles from landfall. wow...

[Jim Cantore]

Like I said I didn't put Camille cause the poll would be too lopsided

[jasons2k]

Like I said I didn't put Camille cause the poll would be too lopsided

I agree, that's a no-brainer, outside of the poll.

[Jim Cantore]

Yea I mean come on 350 deaths 25 foot storm surge 200mph winds no brainer if it's on

[HurricaneQueen]

Charley and Donna do not count as the WC of Florida is considered to be East Coast for some odd reason

That's interesting since we live about a quarter of a mile from the Gulf!!!!
It's about 136 mles to the east coast (Atlantic Ocean).

Guess it's true that you learn something new everyday!

Lynn