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On This Day in 1957: Deadly Hurricane Audrey Makes Landfall
June 26, 2022 at 12:53 PM EDT
By Weatherbug Meteorologist John Benedict
On this day 65 years ago, Hurricane Audrey intensified into a Category 3 hurricane before slamming into the Louisiana coast just two days after the storm formed in the Bay of Campeche.
Audrey’s origin was in the Bay of Campeche on June 24, 1957, when a tropical depression formed and began to crawl northward, gaining tropical storm strengthen just six hours after the depression formed. With favorable conditions for tropical cyclone intensification in place over the Gulf of Mexico, Audrey strengthened into a hurricane as air force reconnaissance investigated the storm. A due north track continued through the western Gulf of Mexico, putting northeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana in in the crosshairs on June 27.
Hurricane Audrey would approach the Gulf Coast near the Texas/Louisiana border on June 27, rapidly gaining strength upon its final approach while also accelerating northward. Audrey would end up making landfall between the mouth of the Sabine River and Cameron, La., as a strong Category 3 hurricane, packing sustained winds of 125 mph.
The impacts delivered by Hurricane Audrey were horrific. Wind gusts in excess of 100 mph likely struck an area from Port Arthur, Texas, eastward to Lake Charles and Cameron, La., an area hit hard during the 2020 hurricane season by Hurricanes Laura and Delta. Just east of Cameron, La., the storm surge was estimated to be as high as 10 to 12 feet and penetrated up to miles inland along the low-lying Louisiana coast.
Around 431 deaths were attributed to Hurricane Audrey, making it the seventh most deadly storm in U.S. history, and at the time it was the deadliest hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane. A majority of the fatalities were attributed to storm surge flooding. The price tag for the damage caused mounted to more than $150 million.
The high fatality count was partly due to miscommunication between the Weather Bureau and the rural communities along the Louisiana coast. Another factor was that the storm rapidly intensified and accelerated upon making landfall with ongoing evacuations not fully completed.
Hurricane Audrey along with Hurricane Alex (2010) are the strongest hurricanes on record to make landfall in the U.S. during the month of June. The name “Audrey” was retired after the 1957 Hurricane season, making it the first “A” named storm retired and the eighth name retired since the modern naming convention was created in the 1954.
Sources: nhc.noaa.gov, weather.gov, Wikipedia
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Story Image: 1957: An elderly woman in an apron and bonnet stands in front of a house, which was hit by a boat when Hurricane Audrey struck Louisiana. Shel Hershorn/Getty Images
Audrey’s origin was in the Bay of Campeche on June 24, 1957, when a tropical depression formed and began to crawl northward, gaining tropical storm strengthen just six hours after the depression formed. With favorable conditions for tropical cyclone intensification in place over the Gulf of Mexico, Audrey strengthened into a hurricane as air force reconnaissance investigated the storm. A due north track continued through the western Gulf of Mexico, putting northeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana in in the crosshairs on June 27.
Hurricane Audrey would approach the Gulf Coast near the Texas/Louisiana border on June 27, rapidly gaining strength upon its final approach while also accelerating northward. Audrey would end up making landfall between the mouth of the Sabine River and Cameron, La., as a strong Category 3 hurricane, packing sustained winds of 125 mph.
The impacts delivered by Hurricane Audrey were horrific. Wind gusts in excess of 100 mph likely struck an area from Port Arthur, Texas, eastward to Lake Charles and Cameron, La., an area hit hard during the 2020 hurricane season by Hurricanes Laura and Delta. Just east of Cameron, La., the storm surge was estimated to be as high as 10 to 12 feet and penetrated up to miles inland along the low-lying Louisiana coast.
Around 431 deaths were attributed to Hurricane Audrey, making it the seventh most deadly storm in U.S. history, and at the time it was the deadliest hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane. A majority of the fatalities were attributed to storm surge flooding. The price tag for the damage caused mounted to more than $150 million.
The high fatality count was partly due to miscommunication between the Weather Bureau and the rural communities along the Louisiana coast. Another factor was that the storm rapidly intensified and accelerated upon making landfall with ongoing evacuations not fully completed.
Hurricane Audrey along with Hurricane Alex (2010) are the strongest hurricanes on record to make landfall in the U.S. during the month of June. The name “Audrey” was retired after the 1957 Hurricane season, making it the first “A” named storm retired and the eighth name retired since the modern naming convention was created in the 1954.
Sources: nhc.noaa.gov, weather.gov, Wikipedia
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Story Image: 1957: An elderly woman in an apron and bonnet stands in front of a house, which was hit by a boat when Hurricane Audrey struck Louisiana. Shel Hershorn/Getty Images