Louisiana Hurricane History:
Late 20th Century

David Roth*
National Weather Service
Lake Charles, LA

September 24th, 1956 (Flossy): Hurricane Flossy completely submerged Grand Isle and caused extensive coastal erosion as it moved across the Mississippi Delta. Burrwood reported winds to 90 m.p.h. and a lowest pressure of 29.03." Rain totals reached 16.70" at Golden Meadow. Hundreds lost their homes in the storm. Cattle were drowned and citrus, sugar cane, and pecan crops were heavily damaged. The eastern sections of the New Orleans seawall were overtopped, flooding 2.5 square miles. A storm surge of 13 feet was seen at Ostrica Lock. The storm killed 15 and $22 million in damage was produced.

June 27th, 1957 (Audrey): The most destructive hurricane to strike Southwest Louisiana was Audrey. She moved ashore on June 27, 1957 near the Texas/Louisiana border causing a disastrous storm surge. Storm surges of 6 feet of more extended from Galveston, TX along the coast to Cocodrie, LA. The highest storm surge measured was 12.4 feet west of Cameron. In Vermilion Parish, the storm surge pushed inland to Perry, just south of Abbeville. Much of St. Mary Parish was also inundated by Audrey.

Picture to the left, courtesy of the U.S. Air Force, is a radar composite from early on the morning of June 27th.

Highest winds were reported to 96 m.p.h. at the NWS site with reports up to 105 m.p.h. in Lake Charles. An unofficial report of 180 m.p.h. winds was received from an oil rig, however this could have been associated with a severe thunderstorm embedded within Audrey's eye wall. Oil company tenders reported 150 m.p.h. winds which, although they are unofficial, are believed to be reasonably accurate.

Waves associated with the storm were monstrous, indeed. In the gulf, seas of 45 to 50 feet were reported. Waves at Cameron reached as high as 20 feet above mean sea level; this was on top of the storm surge!

Two tornadoes were spawned; one in New Orleans and the other in Arnaudville. Out of the 100,000 buildings that experienced damage, several thousand were destroyed. Between 90 and 95 percent of the buildings in Cameron and Lower Vermilion Parishes were damaged beyond repair. The most quoted total of lives lost by all causes due to Audrey is around 526 people ; most of them were in Cameron Parish. Damages in Louisiana totaled $120 million.

The most curious aspect of the storm was the exodus of wildlife preceding it. On the evening before landfall, thousands of crawfish were seen fleeing the marshes around Cameron. A few enterprising locals decided to collect them and put them in their freezer, unaware of the significance of this event. Needless to say, these crawfish were never brought to a boil the following day, as planned. See Texas Hurricane History for more on this storm.   

September 15th, 1960 (Ethel): Hurricane Ethel quickly developed in the Central Gulf of Mexico before moving accelerating northward along the extreme southeast sections of the Mississippi Delta, before moving inland at Biloxi. Hurricane force winds were seen in Lower Plaquemines parish. Venice had sustained winds of 90 mph with gusts to 104 mph. Burrwood saw gusts to 69 mph. The highest tide noted was 7 ft. above M.S.L. on Quarantine Bay at 4 am CST. Storm surges inundated the coast from the Mouth of the Mississippi east to St. Marks, FL. 

September 10-12th, 1961 (Carla): Hurricane Carla caused severe erosion along the entire coast in mid-September. Winds gusted to 56 m.p.h. at Lake Charles. Ten tornadoes were spawned across the state. Carla smashed a $50,000 fishing pier in Holly Beach and a row of houses along the coast. Road damage reached $300,000. At Hackberry, a large oil storage tank was displaced 6-7 miles northwest of its original location. Grand Isle received flooding, but no structural damage.

Damage was also seen along the Calcasieu Ship Channel northward to Lake Charles. Some oil rigs offshore were moved 8 to 10 feet towards the coast, despite being anchored 8 feet deep into the Gulf bottom. "Storm surges" of over 5 feet were seen along the Mississippi Delta and up to 7.6 feet at Cameron. Total damages in Louisiana reached $25 million. Six people lost their lives in the storm. See Texas Hurricane History for more details on this major hurricane. 

October 2nd-3rd, 1964 (Hilda): Hurricane Hilda caused severe coastal erosion and local flooding, along with 39 associated deaths as it hit Salt Point. Tornadoes were spawned at Golden Meadow, Galliano, Larose, Kenner, Metarie, and New Orleans. The Larose Tornado alone caused 24 of the deaths and a staggering 345 injuries. A large water tower collapsing on the Erath City Hall killed around 10 people.

Franklin reported a pressure of 28.40" and winds estimated at 135 mph. Winds of hurricane force spread across much of Southeast Louisiana. Over 10" of rain fell across Southeast Louisiana and Southern Mississippi. Jeanerette saw 17.71" of rain. The Gulf invaded Cocodrie up to a depth of 7.8 feet. Offshore, the Oil Driller, 100 miles south of Morgan City, had their anemometer pegged at 120 mph throughout the night of the 2nd/3rd. Waves over 50 feet high lashed the rig for hours. Damage totaled $53 million.  

* Author's current affiliation: NWS National Centers for Environmental Prediction - Hydrometeorological Prediction Center, Camp Springs, Maryland

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