Saturday afternoon, voluntary evacuations were ordered for residents on Padre and Mustang Islands. Gas stations and food markets quickly became overcrowded, as residents rushed to purchase food, water, gas, and other necessities. Interstate 37 to San Antonio looked like rush-hour traffic in New York City, as nearly 100,000 residents of Nueces county left their homes. Another 80,000 individuals from surrounding counties also traveled north to escape Bret's potential fury. By Saturday evening (August 21) Bret quickly intensified to a major hurricane (category 3 or greater), reaching category 4 strength by 7:00 p.m. Saturday. In just 18 hours, the central surface pressure in the storm dropped from 980 millibars (mb) to 952 mb. Maximum sustained winds increased from 90 to 135 mph around the center. At 10:00 p.m. Saturday evening, the NHC extended hurricane warnings to Port O'Connor, Texas 80 miles northeast of Corpus Christi. Now, the center of Bret was located about 250 miles southeast of Corpus Christi. Sunday morning (August 22) Bret lingered 115 miles southeast of Corpus Christi with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph. The lowest estimated central pressure was 944 mb, (27.88 inches). Late Sunday morning, Bret finally slowed and churned slowly west-northwest, focusing its eventual landfall between Brownsville and Corpus Christi. Exact landfall was made in central Kenedy county, 20 miles north of Port Mansfield (60 miles south of Corpus Christi), around 5:45 p.m. Sunday evening (August 22). Fortunately, Bret hit a sparsely populated region of mostly lowland fields used for farming. Bret weakened as it moved west over the Rio Grande Plains, dissipating over northeast Mexico. Storm total rainfall amounts from Bret were impressive. In two days, reports in excess of 15 inches fell over central Kenedy county. Elsewhere around the Coastal Bend, 6 to 10 inch rainfall amounts were reported. Flash flooding became a concern, as extremely heavy rains within Bret's squalls persisted over the same areas. Several major roadways around Corpus Christi were closed due to high water.

An interesting meteorological phenomenon associated with Hurricane Bret, was the unusually small diameter of hurricane force winds that extended out from the center of this powerful storm. Even as Bret rapidly intensified to a major hurricane, the hurricane force winds (winds sustained of 75 mph or greater) extended out only 30 to 40 miles in all directions from the center. For major hurricanes (winds greater than 115 mph), the typical outward extent of hurricane force winds is 60 to 80 miles from the center, and sometimes more. This factor is normally dependent on the total size of the hurricane and its strength. The total size of the Bret was 250 to 300 miles in diameter, similar to the size of Hurricane Andrew that slammed into south Florida in 1992. Andrew was also a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, however due to the populated and developed area of Homestead, Florida where Andrew made landfall, $25 billion in damage and 61 fatalities occurred. The storm surge, or the level of water added to the normal astronomical tide levels, plays a large role in coastal destruction with a hurricane. In addition to heavy rains associated with tropical systems, more severe flooding will occur with a 15 to 20 foot storm surge (typical with a major hurricane). Because of the very small diameter of hurricane force winds, only Kenedy county experienced a surge of Gulf water where Bret made landfall.

Hurricane Bret Statistics

Rainfall Totals (inches)...August 21-24

Highest Wind (Direction/Speed) in MPH and Gusts (G)

Maximum Storm Tides (Feet above Mean Sea Level)

Buoy Data

BOY42020...45 miles southeast of Baffin Bay, recorded swells (waves) up to 27 feet. The center or "eye" of Hurricane Bret passed within 40 miles southwest of the buoy, producing sustained winds of 68 mph gusting to 85 mph., from the southeast.

BOY42019...90 miles east of Port Aransas, recorded swells (waves) of 14 to 16 feet, and peak winds of 30 mph with gusts to 45 mph.

BOY42002...200 miles east of Port Isabel (near the southern tip of Texas), recorded 12 to 14 foot swells and peak winds up to 35 mph gusting to 41 mph.

Other Storm Effects

Channel Cuts...where the center of Bret crossed Padre Island National Seashore, east of Kenedy county, as many as 12 new channel cuts were revealed by areal photography and visible satellite images. The largest cut was so wide, it was mistaken for Mansfield Pass. One cut was measured 150 feet wide and 5 to 10 feet deep.

Beach erosion...existing sand dunes were reduced in height by half and new dunes formed from the strong winds and rise of water.

Tornadoes...several weak tornadoes were reported across the coastal counties of Nueces and Kleberg, but little additional damage occurred.