By NOAA
While Celia, which caused damage from July 31 to August 5 1970, paled in strength comparisons with other storms (it was only a Category 3 at its peak), it introduced an aspect of hurricanes previously thought to be impossible - incredible wind gusts that far exceed the hurricane's winds. With winds of 130 mph and wind gusts estimated as high as 180, Celia gave the Coastal Bend a taste of the massive destruction that can occur with hurricanes.
The final estimate of damage was placed at $453 million dollars. In terms of today's dollars, the estimate would be closer to $1.83 billion dollars. Celia killed 31 people and cause 466 injuries, a small amount when compared to the damage caused to housing structures - it could have been far worse.
To the people who experienced Celia, it was a storm they will never forget. The wind gusts were confined to small areas "looking almost like a tiger's claw" over the city of Corpus Christi. One man, in his description of the wind burst, stated the sound of the gust was "like a giant hammer hitting the building."
Commentary Excerpt (I was about a mile from him):
I have been in a 130 mph hurricane and it was nothing like Celia. Celia's sustained winds had to be much higher in my area of the city. I lived on Parade Drive just south of the city towards the Naval Air Station. I recall looking out our windows (the wind was blowing parallel to them, not head on). The palm trees were all down on my street and flapping in the breeze like holding a piece of paper out your car window at 70 mph.
http://www.disasterrelief.org/Disasters/000803Celia/
Excerpt:
Thirty years ago, on Aug. 3, 1970, Hurricane Celia slammed into the Texas coast. With powerful winds gusting up to 161 mph at Corpus Christi and 180 mph through Aransas Pass, the storm is one of the most destructive weather-related disasters in the history of the state. Celia caused an estimated $454 million in damage, which would exceed the $1 billion mark by today's standards.
A Category 3 hurricane, Celia wasn't the strongest storm to churn through the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane was unique because of its incredible wind gusts. Sustained winds howled at 130 mph, but the gusts climbed as high as 180, giving the Coastal Bend of Texas a taste of the massive destruction these powerful storms can cause.