Hurricane Claudette Making Landfall: LIVE THREAD!

Strong Winds and Rains Push Inland
2PM CDT, July 15, 2003
By WeatherBug Chief Meteorologist, Mark Hoekzema

At 2PM CDT, advisories for hurricane force winds had been issued for inland counties of southern Texas. Winds in Victoria, Texas blew above 50mph with gusts near 70mph before observations stopped being sent at noon.

Hurricane Claudette was loosing strength due to interaction with land but still packing a wallop as it moved inland. It was a minimal hurricane at 2PM and would drop below hurricane strength by late Tuesday afternoon.

Residents around Matagorda Bay were hit with the strongest winds, recorded at over 90mph with gusts above 100mph. Very strong storms also hit Port O`Connor, Magnolia Beach and Port Lavaca.

Roofs were reportedly blown off homes in Matagorda and had gusted to 84mph in Port Lavaca and 88mph in Wadsworth. Winds had reached 75mph in Port O`Connor.

Because the strongest bands and instability are now ashore, the Storm Prediction Center has issued a tornado watch for the central Texas Coast until 7PM CDT.

On Tuesday afternoon, strong winds moved inland and pounded inland cities such as Victoria with sights on Beeville. Winds could approach hurricane force in some of the stronger bands of rain. More tornado watches will likely be needed as the storm moves inland Tuesday and Wednesday.

Hurricane warnings are in effect for the Texas Gulf Coast from Baffin Bay northeast to High Island, Texas. Tropical storm warnings also continued from High Island to Sabine Pass, Texas (see graphic link on right).

At 2PM CDT, Claudette was located northwest of San Antonio Bay with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. The center was estimated to be at 28.6N, 97.1W or 20 miles south-southwest of Victoria, Texas. The storm was moving west-northwest at 14mph. Central pressure had begun to rise and was up to 29.09".

Hurricane force winds were still being observed in a tight circle just 30 miles out from the storm center but would likely lessen over the next two hours. Tropical storm force winds extended out from the storm about 175 miles and were being felt on the Gulf Coast from Galveston eastward to Sabine Pass, Texas.

Dangerous coastal flooding caused by high storm surge tides was observed on Galveston Island down through Freeport and across Matagorda Bay. Storm surge tides have ran up to 5 feet above normal at the Galveston Pier Tuesday morning. Combined with large swells coming ashore, coastal flooding was widespread north of the storm center.

The storm came ashore near Port O`Connor, Texas around noon CDT on Tuesday. The eye passed over Matagorda Bay, Port O`Connor and Port Lavaca between 11AM and 1PM CDT Tuesday.

Tuesday morning, winds in Kemah, Texas near Houston were sustained at 36 mph with a gust up to 59 mph. La Porte, Texas, also southeast of Houston was reporting sustained winds near 40 mph with gusts over 50 mph. The heaviest rain and winds had moved out of the Galveston and Houston areas by Noon CDT. (Go Live to real-time AWS WeatherNet locations by clicking on the cities to the right.)

Radar continued to clearly show the eye of Claudette at 2PM CDT. Rainfall amounts of 5-10" could fall along the coast over the next 24 hours. Rainfall amounts from 2-5" have already been recorded south of Houston and down the coast to Palacios, Texas.

The storm will begin to weaken rapidly Tuesday Night and Wednesday as it tracks across southern Texas. Even though winds may diminish, heavy rains could cause flooding in the rivers south of San Antonio and in the Rio Grande Basin.

Keep your WeatherBug active in your system tray for all the latest updates and forecasts on the progress of Claudette. Use the links in the right column to view more detailed information, forecast tracks and imagery. Also see the WeatherBug Today story titled "Texas Wind Gusts Exceed 100mph" for more detailed reports on damage and the storms effects on life and property in the region.

Texas Wind Gusts Exceed 100 MPH
1PM CDT, July 15, 2003
By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Justin Consor

Hurricane Claudette is having major effects on the lives of Texas coastal residents, in addition to affecting agriculture and industry.

Winds had reached hurricane force in parts of southern Jackson and Matagorda counties in Texas, about halfway between Corpus Christi and Galveston. 94 mph sustained winds and 104 mph gusts were reported in Point Comfort, very close to where the storm made landfall and about 100 miles southwest of Galveston.

88 mph gusts battered the town of Wadsworth, located northeast of Point Comfort and slightly inland. A tornado also caused extensive damage to homes in Port Lavaca, near Point Comfort. The town's high school had its roof blown off and an old historic building in the town was leaning over and likely damaged beyond repair.

An AWS WeatherNet station in Galveston reported 67 mph wind gusts around noon CDT.

Numerous trees and power lines have been been toppled even over inland areas as far north As Houston and El Campo.

The storm may have already caused casualties. Tuesday morning, rescue workers were investigating the remains of a collapsed house in the town of Surfside (40 miles southwest of Galveston), searching for a man and a small boy neighbors say may have been in the home. The house fell under heavy rains and high winds around 5:30 a.m.

Water was already covering parts of highways 87 and 124 on the Bolivar Peninsula southwest of Galveston. Law enforcement officials reported 5 to 6 foot flood waters in the towns of Quintana and Surfside. Water had burst into many homes in those towns as well as in Smith Point, Oak Island and Heron, located east of Galveston and over 100 miles from the storm's center.

Evacuations had taken place on the fringes of the storm in southwest Louisiana`s Cameron Parish.

In addition, very heavy rains had prompted flash flood warnings for much of the middle and upper Texas coastal plain including the Houston-Galveston metropolitan area.

Rainfall had exceeded 4.5 inches at an AWS WeatherNet station in Angleton, 40 miles southwest of Galveston. Rainfall totals were approaching the 4 inch mark at a station in Kemah, 20 miles northwest of Galveston.

Meanwhile, the storm`s winds and rains were likely to have major effects on cotton, sorghum and corn crops in southeast Texas.

Crude oil prices had also been affected by the storm, rising 5.7 percent over the weekend. However, by Tuesday morning prices in London had stabilized as it became apparent that Claudette was likely to miss the largest oil-producing areas in the western Gulf of Mexico.

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