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On This Day in 1983: Hurricane Alicia Forms as Tropical Storm
August 15, 2021 at 02:07 AM EDT
By WeatherBug's Ali Husain
On August 15th, 1983, Hurricane Alicia formed over the Atlantic Basin as a tropical storm. This powerful cyclone went on to rampage through Texas a few days later, causing over $3 billion in damages.
More than two days before Alicia’s arrival on Texas’s Gulf Coast, water levels along the east Texas coast began to rise to above normal levels. By midnight on August 16th, the water level at Galveston Island, Texas was about two feet above normal tide levels, increasing to more than three feet by 6 p.m. on August 17th.
Shortly after 6 p.m., the main winds of the storm began to move into the area just seaward of Galveston Island. Water levels quickly began to rise, peaking at almost seven and a half feet above normal tide, with a total storm surge depth of just over nine feet.
Making landfall west of Galveston on August 17th as a Category 3 hurricane. Alicia’s eye passed just west of downtown Houston before accelerating across East Texas and finally dissipating over eastern Nebraska on August 21st.
Widespread damage was found in Galveston and Houston, Texas, where thousands of homes were destroyed. In downtown Houston, windows on skyscrapers shattered, showering the streets with debris. Widespread outages and flooding occurred, with the highest rainfall totals approaching 10 inches. Additionally, 22 tornadoes formed as a result of Alicia—most were EF-0 tornadoes with the strongest rated as an EF-2 tornado.
Hurricane Alicia caused $3 billion in damages and more than 20 deaths with thousands more injuries reported. Despite being a low-end Category 3 hurricane, the effects of Alicia were exacerbated due to the rapidly increasing population in the Houston metropolitan area and the resulting weaker infrastructure as a result.
Due to the extent of the damages, the name Alicia was retired by the World Meteorological Association in 1984.
Credit: NOAA, NWS
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Story Image: Hurricane Alicia's Track via NOAA
More than two days before Alicia’s arrival on Texas’s Gulf Coast, water levels along the east Texas coast began to rise to above normal levels. By midnight on August 16th, the water level at Galveston Island, Texas was about two feet above normal tide levels, increasing to more than three feet by 6 p.m. on August 17th.
Shortly after 6 p.m., the main winds of the storm began to move into the area just seaward of Galveston Island. Water levels quickly began to rise, peaking at almost seven and a half feet above normal tide, with a total storm surge depth of just over nine feet.
Making landfall west of Galveston on August 17th as a Category 3 hurricane. Alicia’s eye passed just west of downtown Houston before accelerating across East Texas and finally dissipating over eastern Nebraska on August 21st.
Widespread damage was found in Galveston and Houston, Texas, where thousands of homes were destroyed. In downtown Houston, windows on skyscrapers shattered, showering the streets with debris. Widespread outages and flooding occurred, with the highest rainfall totals approaching 10 inches. Additionally, 22 tornadoes formed as a result of Alicia—most were EF-0 tornadoes with the strongest rated as an EF-2 tornado.
Hurricane Alicia caused $3 billion in damages and more than 20 deaths with thousands more injuries reported. Despite being a low-end Category 3 hurricane, the effects of Alicia were exacerbated due to the rapidly increasing population in the Houston metropolitan area and the resulting weaker infrastructure as a result.
Due to the extent of the damages, the name Alicia was retired by the World Meteorological Association in 1984.
Credit: NOAA, NWS
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Story Image: Hurricane Alicia's Track via NOAA